At Hazeltine National Golf Club, a quiet suburb of Minneapolis, the biggest purse in women's golf history is up for grabs — and the woman trying to claim it is chasing something no one has done in nearly two decades.
Nelly Korda of the United States tee off on Saturday with a chance to win her third consecutive major championship. The 27-year-old Floridian has already claimed the Chevron Championship and the US Open this year, and if she pulls off the three-peat at this week's Women's PGA Championship, she will become the first player to win three straight majors since Babe Zaharias accomplished the feat in 1950.
Korda sits six shots behind leader Ina Yoon of South Korea, who posted a spectacular 12-under-par total after rounds of 63 and 69. On Friday, Korda fired a four-under 68 — making birdies on four of her first nine holes before closing with six consecutive pars to keep herself in the hunt.
"It is hard to have a big lead going into the weekend," Korda admitted. "I was there at the Chevron and you do feel a little bit more pressure, like everyone is hunting you down. I'm just going to focus on, as boring as it is, one shot at a time and see where that takes me."
Yoon, who has yet to win a major in her career, acknowledged the nerves ahead but said she plans to embrace them. "The remaining two days will obviously be nerve-rracking, but being nervous is human nature, and I think I want to embrace that and focus on what I can in my shots," she said.
The numbers behind this week's tournament tell their own story. The total purse sits at $13 million — that's roughly £9.8 million — the largest in women's golf history. The winner will take home $1.95 million, about £1.48 million. These figures reflect a sport that has seen its prize money grow dramatically in recent years, drawing more attention and more top talent.
Korda's path to history runs through Hazeltine, the same course where the US men's team won the Ryder Cup in 2016. With two rounds to play, she remains in contention — but she'll need to slice into Yoon's five-shot advantage over the weekend if she wants to make golf history.