Q. What a day. Two eagles, 6-under 66. Just walk me through your round. Obviously ended on a really high note there.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah. I started out with a good up and down on No. 2. I missed a couple greens at the start of the round; didn't really play the first par-5 really well.
And then made that putt on the par-3.
Then hit a really close one on 8 for eagle and converted that.
So that was a nice kick start to the round.
Q. Let's talk about going into the last. Kind of slow to get there. What changed on 18 for you to be able to make that eagle?
NELLY KORDA: I had a left-to-righter on 17 that I under-read, and I knew that my putt on 18, when I got up to it, that it was going to be a left-to-righter and I just gave it a little bit more than I thought.
Yeah, I just trusted in my line and it just barely dropped in, but it was a perfect putt and it was great to hear the crowd go wild, too. That was really cool.
Q. Yeah, we heard the roar all the way up here. To only be your second start back, leading after 54 holes, obviously at a place you love, a place you've won at before, was that something you were expecting out of your game this early?
NELLY KORDA: I just kind of went about it. I knew that I had enough practice under my belt and it was just more of like can I put that into tournament golf kind of play.
So far, you know, I've played pretty well and hopefully I can continue. I mean, there is still 18 more holes, still a lot more golf to be played. I'm just happy to be out there playing again.
I'm in contention, but, again, I've been in this position before. Thankfully I can lean on that and I can -- I just know that anything can happen in 18 holes. I'm honestly happy to just be out there and I'm grateful to be playing golf and I'm excited to give it a go these next 18 holed.
Q. Just curious, what were your clubs into 8 and 18, those two eagles?
NELLY KORDA: Both 7-irons.
Q. You have a yardage on either that you remember?
NELLY KORDA: I don't have a yardage. I'm sorry.
Q. How far were you on the putt on 8?
NELLY KORDA: On 8 I was probably like five feet.
Q. Oh, so pretty tight.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah.
Q. Final question: Looking ahead to tomorrow, including yourself there are five other members of the Rolex Rankings Top 10 within a sniff. How cool is it, especially with a warmup before a major, to have this kind of leaderboard as you look to defend on Sunday?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, you know, this tournament actually always attracts a lot of the top girls on any type of ranking, so it's cool. It's a great golf course to play before a major.
Usually typically you have to go low and put a lot of pressure on yourself, so I feel like it's a great leading point into a major.
Obviously anything can happen and there is a lot of girls that are close to me and Jennifer, so hopefully I can put together a good round tomorrow and see how it goes.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports