Nelly Korda 1 shot back through 36 holes at Chevron Championship as she chases 5th straight victory

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Nelly Korda, seeking to tie an LPGA Tour record with her fifth straight win, shot a 3-under 69 on Friday in the second round of the Chevron Championship, leaving her one shot behind leaders Atthaya Thitikul and Jin Hee Im in the year’s first major.

Korda began the day two shots off the lead after opening with a 68 at Carlton Woods. She got out to a tough start Friday, making a double bogey on the first hole before making birdies on two of the next three. She finished with six birdies, one bogey and the double to post 7-under 137.

“Started out with a double. That was fun,” Korda joked. “I hit two shots out of the left fairway bunker. Just kind of didn’t catch it super clean and it didn’t actually hit the bunker lining, just the grass, and bumped back in. Then I bounced back with a birdie and made a birdie on the following par 5. Kind of all over the place on the front nine, but pretty clean scorecard on the back with two birdies.”

The top-ranked Korda is seeking her second major after winning the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021. She could join Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) as the only players to win five consecutive LPGA events.

She was asked if it felt inevitable that she’d tie the record after her recent run of success and strong play in the first two rounds.

“I’m just at the halfway point right now. The amount of golf that I’ve played, I still have that to go,” she said. “There is still a lot of golf left and anything can happen. Just going to stick to my process and vibe with ... what my coach says.”

With increased attention on this tournament because of Korda’s string of titles, what would the 25-year-old like people who might be seeing her first time this weekend to know about her?

“That I just never give up,” she said. “No matter what, no matter how much adversity is thrown your way, they know that I never give up and I give it my all.”

Thitikul, a 21-year-old from Thailand who has won twice on the LPGA Tour, missed the beginning of this season with a thumb injury. She made six birdies and one bogey Friday to shoot 67, matching Im at 136.

Im is in her first season on the LPGA Tour after playing the Korean LPGA since 2018. She had a bogey-free 67.

Lydia Ko, who won this tournament in 2016 at Mission Hills in the California desert, shot 71 and was part of a big group four shots back. Ko missed the cut last year in the Chevron's first season in Texas.

First-round leader Lauren Coughlin shot 73 to fall three shots off the pace.

Amateur Lottie Woad, a sophomore at Florida State, shot 69 and was 4 under through 36 holes in her first LPGA event. The 20-year-old from England earned a spot by winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earlier this month.

“It’s definitely been a whirlwind,” Woad said. “Kind of didn’t really have a chance to let Augusta sink in really. Was just coming here straight away. I obviously took a lot of confidence from Augusta, so just trying to use that for this week.”

Woad is missing the ACC Championship with the Seminoles to compete in this tournament.

So Yeon Ryu shot 74 to miss the cut and end her competitive career. The two-time major champion announced before the event that she planned to retire after 13 LPGA seasons and six titles.

A group of friends, relatives and several other South Korean players greeted Ryu with flowers and Champagne as she came off the green.

“I’m just very numb,” she said. “I cannot believe this is real. Now I’m going to cry. (But I) tell myself I’m not going to cry because this is the day I need to be happy with.”

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

Nelly Korda and he caddie walk across the 15th fairway bridge during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Nelly Korda hits from the 11th tee during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Instructor Jamie Mulligan works with Nelly Korda on the driving range prior to the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Nelly Korda hits from the 11th tee during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

So Yeon Ryu, of South Korea, walks up the 18th green during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

So Yeon Ryu, of South Korea, embraces fellow players after playing her final round during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. Ryu has announced she will retire after the tournament. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Lottie Woad, of England, chips onto the 18th green during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Jin Hee Im, of South Korea, lines up her shot on the fourth green during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Atthaya Thitikul, of Thailand, hits from the fourth tee during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Nelly Korda hits from the 14th tee during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Nelly Korda hits from the 17th tee during the second round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Friday, April 19, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Germany's top diplomat on Friday said Russia will face consequences after accusing its military intelligence service of masterminding an “absolutely intolerable” cyberattack, as NATO and European Union member countries said they will not let Russia’s “malicious" behavior in cyberspace go unanswered.

Relations between Russia and Germany were already tense, with Germany providing military support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian state hackers were behind a cyberattack last year that targeted the Social Democrats, the leading party in the governing coalition. The German Interior Ministry added that German companies, including in the defense and aerospace sectors, as well as targets related to Russia’s war in Ukraine were a focus of the attacks.

“Russian state hackers attacked Germany in cyberspace,” Baerbock said at a news conference in the Australian city of Adelaide. “We can attribute this attack to the group called APT28, which is steered by the military intelligence service of Russia."

“This is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable and will have consequences,” she said.

The Council of the EU and the Czech Foreign Ministry said that Czechia's institutions have also been a target of a cyber campaign by the same group.

The ministry said APT28, which is associated with the Russian military intelligence service GRU, exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook from 2023.

“Cyberattacks targeting political entities, state institutions and critical infrastructure are not only a threat to national security, but also disrupt the democratic processes on which our free society is based,” the ministry said. No details about the targets of these attacks were given.

In a statement by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, the bloc’s nations said they “strongly condemn the malicious cyber campaign conducted by the Russia-controlled Advanced Persistent Threat Actor 28 (APT28) against Germany and Czechia.”

The EU noted that it had previously imposed sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for APT28 attacks targeting the German parliament in 2015. It said it will not tolerate the continuation of such attacks, particularly with EU elections upcoming in June.

NATO said that APT28 targeted “other national governmental entities, critical infrastructure operators and other entities across the Alliance," including in Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.

“We are determined to employ the necessary capabilities in order to deter, defend against and counter the full spectrum of cyberthreats to support each other, including by considering coordinated responses,” said the North Atlantic Council, the principal political decision-making body within NATO.

Baerbock is visiting Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, with the trip focusing on security policy as China pushes for influence in the Pacific region.

“The defense cooperation between Germany and Australia is close and we would like to deepen it further and together expand it, because we are in a situation where we face similar threats,” said Baerbock, who is the first German foreign minister to visit Australia in 13 years.

Discussions between Baerbock and Australia counterpart Penny Wong centered on the conflict in Gaza. “I think we all understand that the only path out of this cycle of violence that we see in the Middle East at such great cost is one that ultimately ensures a two-state solution,” Wong said.

Germany's Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock, left, speaks with Lewis O'Brien, the oldest living Kaurna man, in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024, during a ceremony to mark the return of four significant cultural heritage items to the Kaurna people from the collection of the Grassi Museum in Leipzig. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, center, poses with Lewis O'Brien, the oldest living Kaurna man, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, left, in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024, during a ceremony to mark the return of four significant cultural heritage items to the Kaurna people from the collection of the Grassi Museum in Leipzig. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrive for a news conference in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong attend a news conference in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024, during a ceremony to mark the return of four significant cultural heritage items to the indigenous Kaurna people from the collection of the Grassi Museum in Leipzig. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)