All eyes are on Korda and Vu heading into the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

The stars are aligned on the LPGA Tour, as two-time major tournament champion Lilia Vu captured last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic in her first comeback after missing 11 weeks with a back injury.

World No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda and Vu will return to center stage together again for this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major of the season, starting Thursday at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington.

Vu, named the LPGA Player of the Year after winning four times last season, including two stars at the Chevron Championship and the AIG Women’s Open, is determined to return to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Indeed, that spot belongs to Korda, who has won six times on tour this season, including his first major at the Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas, on April 21.

Korda won six times in seven appearances — and an LPGA record-tying five in a row — before recovering in the past two starts with misses at the US Women’s Open and the Meijer LPGA Classic. He is looking to bounce back after those two disappointments.

“I’m going to go through these situations a lot of times when I feel like I’m playing really well, and I’m going to go through a little bit where golf is the hardest thing in my life right now,” Korda said Tuesday at the time. news conference at the Women’s PGA Championship.

“So that’s what makes me grow as a person and makes me appreciate the game more and makes me appreciate the wins and the high hitting and the good shots, the crowds that are there.”

Korda, 25, was asked Tuesday if he saw tennis star Roger Federer’s commencement speech at Dartmouth College on June 9. The 20-time Grand Slam champion noted that while he won 80% of his matches in his career, he only won 54. % of points played.

“It’s the same thing with golf,” Korda said. “They get second serves. If we mess up and make a big number in the hole, the penalty is less than if they make a double fault, let’s say, depending on where they are in the game. It’s true. You go.” not succeeding more than you win, and I think that’s what fuels a player and sports.”

Korda can relate. On May 30, she carded a 10 on the par-3 12th hole in the first round of the US Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He posted 80-70 and missed the cut by 2 strokes at 10-over 150.

Last week, she started with a double bogey-bogey-bogey en route to a 4-over 76 in windy conditions in the first round of the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He rebounded with a 5-under 67 in the second round but missed by one.

Like Federer on the tennis courts, Korda is expected to win every time he competes in a tournament.

“I feel like there is pressure [a] right, and that’s only you who can control that,” said Korda. “You can listen to outside voices, but at the end of the day, if you’re under pressure you can take a positive approach that you’re doing well and playing well. But, yeah, I’m just going to stay in my bubble this week and go out and try to take my shots, be confident in what I’ve got.”

Korda and Vu will compete again in the upcoming women’s Olympic golf tournament, scheduled for Aug. 7-10 at Le Golf National outside Paris. They are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the Olympic Golf Rankings and will make a field of 60 women.

“I’ve never been to Paris, and one thing I’m looking forward to is the croissants on almost every corner,” Korda said. “I love bakeries and baked goods, so that’s one thing I’m looking forward to. And obviously representing my country and competing in the Olympics is a great opportunity.

“I’m really excited to get there and even play that golf course. I got to watch it [the 2018] The Ryder Cup. To be able to play amazing golf courses like we did today is going to be great.”

A country can have up to four players in the field if they are ranked in the top 15 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Along with Korda and Vu, Rose Zhang is No. 9 and will likely make the team, while Megan Khang (No. 16), Alison Lee (No. 18), Ally Ewing (No. 19) and Allsen Corpuz (No. ) have work to do this week.

The Olympic field will be finalized after Sunday’s final round at Sahalee Country Club.

Korda has already won a spot on the U.S. team for the Solheim Cup, which will be played Sept. 13-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. It will be his fourth Solheim Cup appearance.

Vu is second in Solheim Cup points — 911½ behind Korda — and is a lock to make the team. The top seven golfers on the points list when qualifying ends after the AIG Women’s British Open in St. Andrews in Scotland on Aug. 22-25 will automatically qualify for the US team. The next two best players in the world rankings will also make the team, while Stacy Lewis will appoint three captains.

Lewis is pleased that Vu, a Solheim Cup rookie from last year’s event in Andalusia, Spain, is back to health.

“Very exciting [thing] it was the amount of time he took to come back and win,” Lewis said. “That’s really hard, because [when] you come back, your short game may be rusty. I was very impressed by that.”