“It was definitely hot at the start of my round,” the world No. 3 told reporters.
“Towards the end of it we got a little bit of cloud coverage, so that was really nice. Just drinking lots of water and staying really patient out there is key.”
Sport in the blood
It’s fair to say sport runs in the Korda family.
Nelly is the daughter of 1998 Australian Open tennis champion Petr. Her sister, Jessica, is also ranked in the world’s top 20 golfers and is also competing at the ANA Inspiration, carding an opening-round 74.
Her brother, 20-year-old Sebastian, is a professional tennis player who made his Grand Slam debut at the U.S. Open last week.
And Nelly, who finished tied in 14th place at the first major of the year at the AIG Women’s Open last month, got off to a great start after birdies in two of her opening three holes.
She finished her opening round with a birdie at the 18th to claim the first-round lead, just one shot ahead of two-time major champion In Gee Chun and Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden.
Jin Young Ko, the world No. 1 and defending champion, opted out of defending her title in California, instead choosing to stay at home in South Korea during the coronavirus pandemic.