Korda arrived at the practice putting green to work through her frustration, but she didn\u2019t stay long. The World No. 2 rolled the ball into the hole a few times and exited. <\/p>\n
That was all she needed. <\/p>\n
\u201cI went to the putting green for five minutes and I saw some balls actually roll into the hole, which was nice,\u201d Korda said on Friday at Tiburon Golf Club<\/a>. <\/p>\n She arrived at the first tee on Friday morning with a lot of ground to make up. In a season defined by what she hasn\u2019t done, Korda offered a stirring reminder that, when everything is clicking, she\u2019s the dominant force in women\u2019s golf. <\/p>\n Korda opened with back-to-back birdies and added another at the sixth before dropping a shot at the seventh. But she rebounded with three straight birdies and then closed her round by birdieing three of her final four holes to shoot a second-round, eight-under 64 and take the outright lead \u2014 a mark World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul would eclipse an hour later en route to the 36-hole lead.<\/p>\n Korda hit all 14 fairways, hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and made it around the Greg Norman-designed course in 26 putts. The burned edges that frustrated Korda on Thursday were replaced with birdie cheers from the fans in Naples. <\/p>\n Friday\u2019s round was one in which all of Korda\u2019s tweaks came together to deliver a mesmerizing display of golf. <\/p>\n Golf was Lexi Thompson\u2019s life. She wanted something more<\/a><\/p>\n By:<\/p>\n She has been working on keeping things simple. That can be difficult after a frustrating round at the end of a frustrating season. But Korda stayed in her routine and didn\u2019t let a Thursday of near misses get her out of sorts. Korda changed irons last week<\/a>, going to the larger and more forgiving TaylorMade P7CBs in the 6-PW. Korda, who is one of the best ball-strikers in the world, was seeking more spin with her irons after a season of her approach shots not doing what she thought they would once they hit the green. <\/p>\n \u201cThe irons were just coming in a little steeper and softer, which I\u2019ve been playing well this year, and I\u2019ve been landing the ball where I want to,\u201d Korda said on Friday. \u201cI\u2019ve just been seeing a little bit more release than I normally have.<\/p>\n \u201cWith different changes in conditions with golf courses, I mean, that\u2019s just how it is. Last year, maybe some of the golf courses we were playing were a little softer, so I was able to stop it. This year they were more on the firmer side so they were just releasing. So was just a little bit frustrated not seeing the ball react the way I wanted it to. I really like these irons. They go through the turf really well.\u201d <\/p>\n Korda has also been working on not being laid off at the top of her golf swing this year. It\u2019s tough to get too technical while you\u2019re also trying to lift a trophy. But the few weeks off Korda took to rest a neck ailment also allowed her to work on her swing without being concerned about numbers on a card.<\/p>\n That work appears to have paid off.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you work on something every year,\u201d Korda said. \u201cThat\u2019s just kind of golf. I mean, when you play multiple weeks in a row in different types of conditions, to me, because I\u2019m tall, when I play in a lot of wind, it starts to sway me a lot, so then I kind of revert back to old tendencies. Just always working on old tendencies, which is what\u2019s nice about golf and also frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n ![\"Lexi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/lexi-thompson.jpg\")
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\n Josh Schrock <\/a><\/p>\n