'World No. 1 in Misery': After Scottie Scheffler, Nelly Koda Misses Cut... Yu Hye-ran Tied for Third at 2R, Aiming for Back-to-Back Major Wins [LPGA]

*This content was translated by AI.

It is a case of misery for the world number one. On the U.S. PGA Tour, Scottie Scheffler (30, USA) and on the LPGA Tour, Nelly Koda (28, USA), both suffered the humiliation of missing the cut.

On the 11th (Korean time), at the Aramco Evian Championship, the fourth major event of the LPGA Tour held at Evian Resort Golf Club (par 71) in Évian-les-Bains, France, with a total purse of $9.1 million, Koda recorded three birdies and one bogey, reducing her score by two strokes but finishing with a cumulative 2-over-par 143 and missing the cut.

The result was even more shocking given that Koda has already won 19 times, reclaimed her peak form this season with four victories in 10 tournaments and nine top-10 finishes.

Her poor performance on the first day was painful. While she secured two birdies, she also recorded one double bogey and three bogeys, shooting a 3-over-par and failing to deliver a satisfactory result today. She trailed the leader, Lottie Woad (UK, 11-under par), by as many as 12 strokes.

Earlier in the day at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, during the second round of the Genesis Scottish Open, co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour with a total purse of $9 million, world number one Scheffler shot a 2-over-par 72, finishing at even par overall and missing the cut for the first time in four years.

The result was particularly shocking given that Scheffler has not fallen outside the top 25 since 2024.

This outcome demonstrated how many variables exist in golf and how difficult it can be even for the strongest players.

Amidst this, Korean players shone brightly. Yu Hye-ran (25, Daol Financial Group) recorded one eagle, three birdies, and two bogeys, shooting a 3-under-par 68 and maintaining a joint third place with Mao Sako (Japan) at a cumulative 8-under-par 134. She was just three strokes behind the leader, making a comeback in rounds 3 and 4 quite feasible.

Yu Hye-ran claimed victory at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, the third major of the LPGA Tour, which concluded on the 29th last month. She now aims for back-to-back major wins in this tournament.

Yu Hye-ran started nervously with a bogey on the 4th hole (par 4), but bounced back by securing a birdie on the 9th hole (par 5). She continued her upward momentum by recording another birdie on the 10th hole (par 4), which marked the start of the back nine.

On the 15th hole (par 5), she even captured an eagle, immediately cutting two strokes and making a leap forward. Despite losing one stroke on the 17th hole (par 4), she quickly secured a birdie on the 18th hole (par 5) to maintain third place.

After the round, Yu Hye-ran said, "Compared to the first round, it was hotter today and the greens were slightly firmer. The green speed was a bit slower than yesterday, so I couldn't take full advantage of many birdie opportunities." She added, "I hope to play a little better tomorrow than today."

She feels no pressure about back-to-back major wins. Yu Hye-ran stated calmly, "There is no burden or stress. Thanks to that, I was able to play well in the first and second rounds. As this is a major tournament, simply avoiding mistakes and holding par would be a sufficiently good result."

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*This content was translated by AI.