Nelly Korda’s family is full of athletes. And not just a casual sporting squad, but high level, world-beating Olympians.
The women, at least.
“We always make fun of the boys because we say that the girls in the Korda family are the only ones that are the Olympians, and the boys are not,” Korda said with a laugh. “We have that above them in the family.”
One thing that Nelly Korda has over pretty much everyone in the game of golf – family or not – is a gold medal. She’ll look to defend her title from Tokyo this week in Paris, although a lot (“A lot,” she confirms) has changed since her win in 2021. Everything’s different – a new course in a new country – so the emotions for this particular title defense versus a normal LPGA Tour event is quite the change.
“Doesn’t really feel like I’m defending, really,” Korda said. “I’m just going to go out, enjoy the experience, hopefully enjoy the fans. The men had amazing fans out here. I was wowed by how many people are out here watching and just happy that I’m back in this position. I’m here representing my country. I’m a two-time Olympian and I’m living out my dream.”
This season hasn’t quite been a tale of two parts, but it’s close. Korda’s run earlier in 2024 on the LPGA Tour was unlike anyone had ever seen. She won five straight tournaments, including the first major of the year – The Chevron Championship – before finishing tied for seventh at the Cognizant Founders Cup. No matter, because when she returned to action at the Mizuho Americas Open, she won again.
Korda has, however, missed three of her last four cuts (and got bit by a dog, forcing her to withdraw from a Ladies European Tour event she was scheduled to play in), including at two major championships.
She said now that hopefully her game is trending in the right direction. After the Amundi Evian Championship, where she finished tied for 26th, she took some time off – she didn’t touch her clubs for a week and then grinded for two weeks with her coach, Jamie Mulligan, who is on-site in Paris.
“The game of golf of is a funny game,” Korda said. “Sometimes you feel on top of the world and in a matter of a couple seconds, you just feel like you’re on the bottom of the sea. So it definitely makes you appreciate the good golf that you play, but yeah, I mean, you have to have a mix of everything in there and everything can’t always go well.”
Despite some recent struggles, results-wise, no one can take away that brilliant run from the beginning of the year.
Nelly Korda Aiming for Another Golden Moment at Paris Olympics
