Key to winning Women’s PGA? Overcoming grueling, unavoidable challenge

FRISCO, Texas — World No. 1 Nelly Korda entered the player interview area on Thursday after the opening round of the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco and needed a moment before recalling her even-par 72.

After just under six hours in the North Texas heat, Korda was still trying to recalibrate. Ninety-three degrees with 69 percent humidity will do that.

“It’s hot,” Korda said. “I’m still cooling down right now. Overall, I mean, even par to start the major, I mean, it was windier than I thought it would be. So played a little tougher. I’m pretty happy with my first round in the conditions. It was pretty windy. It was hot. It definitely takes a toll on you, the Texas heat.”

Korda and her playing partners Jeeno Thitikul and Lydia Ko slogged through a three-hour front nine on Thursday that included a lengthy wait on the tee box at the par-3 eighth. When the super trio exited the seventh green, the group in front of them had yet to tee off on No. 8. Korda, who made two birdies and two bogeys in the opening round, opened her umbrella and sat down as she attempted to stay even-keeled.

Major championships are all about staying patient and maintaining your focus. Having near triple-digit temperatures beating down on you makes that task even harder.

For Korda, who is also nursing a neck ailment that she aggravated while hitting a ball out of the rough on Monday, Thursday’s opening round was the quintessential major championship grind. She picked up over two shots off the tee, but her iron game gave her very few opportunities to keep pace with Thitikul, who made 199 feet of putts while shooting a four-under 68 to take the 18-hole lead.

With her neck improving by the day, Korda left Round 1’s heat box pleased with her position and how she navigated the Texas conditions on a course that promises to get firmer and faster as the wind whips and the sun roasts the Gil Hanse course.

“You can definitely lose a tournament. You can’t win it on the first day,” Korda said. “I felt solid. I was hitting it well off the tee into the greens, and just didn’t really give myself too many great looks. But I played pretty solid, I think, for the first day of a major.”

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Korda, Thitikul and Ko will trade a morning tee time for the even hotter afternoon wave on Friday. Temperatures in Frisco, Texas, are projected to reach 97 degrees on Friday and hold steady over the weekend.

How players handle the Texas heat, something they can’t escape, will go a long way to deciding who conquers Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco and who wilts in the cauldron.

“I definitely think it’s going to be a challenge,” Angel Yin, who shot one under on Thursday, said of the heat. “It’s going to be good golf-wise because the ball will fly further and make the course a little bit shorter. I like playing on faster greens, so I’m going to like that. And then, yeah, it’s going to be balancing hydration and keeping focus.”

After making seven birdies in Round 1, Minjee Lee entered the air-conditioned interview area and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Man, I’m glistening,” Lee, who shot three under, said as she stepped to the podium.

Another member of the morning wave, Lee’s hot putter negated a shaky driving day that saw her lose 0.251 shots off the tee in Round 1. The poor driving caused Lee to stumble with a handful of “soft bogeys,” which kept her from matching or overtaking Thitikul in Round 1.

A two-time major champion, Lee preached the importance of patience. That’s a task that becomes infinitely more difficult the longer you stand under the Texas sun.

“Can’t get ahead of yourself, especially in this kind of weather,’ Lee said. “I think it’s more just the heat that’s draining your focus, so it’s going to be a big factor come the next few days.”

The heat and pressure will only intensify as the weekend nears here at PGA Frisco. Whoever can handle both will be the one who leaves North Texas as a major champion.