Lottie Woad Fires 64 to Lead Evian at 11 Under as Nelly Korda Misses Cut

Q: After crumbling under Grand Slam pressure, can Nelly Korda rebound for the upcoming AIG Women's Open?

Yes. One missed cut at Evian is a setback, but the broader evidence suggests Nelly Korda remains well positioned to contend at the AIG Women’s Open. The idea that she “crumbled” under major pressure is overstated. In 2026 she has already won two majors, the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open, and has three victories overall. Her missed cut at the Amundi Evian Championship ended a 34-event cut streak, but it came by a single shot after a poor opening round left her little margin. She nearly recovered with a 69 on Friday before a bogey at 17 and a narrowly missed birdie putt at 18. Her season-long form still supports a rebound. Korda has been among the LPGA’s best in strokes gained approach, scrambling and par-5 scoring, and her scoring average has been historically strong. Those are the kind of underlying numbers that usually travel well to another major, even after one disappointing week. The bigger question is mental and physical reset. Evian mattered because a win would have completed the career Grand Slam, and Korda had acknowledged the mounting pressure and a demanding stretch of three majors in six weeks. Her decision not to speak to media may reflect frustration, but she also has time to regroup with the Scottish Open before the AIG Women’s Open. So the most reasonable view is that Evian exposed pressure and fatigue, not a collapse in form. Given her 2026 record, Korda should still be considered one of the leading contenders at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

Q: Why did golf's top players, Nelly Korda and Scottie Scheffler, both suffer shocking exits on the same day?

They both went out early because each had an unusually poor 36-hole stretch and failed to execute on key late chances, turning rare off-weeks into missed cuts by the slimmest margins. At the Evian Championship, Nelly Korda put herself in trouble with an opening 3-over 74. She recovered with a 2-under 69 on Friday, but the damage was too great. A bogey on the par-4 17th and a missed birdie putt of about 15 feet on the par-5 18th left her at 1 over for the tournament, one shot outside the cut line. The miss ended her streak of 34 straight made cuts in official LPGA events. The result was especially striking because she had been in dominant form, with three wins this season, including the Chevron Championship and U.S. Women’s Open, but also carrying added pressure at Evian with a career Grand Slam in play. Scheffler’s exit at the Genesis Scottish Open followed a similar pattern. He did not play badly overall, but he was not sharp enough in approach play, did not hit enough fairways, and failed to create or convert enough birdie chances. He closed with a bogey on his final hole and missed the cut by a narrow margin, ending a run of 78 consecutive PGA Tour cuts made, his first missed cut in nearly four years. The common thread was not a collapse in class, but small mistakes under demanding conditions and pressure, with both world No. 1 players punished immediately.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 10

A seven-under 64 put England's Lottie Woad atop the Evian Championship at 11 under, one shot ahead of Japan's Aki Iwai after two rounds.
Woad made eight birdies and only one bogey, then answered that dropped shot at the 10th with three straight birdies in 33C heat.
Nelly Korda's bid for a career Grand Slam ended at one over despite a second-round 69, her first missed cut since June 2024 and the end of a 34-event LPGA streak.
Mao Saigo and Haeran Ryu sit two shots off the lead at eight under, while Charley Hull and world number two Jeeno Thitikul are among four players tied for fifth at six under.
The 22-year-old Woad, ranked world number four after turning professional in 2025, returned to the course where she earned her LPGA card last year and tied for third in 2025.