KPMG Women's PGA Championship: Nelly Korda starts major hat-trick bid with 70 at Hazeltine

World number one Nelly Korda began her quest to win a third major in a row at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship with a composed two-under 70 at Hazeltine National but the American is seven strokes adrift of the lead.

Korda, bidding to win a remarkable third consecutive major championship after victories at the Chevron Championship and U.S. Women's Open earlier this season, mixed five birdies, one double bogey and one bogey on Thursday in Minnesota. 

South Korea's Ian Yoon raced out of the blocks with a bogey-free nine-under 63 and has a two-shot lead over Australia's Karis Davidson, with Meghan Khang, Atthaya Thitikul and Brooke Henderson also inside the top 10. 

England's Charley Hull was among those to struggle on day one and is in danger of missing the cut after signing for a 73.

"It was solid," Korda told reporters. "Honestly just made one bad swing, which ended up in a double. But overall, pretty happy with my day."

Korda's double bogey on the par-four 16th came from a costly tee shot and problems on the green.

After making birdies on three of her previous five holes, Korda pulled her drive left and immediately knew it was in trouble, picking up her tee almost instantly. 

The ball finished in a penalty area, forcing her to take a drop.

"I just overturned it," she said. "By now you just feel it when it's bad. 

"So the wind was off the right and I actually I think just made a too fast of a swing and I was kind of in between clubs.

"It's a pretty intimidating tee shot and I just didn't really like the way I hit it off the start."

Victory this week would secure Korda's fifth career major title and complete an extraordinary hat-trick of successive major championships in 2026, while also guaranteeing her place in the LPGA hall of fame.

Korda also won the 2021 KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the 2024 Chevron Championship. 

She is yet to to win the AIG Women's Open. Her best finished was a share of second place in 2024.

"It's definitely a confidence boost for sure," Korda said of her recent success. 

"But every tournament is so different just based off how you're feeling, how you're hitting it, the course, if it suits your eye or not.

"So I put myself into a good position. I'm really happy with the first day. 

"You can't win it on the first day but you can definitely lose it. Yeah, just overall happy with a solid start."