GAINESVILLE, Va. — It’s fun to watch people have fun, and Nelly Korda is having a blast this week at the Solheim Cup.
We’ve seen an effervescent side of Korda at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, one that’s been radiant and inviting, making you want more from the 26-year-old every time she steps out of the tunnel to cheer on her teammates or play in a match.
Korda is enjoying every second of this experience, and it’s obvious.
It’s not to say that Korda isn’t always like this. We aren’t often privy to her personality off the course because a camera isn’t trained on her 24/7 when the clubs are in the closet. We get glimpses of it on social media, when Korda shares a fit check or a funny-faced selfie on her Instagram story.
But she often possesses a measured stealth on the golf course, a calm, cool and collectedness that lends itself to the kind of success that Korda has had since turning professional.
You can’t win six LPGA Tour titles in seven starts or capture two major championships without it, and becoming Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 isn’t easily done for those who don’t take their craft incredibly seriously.
But Korda’s vivacious meter has been turned up to 10 all week in Gainesville, Va. The amount of fun she is having with her teammates, jamming on the bus on the way to the golf course and dancing on the first tee, has translated to some seriously good golf over the three sessions in which Korda has competed.
Korda was sent out in the first match of the 2024 Solheim Cup on Friday morning alongside Allisen Corpuz, with whom she won both of her foursomes matches last year in Spain. The pair won over veteran Charley Hull and Solheim Cup rookie Esther Henseleit to put a point on the board for the U.S. Team.
The Florida native then was paired with her good friend Megan Khang for the Friday afternoon four-ball, and Khang brought even more vibrance out of her partner, something that she’s quite good at for Korda. The duo earned another American point after Korda made a pair of eagles on the par-5 12th and 14th holes to ultimately route the Europeans.
But what was more indicative of Korda’s mental state was her celebration with Khang after draining her eagle putt on 14 to capture a point. The two did a handshake that they first came up with during their PING Junior Solheim Cup days, ones the old friends clearly have practiced a bit since they were 14-year-old teenagers.
