A switch of putter just before the AIG Women’s Open looks to have done the trick for Nelly Korda as she shot a second 68 to take the second-round lead at St Andrews.
There were more strong winds whipping around the Old Course on Friday but Korda’s title charge would not be blown off course as a second four-under round in a row moved her onto eight under at the halfway stage.
It was enough to take her above playing partner Charley Hull and into a three-shot lead after the early wave of starters ended their second rounds.
Hull led after the first round thanks to a stunning five-under round of 67, but Korda produced a four-shot swing to turn a one-shot deficit into a three-stroke advantage.
Incredibly given the conditions, Korda went bogey-free in her second round, which included four birdies, and she’s only dropped one shot in 36 holes in some seriously tough conditions at the home of golf.
Part of her success has come from a putter switch made on the eve of the AIG Women’s Open, when TaylorMade flew her out a custom-built Spider Tour X to Scotland for her practice round at St Andrews.
After getting a tune out of her new flat stick it went straight into the bag for Thursday, and the result has been just that one bogey and the lead in the final women’s Major of the year.
“It’s behaving really well, I put it in literally on Wednesday during my Pro-Am and it just felt really nice,” Korda told Sky Sports about her new putter.
“I think I just needed a change-up, something new, and it felt really nice coming off the face and it’s been working, so I’m very pleased.”
It’s a welcome return to form for Korda, who had that monumental run of form at the start of the year when winning five tournaments in a row and six in seven.
That insane form was never going to last, and she’s since missed three cuts in a row and finished T22 at the Olympics
By contrast, Hull struggled on the putting surfaces, missing three short ones to make three bogeys before managing to pick up three birdies in her last five holes to even out her card.
A level-par 72 kept Hull on five under and just three shots behind Korda as she looks to chase down her first Major victory over the weekend.
