March 04-07
Golden Ocala Golf Club, Ocala, Florida
$1,500,000
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4

One week after her fourth career victory, Nelly Korda shot a bogey-free, 5-under par 67 in the first round of the LPGA Drive On Championship presented by Volvik at Golden Ocala. She has now shot under par in nine straight rounds to open the 2021 season, and has had 10 consecutive under-par rounds dating back to the 2020 CME Group Tour Championship.

“I'm more about consistency,” said Korda after hitting 12 greens in regulation on Thursday and 10 of 14 fairways. “I know there are going to be bad rounds and you can't play perfect every single round, but the more you minimize your mistakes and more consistent you get with your swing, figuring out what works for you, the better.”

“I told my caddie [Jason McDede] that the people who win back-to-back events, props to them," said Korda. "It is so mentally exhausting. I just take it one week at a time. Small goals eventually build to your big goals.”

Tied alongside Korda for the lead are Austin Ernst and Jennifer Kupcho who struggled on the back nine having to play with blurred vision due to a recurring migraine.

“It's pretty bad,” said Kupcho after her round. “Even right now everything is really blurry. I can't really see anything over to the left. So, yeah, it's definitely really hard. I pretty much just lean on my caddie a lot, just trust him and try to do the best that I can."

“Usually, the blurriness goes away within 45 minutes, but they kind of come on at any point. I was standing over a shot and that's when it kicked in. I never really know.”

Playing in a featured group with Nelly Korda were sister Jessica and World Number 1 Jin Young Ko.

Jessica fired six birdies and a bogey as well as a double-bogey at the par-3 11th to close with a 69 and a tie for sixth with nine other players.

Ko started her round with a birdie followed by two back-to-back bogeys and two more birdies on the front nine to make the turn in 35 but made four more bogeys on the back nine to close with a 75, her highest start on Tour since a 77 at Hazeltine in the 2019 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.