World number one Nelly Korda has shrugged off her recent dip in form as she chases the third major title of her career at this week’s Women’s PGA Championship in Washington state.
Korda arrived in the Pacific Northwest after back-to-back missed cuts at the US Women’s Open and last week’s LPGA Meijer Classic, a sharp contrast to her blistering early season run of six tournament wins in seven starts.
But the 25-year-old is worlds away from hitting the panic button as she prepares to tackle the tight fairways of Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, where accuracy is paramount.
Korda instead prefers to focus on the positive aspects of her recent struggles, maintaining that the occasional trough is inevitable.
“You can dwell on the negatives, but that will never lead you anywhere, so you try to look at the positives,” Korda said.
“That’s golf. I’m going to go through these situations so many times where I feel like I’m playing really well; and I’ll go through a little lull where golf is the hardest thing in my life right now.
“I feel like that’s what grows myself as a person and what makes me appreciate the sport so much and makes me appreciate the wins and the highs and good shots.”
While accuracy off the tee at Sahalee is critical, Korda says she has no plans to rein in her signature, big-hitting style as she tackles the demanding 6,731-yard, par-72 layout.
“Still going to be aggressive,” she said. “There’s a couple holes where I can’t hit driver, but majority of the round I will be hitting driver just because you don’t want a longer club into these greens.
“If you have the length you may as well — you have to hit it. This is the type of golf course where you just got to sack up and hit your driver.”
Korda is also not prone to “analysis-paralysis” as she plots her way around this week’s championship course. Instead she intends to play it as she sees it.
“You can write as many things into your yardage book and you can pick a game plan that you want to execute, but typically it doesn’t happen that way and you just got to adapt,” she said.
“Everything is about adapting, and that’s why I like to go out and just play the golf course and see the game that I have that day.”
Korda, who won her first major at the 2021 Women’s PGA Championship, admits she also has one eye on the defence of her Olympic gold medal at the Paris games next month.
“I have never been to Paris, and the one thing I’m really looking forward to is the croissants probably on every corner,” Korda said.
