Nelly Korda reflects on brutal conditions, mental discipline and trust in her process after a weather-shortened victory, as she opens the season with confidence, and a new driver in the bag in one of the finest rounds of her career at Lake Nona.
Q. Nelly…Take us through the week.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, Thursday, Friday were great. The weather was maybe getting a little bit windier on Friday but conditions were super nice.
We knew ten days before this or a week before this that Saturday and Sunday were going to be really tough, especially with the wind projection for Saturday afternoon and then the cold temps that it was bringing for Sunday.
So it was just kind of mentally prepare for it. Yesterday was probably one of my best rounds I’ve ever played in my career. Just really proud of everything that Jay and I went through to get to that point of the process, the mental clarity of my shots, and commitment to each one of them.
So overall, just really happy.
You know, Orlando threw lot at us in a few days.
Q. Take us through the process of when you got to the course and getting ready to hopefully go out there and competing today and finding out the news.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I was fully mentally preparing foregoing out and playing 18, battling for the win.
You know, it was definitely getting a little bit antsy just sitting in dining kind of waiting to see what was going to happen throughout the day.
I knew once the girls were going to go out and finish the third round I just wanted to get out and just start my routine no matter what happened.
So went to the gym, warmed up, and then went to the putting green, did my routine there, and then walked to the range. Was still very routine-oriented. I tried to get into the mindset, because a couple years ago I was three back with two to play, so I was trying to give myself the mindset like anything can happen; just go out and still stick to your own process.
Q. Another tournament for you and Jess to share, both winning the event. Just how special is it when those moments overlap?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it’s crazy. Super grateful for that, that we get to share the sport, all these memories together. Wish she was out here like I was for hers.
Overall, just grateful for this game bringing us closer together and sharing so many great things that we get to look back on.
Q. Kind of piggybacking on that, when your sister won here Mardy Fish also won the celebrity side. How cool is that that not only do you share the tournament win, but also Mardy Fish seems to be a good luck charm for the Kordas.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, Mardy is great. I’ve known him for so many years obviously with the tennis background. He played really well, too. He’s such a solid great golfer.
So, yeah, I actually didn’t know that, that he won that year and he won the same year I did. But overall, I love spending time with Mardy. We haven’t (sic) gotten to play a couple times together, but every single time we have shared the golf course together it’s been a blast.
Q. When was the last time you won a tournament without hitting a shot on the final day?
NELLY KORDA: Probably never. (Laughter.) I don’t think so. As I said, every win of mine is very interesting always. But, yeah, to answer that question, probably never.
Q. An unusual way of going about it, but just to get the year off with a win, especially after coming close but not being able to last year.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, golf is a game of centimeters. You know, there were so many times last year where I wished I had an inch here or a centimeter there where it would’ve changed the story completely.
That’s how it goes sometimes. As long as you are mentally 100% in it and preparing to your best ability, that’s all you can control at the end of the day; same with weather.
So I was so close. I played really well last year. Obviously didn’t get the win, but I played some amazing golf the first three days this week and I’m really proud of myself, my team, and all the work that we have put in when no one was watching and everyone was talking about it.
So just very happy to get the first win of the year, and hopefully that leads into a great year, too. No matter what, like I’m always going put 100% into it. With results, when it comes to sports, you just never know. The only thing you can control is the level and the input that you put into your craft and your sport. I will always be doing that.
No matter the results, I know that mentally I’m doing that every single day I step on the golf course, and that’s what I’m proud of.
Q. Congratulations, first of all.
NELLY KORDA: Thank you.
Q. So this is a game of centimeters. Is there anything over the first three rounds that you can look at that you feel you did better than on the whole of last year?
NELLY KORDA: I did a lot of good last year. Just kind of wasn’t going my way. I guess I was just so focused on being really present, which I told myself to do that last year, too. Maybe the outside noise did make its way in a little bit more than I wanted to.
I learned a lot from that. I actually — there are times where it’s like, okay I’m very grateful to go through the lows because they make me appreciate the highs so much and make me appreciate what I need to really pay attention to and what is actually relevant to me.
As long as my team knows who I am and that I’m putting 110% into it and they’re on the same wave length of putting 110% in it, that’s all that matters to me.
Q. With the celebrities out there playing were you surprised that you guys didn’t tee off earlier? Looking at the forecast tomorrow were you surprised that Monday wasn’t an option?
NELLY KORDA: Listen, I think the LPGA is always going to do what’s best for the players. When it comes to the internal decisions, I like to focus on myself and prepare for what’s to come with the information that I have at hand.
I know from a bunch of girls that were out there playing and practicing before, probably 110% came back in and were like what are we doing right now?
So at the end of the day, I mean, what we have on the line versus what the celebrities have on the line is a little bit different. I think the LPGA made the decision to look after their players, and at the end of the day we can’t do anything about that. All we can do is prepare with the information we are told.
Q. Kind of unique conditions out here that you don’t normally see in a professional tournament with the wind and cold.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah.
Q. You said you played one of your best rounds ever yesterday. What does that do for where mental fortitude knowing you can overcome the tough conditions and still perform?
NELLY KORDA: In 2024 I played in some brutal conditions. I’ve played in AIG British Women’s Open where the conditions are brutal. You really have to lock in. The more you play in those conditions the more you learn to really have the word patience just constantly going through your mind.
You’re going to hit some bad shots that will end up really poorly. It’s all about — in those circumstances it’s all about finding your ball, hitting it again, finding it, hitting it again, and kind of then diverting to the mindset of, okay, let’s see what we can do here. What do we have at hand.
