Putter Switch Pays Off As Nelly Korda Takes AIG Women’s Open Lead At St Andrew’s

Nelly Korda’s pre-tournament putter switch looks to have paid off as she took the second-round lead at the AIG Women’s Open

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 partners Charley Hull and Lilia Vu into a three-shot lead as the superstar group in the field ended the second round all in the top three.

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 Andrew’s.

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 welt it in literally on Wednesday during my Pro-Am and it just felt nice,” Kor Sky Sports about her new putter.

“I think I just needed a change-up, something new, and it felt nice coming off t 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 looked to chase down her Major victory over the weekend while defending champion Vu carded a two-under 70 to join Hull in T2.