ORLANDO, Fla. – For the second consecutive LPGA tournament, there’s a Korda atop the leaderboard.
This time it’s Nelly Korda, who leads by a shot through 54 holes of the Gainbridge LPGA. Korda carded a 4-under 68 Saturday at at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club to overtake 36-hole leader Lydia Ko and pull one clear of rookie Patty Tavatanakit, who is searching for her first win, and three ahead of a group that includes current world No. 1 Jin Young Ko, a former No. 1 in Lydia Ko and Angel Yin.
“Any time you can get ahead of the pack going into Sunday is a positive,” Korda said. “There are some good players there, so it'll take good golf to win.”
One month ago, Nelly’s older sister, Jessica, won the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, also in Orlando. The sisters played together in the final group for the first time in a final round before Jessica defeated Danielle Kang in a playoff. Nelly finished outside the playoff and solo third. On Saturday, Jessica bogeyed her final hole of the day to shoot 2-under 70 and drop six back of her sister heading into the final round.
“My sister is in contention at the top, so a win for her is a win for me, as well,” Jessica said. “But I’ll definitely be chasing tomorrow.”
At the same time, Nelly will be chasing history. With a victory, she and her sister would become the first siblings to win in back-to-back LPGA events since Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam in 2000.