Rookie Nelly Korda has played with older sister Jessica for the first two days of the Blue Bay LPGA, and Thursday she nipped her by two, shooting a 2-under-par 70 to move to 3-under for the tournament and into a tie for fifth. 

Korda, who finished tied for fifth two weeks ago at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, is looking for her fourth top-10 result of the season and is in good position to do just that through two rounds.

On a blustery Thursday, Korda was bogey free, and described her round as a ‘scrambling’ one.

“I had 24 putts and I started out with six 1-putts in a row, so I was making a lot of up-and-downs today,” she said. “I was missing in the right areas, so the chip shots weren't as tough. But other than that, I'm really happy with how I ended up today.”

Korda said the two sisters chatted about ‘legitimately everything’ during their round Thursday – other than golf – were very comfortable together on what was a trying day weather-wise. 

“It’s windy and the pin positions are tucked in really hard positions. So it's definitely about positioning yourself, and if you miss, then miss in the right areas,” she explained. “That barely happens, but today it was happening a lot, so was pretty lucky.” 

With just one event left in the season, Korda said her year has gone ‘pretty good,’ and she’s feeling comfortable playing with the best golfers in the world.

“Obviously would have liked to have a couple better finishes, but (I’m) fairly pleased with my season,” she said.