Nelly Korda makes equipment change, shoots 67 at FM Championship

Nelly Korda is in a featured grouping once again, and this week she’s playing alongside Minjee Lee and Brooke Henderson at the FM Championship at TPC Boston.

Lee won the Women’s PGA Championship earlier this year, while Henderson won the CPKC Women’s Open on Sunday. As for Korda, the most popular player in the group? She’s still looking for that first victory of the year after she piled up seven last season.

Thursday was a step in the right direction.

Korda fired a five-under 67 and is two off the lead held by Sei Young Kim, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Allisen Corpuz.

She also did it with a new putter in the bag.

On Thursday, Korda used a TaylorMade blade putter similar to the Titlest model she used most of last year. This one also had a Super Stroke grip, which she’s used before but not often.

“Just something else than I’ve been feeling,” Korda said Thurdsay. “Just something new. I had so much success with that head and I hit a couple before [last week’s tournament in] Toronto. Golf courses right now in Florida aren’t the best. Like the golf courses that I’m at just opened after being closed for a month. So there was a lot of sand on them. Wasn’t really sure how I really liked the putter, but I just went with it. I knew I had so much success with that kind of putter and felt confident with [TaylorMade]; obviously it’s a different grip, too. It’s a SuperStroke. I just picked it out of the group of putters that I had and that I liked, and kind of went with it.”

Starting on the back nine on Thursday, Korda bogeyed the opening hole but later made four birdies in a five-hole stretch. She then birdied two of her last three to shoot 67, tying her first-round low of the season.

The putter carousel isn’t exactly new for Korda. Her seventh win of last season came with a different putter than she used for the other six victories.

The only club change for Nelly Korda between her 6th and 7th wins this season was swapping her Scotty Cameron Squareback 2 for a TaylorMade Spider Tour X.

TM reps built her an L-neck model with a short sight line just before the British Open and she’s used it since. (📷Getty/TM) pic.twitter.com/Fne54JT8Ce

— Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) November 17, 2024

Last year she won six times with a Scotty Cameron Squareback 2 before her seventh victory came with a TaylorMade Spider Tour X. This year she’s used both a blade and mallet.

Korda ranks 20th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season and third in Strokes Gained: Total. But another key stat is her round-by-round performances. Her Round 1 (69.77) and Round 2 (68.31) scoring averages are significantly better than what she’s turning in on the weekends: 70.39 in Round 3 and 71.00 in Round 4. Her Round 1 and 2 scoring averages rank third and first, respectively, on the LPGA Tour, while her Round 4 scoring average ranks 47th.