FRISCO, Texas — Nelly Korda injured herself trying to advance a shot out of the rough Monday at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco in preparation for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Korda has kinesiology tape on her neck to protect it from further injury after she says her neck went into full spasm after hitting the shot during her practice round. Korda declined to say on what hole the injury occurred, simply saying it happened on the front nine, but did admit that she was in enough pain that she skipped the champion’s dinner held on Monday evening.
“It’s getting better, but yeah, it was not very good yesterday,” Korda said about her neck, which she also injured at the end of last season. “Obviously with the injury that I had last year, every single time something kind of flares up in my neck now, I think I feel it a little bit more than what I used to.”
Korda, the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA champ, travels with full-time physiotherapist Kim Baughman, with whom Korda trains six days a week. The world No.1 says she has been working with Baughman to rehab her recent injury and would be ready for the start of play Thursday, when she tees off at 9:28 a.m. EDT.
But Korda isn’t the only player who has expressed concern about the rough at Fields Ranch East. Jenny Shin says she was unable to advance a ball from the thick grass during her preparation, and Jeeno Thitikul echoed those sentiments.
“I think from all the majors we’ve had, the rough here, it’s kind of wide open to my eyes compared to the U.S. Open,” Thitikul said. “If you go into a rough, it depends on your luck as well. Sometimes I went there and I had a good lie, but if it’s like deep down, sit down, mmm, very wedge on out.”
Kerry Haigh, PGA of America chief championship officer, says the NorthBridge Bermuda grass that runs through the tees, fairways and rough will be approximately 2 ½ inches in height for women’s third major of the season.
The rough, however, only compounds what is already a difficult major test in Texas. The forecast is calling for scorching high temperatures that are expected to reach the mid-90s each of the four championship days with wind gusts upwards of 30 mph. As a relatively young property, which opened in 2022, there are few trees to provide shade throughout the property. Haigh says tents with misting stations are being brought in for fans.
