This week, the LPGA hosts its third major championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington.
It has been eight years since the LPGA played Sahalee for the Women’s PGA Championship.
The last time the venue hosted the major was in 2016 when Brooke Henderson defeated Lydia Ko in a playoff.
Jessica Korda played in that event before ultimately missing the cut. She returns to Sahalee in 2024, but this time to cheer on her younger sister and current World No. 1, Nelly Korda.
She explained the best way to attack this tree-lined track.
“Sahalee is one of the purest tracks I think we’ve ever played. It’s such a great test of golf and an amazing major championship host,” she said to the LPGA social media team.
“All you see are these big trees, the roughs up — you got branches in the way. So paying attention to where the pins are — coming in at the right angles from the fairway, those are all going to be really important things. You would say it’s a second-shot golf course, but it’s not. It’s an every-shot golf course.”
Pine trees line the fairways at Sahalee, making it a challenge to take home the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship trophy on Sunday.
Korda has been on quite the run in 2024, already racking up six victories on the LPGA Tour She won five straight, finished T7 at the Cognizant Founders Cup and won the Mizuho Americas Open the following week.
However, since that sixth victory, her game has gone cold.
Korda missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club earlier this year and the Meijer LPGA Classic last week. She looks to bounce back and play the weekend at this major championship.
The 14-time LPGA winner posted a 3-under 69 to sit atop the leaderboard after her round on Thursday. The afternoon group still has to play, but she leads by one shot.
Korda set the tone with six birdies, a bogey, and one double bogey.
“As long as she can keep it in the fairway, she’s going to be fine,” Jessica Korda said. “But she does scramble really well. So, as long as she can score, I think that’s going to be the most important thing.”
Nelly’s double bogey was rough, but she bounced back with a birdie on her 18th hole to reclaim the lead.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.