WOBURN, England – As far as 21st birthday celebrations go, Nelly Korda’s was anything but normal last Sunday. Hardly one at all really.
After carding a final-round 70 on July 28 to finish in a share of 25th at the Evian Championship, making a tidy $36,970 payday, Nelly and her sister, Jessica, raced to the airport. They’d already missed their original 7 p.m. flight and had their agent’s assistant re-book them for a later one during the round. While several players suffered delays getting out of Geneva, the Kordas made it through just fine to London City.
Only Nelly’s bag didn’t make it to the course on time Monday at the AIG Women’s British Open. It was on the luggage truck that got delayed after Lexi Thompson left her passport in her golf bag. Nelly wasn’t too upset about not having her clubs on Monday though, opting for more rest before playing 12 holes on Tuesday at Woburn Golf Club.
“Yesterday, I just took the day off and relaxed, because I mean, back-to-back majors, it’s quite hard,” said Nelly. “Mentally, you’re fatigued.”
As the second-highest ranked American behind Thompson, 10th-ranked Nelly now enters every major in the spotlight, routinely coming in for pre-tournament press conferences.
While Nelly says she’s happy with her year so far, her performances in the majors could’ve been stronger. She took a share of third at the KPMG Women’s PGA but was otherwise a non-factor.
“I mean, obviously I started kind of playing golf because I wanted to win major championships,” she said. “I feel like the more experience I get and the more I’m in contention, the more under pressure I am in these situations, the more I learn; the more I grow as a player.”
Nelly called the conditions of Woburn’s Marquess Course among the best on tour this season, and while she’s a first-timer here, said the course is playing longer and softer than it has in the past based on what her sister has told her. That plays right into Nelly’s hands.
“I feel like, you know, everybody puts more pressure on themselves when they do enter a major week,” she said. “I guess I’m just trying to figure out how and what suits me best, how to prepare, and not to putt as much pressure on myself, just approach it as it is another week.”
