Nelly Korda is not the same golfer she was in 2024 when she dominated the world to win 7 titles. This version of the world No. 1 is struggling to get a single good result. She has made five starts, gotten four cuts, and managed two top 10 finishes. Granted, she kicked off the 2025 season with an outstanding runner-up finish in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. However, since then, Korda has faded away into the shadows and let her peers take the spotlight.

Looking to get back in form, she stepped on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club. Nelly Korda had only one goal in mind when she teed off in the Chevron Championship: to retain her title. However, things didn’t go as planned for the 2024 Rolex Player of the Year. After the first round, the 26-year-old has managed to go 5-over par 77. Her disappointing performance brought some interesting information to light as Fried Egg Golf tweeted insights from Meg Adkins a little while ago.

As Adkins mentions, “Nelly Korda trails by twelve shots after a mess of a first round. The defending champion’s putter was a big question mark entering the week. Similar to Haeran Ryu, Korda made a switch at last week’s JM Eagle LA Championship. The move to a blade style didn’t pan out as she struggled on the greens with numerous three-putts. Thursday, it was more of the same as she racked up 33 putts.” In an attempt to find her form back, Korda seems to have made a major change to her golf bag. She switched from a mallet-style putter to a blade-style. The world no. 1 had used blade-style for the majority of 2024 before switching to the mallet-style putter, which won her the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican late last year. However, the change has proven to be detrimental after the end of her first 18.

The tweet also read, “A frustrated Korda headed straight to the putting green after her round and was seen practicing with a mallet similar to the one that she used towards the end of last summer and to start this season. Her ball-striking was out of sorts as well, especially on the front nine, where she bogeyed four holes in a row. On-course reporter Paige Mackenzie put it best, saying, “With all due respect to the number one player in the world, I’m not sure who showed up on the first tee today.” Korda will need to play like her ranking on Friday if she wants to see the weekend.” The mallet-style putter didn’t favor her recently, especially at the JM Eagle LA Championship. However, her blade-style putter definitely got her the worst result in the past few months, suggesting that the putter was definitely not the issue that she hasn’t won anything this season.

As reported in the tweet, Korda will have to play like the world’s best golfer if she really wants to make the weekend half of the tournament. She has a tall order to climb as she tries to cover the 12-stroke deficit on Friday. If history tells us anything, we believe Nelly Korda will struggle to return to the top of the leaderboard. Let’s look at another instance when she fell short after a terrible first round.

Nelly Korda’s mountainous task for title defence

It was the beginning of the Summer of 2024. Having already won multiple titles in the season, Nelly Korda stepped onto the Lancaster Country Club on May 29, 2024. Her dream run in the season made her and everyone believe that she is the favorite to win another major. Unfortunately, the first round show got her out of contention early.

Just like at The Woodlands, Korda endured an abysmal first round to go 10-over 80. Some stated that she would need an insane finish to make the cut for the weekend. Unfortunately, a par finish on the following day guaranteed her early exit from the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open. This was also the first of the three missed cuts she had last season. A month later, Korda failed to play the weekend of the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Fans might be expecting to see something similar in the 2025 Chevron Championship as well.

Are you one of those who think Nelly Korda can still make a comeback in the 2025 Chevron Championship? Let us know in the comments section.