SAMMAMISH, Wash. – Nelly Korda, the No. 1 Rolex women’s golf world ranking, hasn’t worried too much. Not because of her last two missed cuts or because of the noise surrounding her historic 2024 season or the expectations placed on her performance this week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Korda has simply been content to hang out in her bubble, and if her performance in 2024 is any indication, that’s a pretty good place for the best player in the world to be with the third major championship of the season there on the line.
In case you slept through the first half of the year, Korda won six times in 2024, racking up five consecutive titles from January to April, a feat that ties a record that hasn’t been accomplished on the LPGA Tour in nearly two decades. Her streak was broken after finishing tied for seventh at the Cognizant Founders Cup, but Korda returned to winning ways the following week at the Mizuho Americas Open, defeating Hannah Green by one stroke after a grueling showdown with the Australian in the back nine at Liberty National Golf Club.
Korda’s next two starts didn’t go as well, as she missed the cut at the US Women’s Open presented by Ally after shooting a 10 on the par-3 12th hole in the first round and then missed another cut at the Meijer LPGA Classic from last week. to Simply Give. But those things happen, even for 14-time LPGA Tour winners, and Korda took a couple of extra days to reset and refocus, preparing for another major test at Sahalee Country Club.
“I approach each tournament the same way and differently,” Korda explained in his pre-tournament press conference. “I’m just trying to make a game plan for this week, and every week is just an update. I try not to think too much. I don’t like practicing at events. I’ll see where I need to get it right and where I don’t. Then I will also note in my measurement book where I can be aggressive and where I can’t. After that, it’s just about playing the golf course.
“You can choose a game plan that you want to execute, but it usually doesn’t happen that way and you just have to adapt. It’s all about adapting, and that’s why I like to go out and just play on the golf course and see what game I have that day and try to adapt.”
The Florida native took home the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship title in 2021, when the event was contested at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia. That year she won by three shots over Lizette Salas with a total of 19 under par in four days, and Korda had not won a major since then until she captured the Chevron Championship last April.
And while her performance just a few weeks ago at Lancaster Country Club was disappointing for the 25-year-old, Korda appears to be back on the horse at Sahalee, already making headlines after the first round of the year’s third major championship.
Korda opened his week in Sammamish, Washington, with a 3-under 69, making one bogey, one double bogey and six birdies Thursday at the Evergreen State, a solid performance that has kicked off his bid for a seventh title in 2024 in Ft. right.
He started the day with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole to move to 1 under par, but gave back that shot with a bogey on the 12th. Korda then made three consecutive birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes to move up the lead. classification. classification and reach 3 under par overall.
The Rolex Ranking No. 1 cooled off slightly after that stretch, making five consecutive pars before making her fifth birdie of the day on the par-4 third hole, now sitting at 4 under with six holes left to play at Sahalee.
Korda made double bogey on the par-4 4th hole after a wayward tee shot and three-putt to fall back to 2 under, but he held on and closed his round with a 15-foot birdie putt on the hole. 4. 3 hole 9 to post a 3-under 69 and claim an early spot at the top of the leaderboard on the first day of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“Not only is it difficult and demanding off the tee, but it’s also very difficult with the second shots,” Korda said. “It’s hard to take advantage of opportunities when you can and be aggressive here because I feel like, in the morning, you can definitely be a little bit more aggressive with most of the bowling in the shadows and a little bit softer. But once the greens start to see a little more sunlight, they start to get a little harder and you have to play a little more defensively. Any time I can shoot under par in a major, I think it’s a positive. Hopefully that will give me a good boost for the next few days.”
His unflappability in the important (and sometimes challenging) moments has served Korda well so far this season and has been a critical mindset for his success as he has won in virtually every condition and scenario imaginable in 2024.
That kind of “roll with the punches” mentality also works very well when playing tough spots, a distinction that Sahalee Country Club has certainly earned with its tight, tight fairways and undulating greens, and it’s a thought process in the that Korda will work to continue leaning. in the next 54 holes of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“I’ve seen firsthand a lot of roller coasters in people’s careers. I just know that if you stay positive and in your own bubble, you can bounce back,” Korda said when asked what the key to his mentality is on the golf course. “You work hard, you know what you have in you and you just have to go out and execute it. You can’t dwell on the past. You have to focus 100 percent on what’s in front of you. That’s the attitude you have to have. Here you have to have short-term memory loss.”
And although Korda is absolutely focused on what she must do in the coming days to compete for another title, she is also allowing herself to have a little fun off the golf course in this great championship.
Korda’s sister, Jessica, is in Sammamish, Washington, this week to watch Nelly compete and has brought her son Greyson, something that has been a welcome distraction for the 14-time LPGA Tour winner from the stress of a major championship. Korda has often spoken about how important her family is to her, but having her nephew in Sahalee’s gallery has been a real treat for the 25-year-old since Jess hasn’t been able to travel as much to attend tournaments. by Nelly. since she had Greyson in February.
“I didn’t know if (Jess) would come to the first tee, but having (Greyson) out there, I spent most of the afternoon with him yesterday, too,” Korda said, smiling. “He just gives a different perspective. How he distances you from your life. His laughter makes me very happy.
“It’s very nice to have them here. I have not seen her for a long time. “She came early to support me on the first day and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
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