Nelly Korda is enjoying a whirlwind season with six wins, five of which were consecutive, including the first major of the season, at the Chevron Championship, but missed the cut in two tournaments, the U.S. Women’s Open and the KPMG Ladies PGA Championship.
On top of all this, I also got bitten by a dog.
A dog pounced on Korda and bit her thigh at a Seattle coffee shop at Sahali Golf Club, which hosts the world’s best women for this year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, forcing Korda to withdraw from the Women’s European Tour’s Aramco Team Series event in London.
However, she will now spend a few weeks with her family before getting ready for the Amundi Evian Championships in France.
“It was good that we were all together,” Korda said.
“The last time we spent time together was last November, so it’s really fulfilling to spend time with my family and recharge.”
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Korda arrived at the Evian Resort feeling refreshed. She has had plenty of success on the course but has yet to win. She finished tied for ninth at the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship and tied for eighth the year before. Korda also finished T-19 in 2021.
“I think the key word this week is patience. Sometimes you hit a really good shot and you get a really bad bounce and sometimes you hit a bad shot and you get a really good bounce. So it’s really important to play patiently this week,” Korda explained.
“It took me a few years to figure that out. The most important thing is not to get too ahead of yourself and not get too frustrated with bad bounces.”
Korda first played at Evian in 2017 but missed the cut, finished tied for 61st the following year and tied for 25th in 2019, but that was before she rose to the top of the sport where she is today.
And yet, as Korda experienced at Lancaster Country Club and Sa-Hali over the past two months, even the best players struggle with the game, and it’s rare to see the best players in the world make 10s on par-3s.
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“I think I’ve experienced every emotion you can imagine on the golf course this season and it’s only July. I love the game. I love the bad. I love the good,” Korda said.
“The bad things make you appreciate the good things, that’s sport. If you care too much about it, it can become a rollercoaster ride. I have a great team and a great family who keep me grounded and keep me in a positive mindset. They all pick me up when I’m down and keep us all grounded and humble, because sometimes we can get a little ahead of ourselves.”
“But the game itself keeps you humble. I’ve learned a lot about that recently. That’s why I love the game. Even if I’m not playing well, I still give it 100%, try harder and do the same thing. I’m really lucky to have a support system that I have. That’s why I’m still here.”
Korda may have the most beautiful golf swing on the planet, but it’s her sharp mind and incredibly positive outlook that makes her the best player in the world right now.
Combined with the fact that she arrived in Evian well-rested, one has to believe that she will once again be part of the story in France.
Either way, the event will be an appetizer to next month’s Olympics – Korda already has a gold medal proudly shining in her office – and maybe even another one on the way – but her focus, understandably, is firmly on Evian.
“I try to focus on what’s in front of me. I’ve never been to Paris, I’ve flown through it, so I’m looking forward to seeing it and being a bit of a tourist when I have the time,” Korda said.
“But when the week comes, I’m going to be super excited, watching the players on the final day, rooting for USA, watching the players I idolized growing up and watched on TV every day.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