At the end of the day those situations make me very present and I have to really dial in to, one, my target and, two, just commitment to the shot. Like everything is just about being 100% committed. I’ve had shots where it’s perfectly sunny out, 80 degrees and I’m in between two clubs, and I’m not committed to one and I kind of fly it out to the right because I’m not committed to it.
That had to go out the window in those conditions. Even if it’s the wrong decision, you have to be 100% committed to it.
Q. Sharing that stage with Mardy Fish, you went back and forth with the trophy a little bit. Who gets to take it home?
NELLY KORDA: I don’t know. He said he already has one of them and I don’t, so I guess I would take it.
Q. When a win like this happens, does it feel like a weight has been lifted for the rest of the season, and how do you look at the rest of the season?
NELLY KORDA: No, not necessarily. Like I want to perform week in and week out. I knew that everything I was doing last year was good enough to win; I just didn’t win.
It’s all about just your commitment and your practice. Like if you give your craft 100% and you know that you’re prepared week in and week out, you’re giving yourself the best opportunity to perform.
At the end of the day like that’s what we can control and that’s what I’m going to try and control.
Q. Nelly, you pointed so much to your team as a credit for your success. What role did they play in helping you get the win this week?
NELLY KORDA: Just keeping me very grounded and patient. Jay and I are out on the golf course, and then Kim off the golf course. I think we all just make sure that the outside noise is outside noise and what we’re doing internally, just to stay committed to that and just to stay very patience because we are doing the right thing and checking the boxes correctly and when the time was right, it was going to happen.
Q. Did you feel a sense of pressure being lifted off just getting last year behind you, no longer having the title defenses, and having a fresh year here?
NELLY KORDA: In a sense maybe, yeah. You know, I’m always so excited to come out and tee it up against the best players in the world. The day I don’t feel that is going to be a very bad day for me.
Still, even last year, you know, title defense, obviously you have a little bit of added pressure to yourself, but there is something so fun and exhilarating about those moments. I’ve said it a couple times: There is nothing better than going down the back nine when you’re in contention and feeling the rush of emotions.
But in a sense, yeah, it does feel nice for it to be a fresh year. You can say that it’s a fresh month, too. Last year I could have been like, okay, it’s October 1st; whatever I did this year is behind me.
But it’s all just honestly just mindset.
Q. You never want to take too much for granted, but what was the mental shift when you heard it was not going to go 72, it was only going to go 54?
NELLY KORDA: I was fully preparing that I was going to go out and play 18 until I saw that e-mail and until I saw that it was going back to 54.
But then I still had the mindset — because in Bradenton, I was three back with two to play and I knew she still had a chance. You know, there has been some crazy things happen in the game of golf or in sports in general.
So still preparing for maybe playing a playoff, but I was still 100% trying to dial in mentally.
Q. Wanted to ask one more about outside noise. Where do you mostly hear outside noise and do you try to filter things out on social media or whatnot?
NELLY KORDA: I’ve definitely taken a step back from social media. There were weeks, especially last year, where I went like a month for without evening logging into my social media. Yeah, even if you don’t want to see it, it kind of still pops up. So I definitely unfollowed a lot of golf accounts. I have done that.
And I’ve just tried to — if I’m on social I try not to look at stuff. I think it’s just a distraction at the end of the day.
Q. Do you watch golf on TV?
NELLY KORDA: Rarely. No. And if I do — when I did it was always when Tiger played. So not really. I’ll watch the highlights now.
Q. Congratulations. I know this tournament has been one where you’ve won at this property before, not this event. You’ve had five Top 5s. How good does it feel to get this one knocked off the list finally?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it feels amazing. I’ve played some really solid golf out here. I’ve come close; just haven’t notched the victory.
But to play the golf that I played yesterday was, as I said, I think that’s one of my best rounds that I’ve ever played in my entire life.
To come out on top just feels amazing. To do that in front of my family and friends, fiance for the first time, was really special.
Q. Having him in the crowd, and I know you have such a happy life off the golf course right now, do you think that settles you? Do you really look at things like that?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, for sure. I love having him at events. I would say I’m a little bit of a hermit crab when I’m playing tournaments. I go to the golf course and I go to the hotel and maybe do I go out to dinner three times a week.
It’s nice. When my sister left and she got pregnant I think that was a really big mental adjustment for me not having my dinner buddy and having the person that I was so close to, so now I get to appreciate it when Casey comes out and weeks like this to have that — even if it’s in silence having a comfort there.
Q. What do you focus on when you play?
NELLY KORDA: Well, depends on the conditions. What do I focus on when I play? Usually Jason gives me three numbers. It’s the front of the green — well, actually a couple numbers, sorry.
The front of the green, the pin, and just over the green, and then we have a landing number. So when it comes to that, I focus in on my landing number, and then depending on the wind, if it’s left to right, right to left, I focus in on an exact target and keep it really simple.
NELLY’S NEW DRIVER
Nelly Korda played the same driver for over two years. In fact, she’s played that same driver head shape for eight years. So, why would she switch from something that helped her win 15 LPGA Tour titles and two major championships?
Simply put, the gains are real with Qi4D driver. In one start in 2026 with Qi4D, Nelly has one win (career win No. 16) after her dominant third round at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
“Immediately when I put this thing in the bag I loved it. It’s doing exactly what I want… having it under pressure on the golf course is what’s most important.” Nelly Korda
