Nelly Korda 3 shots back at LPGA Tour's Ford Championship in bid to win 3 straight starts

GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) — Nelly Korda fought through brutal conditions to win in Southern California last week.

A solid opening round on a soft course in perfect weather has the world’s No. 1 player in position to win her third straight start.

Korda shot a 6-under 66 in the first round of the Ford Championship on Thursday, leaving her three shots back in a bid to become the first LPGA Tour player to win three straight starts in eight years.

“Completely different today compared to last weekend,” Korda said. “The greens are quite soft. I know Arizona has been getting a good bit of rain throughout the winter. I knew there would be low scores out there, so needed to be aggressive.”

A week after brutal wind outside Los Angeles in the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, ideal scoring conditions greeted the players in the inaugural event at Seville Golf and Country Club.

Pajaree Anannarukan took advantage with a bogey-free, 9-under 63 after starting on the back nine at the 6,734-yard course in suburban Phoenix. She had a one-shot lead over Lilia Vu, Gabriela Ruffels, Isa Gabsa and former Arizona State players Azahara Munoz and Carlota Ciganda.

The top-ranked Korda opened with four birdies in five holes and closed with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th as she tries to become the first LPGA Tour player to win three straight starts since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016.

Korda won the Drive On Championship in her hometown of Bradenton, Florida, before sitting out all of the LPGA Tour’s Asian swing. She showed no rust after the long break, winning last week to move back atop the world ranking and is in contention again.

“(I) kept it pretty light at the beginning of the week knowing I needed rest and that was the most important,” Korda said.

Anannarukan has won twice on the LPGA Tour, including last year's Bank of Hope Match Play at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. The 24-year-old from Thailand missed the cut last week, but closed with five straight birdies to shoot 6-under 30 on Seville's front nine.

“The condition’s really similar to Las Vegas,” she said. “I feel like if you can get the good number into most of the shots going into the green, that’s just really helpful. I think I got a really good number today, just really helped me with the putts as well.”

Vu fell out of the top spot in the world when Korda won in a playoff last week at Palos Verdes Golf Club. The two-time major champion sandwiched four birdies around a bogey on the par-3 eighth and had four birdies on the back nine.

Cigand rolled in eight birdies in a bogey-free round that started on the back nine.

“I love being here. I feel the support — it just feels very comfortable,” she said. “I’m staying at home so that’s really nice this week. Sleeping in my own bed. Yeah, eating my own dinners and doing my thing. So that’s always very comfortable.”

Munoz had a wild round that included eight birdies, an eagle and two bogeys in her bid to win for the first time since the 2012 Sybase Match Play Championship.

Ruffels had seven birdies and an eagle with a bogey, a week after missing a birdie putt that would have put her in a playoff with Korda and Ryann O'Toole. Gabsa had three birdies on the front nine, then reeled off four straight to shoot 5-under 31 on the back to finish off her bogey-free round.

Celine Boutier and Hyo Joo Kim shot 65.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Azahara Munoz hits from the 11th tee during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Paula Reto hits from the 11th tee during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Caroline Masson hits from the fourth tee during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Anna Nordqvist throws her ball to her caddie on the third green during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Anna Nordqvist hits from the second tee during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Paula Creamer reacts to missing her shot on the first green during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Lydia Ko smiles after her shot on the eighth green during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Nelly Korda hits from the second tee during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Nelly Korda hits from the seventh tee during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Nelly Korda walks up the eighth fairway during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Nelly Korda hits from the ninth tee during the first round of LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Massive floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state killed at least 60 people and another 101 were reported missing, according to Sunday's toll from local authorities.

At least 155 people were injured, while damage from the rains forced more than 80,000 people from their homes. Approximately 15,000 took refuge in schools, gymnasiums and other temporary shelters.

The floods left a wake of devastation, including landslides, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges across the state. Operators reported electricity and communications cuts. More than 800,000 people are without a water supply, according to the civil defense agency, which cited figures from water company Corsan.

On Saturday evening, residents in the town of Canoas stood up to their shoulders in muddy water and formed a human chain to pull boats carrying people to safety, according to video footage shared by local UOL news network.

The Guaiba river reached a record level of 5.33 metres (17.5 feet) on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. local time, surpassing levels seen during a historic 1941 deluge, when the river reached 4.76 metres.

“I repeat and insist: the devastation to which we are being subjected is unprecedented,” State Gov. Eduardo Leite said on Sunday morning. He had previously said that the state will need a “kind of ‘Marshall Plan’ to be rebuilt.”

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived in Rio Grande do Sul on Sunday, accompanied by Defense Minister José Múcio, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Environment Minister Marina Silva, among others.

During Sunday mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis said he was praying for the state’s population. “May the Lord welcome the dead and comfort their families and those who had to abandon their homes,” he said.

The downpour started Monday and was expected to last through to Sunday. In some areas, such as valleys, mountain slopes and cities, more than 300 millimeters (11.8 inches) of rain fell in less than a week, according to Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology, known by the Portuguese acronym INMET, on Thursday.

The heavy rains were the fourth such environmental disaster in a year, following floods in July, September and November 2023 that killed 75 people in total.

Weather across South America is affected by the climate phenomenon El Niño, a periodic, naturally occurring event that warms surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific region. In Brazil, El Niño has historically caused droughts in the north and intense rainfall in the south.

This year, the impacts of El Niño have been particularly dramatic, with a historic drought in the Amazon. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.

Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)

Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)

A soldier helps a woman evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)

People evacuate on a surfboard from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)

Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)