Nelly Korda hopeful her game is trending in bid for Olympic repeat

Golf is still young in the Olympics since returning in 2016 after a 112-year hiatus, and it does not have a back-to-back gold medalist. Schauffele won gold at the Tokyo Games and was tied for the 54-hole lead at Le Golf National on Sunday until a final-round fade.

Korda is the favorite for the women’s competition after what has been a tale of two seasons. She was unbeatable for four months, tying an LPGA record with five straight victories, including her second major. That was followed by missing three straight cuts for the first time in her career.

Hopefully trending,” is how she described her form Monday after playing 18 holes at Le Golf National with swing coach Jamie Mulligan at her side.

“The game of golf is a funny game,” Korda said. “Sometimes you feel on top of the world and in a matter of a couple seconds, you just feel like you’re on the bottom of the sea.”

Top of the world meant winning five in a row — the streak was stopped by Rose Zhang — and six out of seven. The bottom of the ocean was the 10 she made on her third hole of the U.S. Women’s Open for an 80 that led to a missed cut, and an 81 at the Women’s PGA Championship to miss another cut in a major.