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HSBC WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

March 3, 2018

Nelly Korda

Republic of Singapore

Q. Round of 65, were you surprised at how well you played?
NELLY KORDA: I was hitting the correct shots. I was aggressive when I needed to be, so I'm just happy with the way it ended and really looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. How nervous are you about tomorrow? I'm sure you're looking forward to it. You've had the lead before on the LPGA, and you've got much more experience having played last week and coming into 2018?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I'll definitely be a little nervous, but I'm just going to take it shot-by-shot, really. There's so many great girls bunched up on the leaderboard close to my score. It's going to be a tough one tomorrow, but I'm just going to be taking it shot by shot.

Q. And you have a great relationship with your caddie, Jason. Does he look at the leaderboards and tell you what you need it do, or are you pretty much your own player?
NELLY KORDA: I'm pretty much my own player, but he keeps me in the zone and he calms me down when I'm up, and when I'm down, he pumps me up. We work well together. We're pretty new, started in the Bahamas. We've had some good finishes together, so hopefully it keeps going.

Q. It's a great partnership and on a very tough golf course. How much are you enjoying this heat? You're used to hot weather but this is stifling.
NELLY KORDA: Oh, yeah. Florida definitely has nothing on this. It's pretty hot. I'll be taking another ice bath today.

Q. Will you be having a chat with Jessica? After winning last week and Jess playing so well, will you be asking her for her advice, or your dad or your brother?
NELLY KORDA: I think I just usually talk to my dad and mom about this. I mean, Jess is still -- she's right there on the leaderboard. I see her. But she'll definitely give me a piece of advice.

Q. The birdies are out there. You are going to need to make them tomorrow with so many good players breathing down your neck.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, exactly, hopefully a lot of birdies come my way.

Q. A nice 7-under 65 today, going to sleep on a 54-hole lead for the second time in your LPGA career. You looked to be on fire on the golf course today. What got into you?
NELLY KORDA: I had a slow start. I was just in the center of the greens, had a long birdie putt and missed a short one on 5 and my caddie, Jason, just told me, just to stay calm, to stay patient. I got on a roll.

Q. Are you a leaderboard watcher? Did you know where you were going out there?
NELLY KORDA: I am a leaderboard watcher just because I'm always trying to see how my sister is doing. It doesn't really bother me too much. Sometimes it motivates me. I'll definitely keep an eye on the leaderboard.

Q. You have a chance to make history, you and Jess becoming only the second pair of sisters to win on the LPGA Tour. Is how would that make you feel?
NELLY KORDA: It would definitely be really exciting, but I can't think about it too much. I'm just going to relax and take it shot by shot.

Q. You looked really calm and relaxed. It was a hot day out there today. Could you just sum it up for us?
NELLY KORDA: I was hitting it really well off the tee. I was aggressive when I needed to be. I rolled a couple putts in that resulted in 7-under. I'm very happy with how it ended. But I still have 18 more holes to go. There's still a bunch of great girls, great golfers up on the leaderboard near me. So I have to bring my A Game again tomorrow.

Q. You held the third round lead before in an LPGA tournament. What had your strategy be tomorrow?
NELLY KORDA: Just to play golf. Just take it shot by shot, really. Not to look ahead and just stay in the moment.

Q. This is a great tournament for you to be leading in here in Asia. How much inspiration has Jessica been to you?
NELLY KORDA: I mean, she has definitely inspired me a lot. She's had a very tough off-season with her surgery and just to come out her first week and win and completely crush everyone, it's very inspiring. It definitely motivated me a bit more.

Hopefully, we've had a pretty good start to the year, so hopefully it keeps going throughout the entire season.

Q. Now there's still quite a long way till the end of the day, how will you spend it now?
NELLY KORDA: I'm exhausted.

Q. Can you talk about your position leading, second time you've led before?
NELLY KORDA: Yes, I'm just going to take it really shot by shot and not get ahead of myself, stay in the moment and try it stay relaxed. My caddie keeps me quite relaxed and keeps me in the moment. So you know, motivates me when I'm down and just is great. We're a great team together.

Q. When did you last lead going into the last day?
NELLY KORDA: It was in Toledo. It was last year, last season.

Q. What did that teach you?
NELLY KORDA: Take it shot by shot, stay in the moment and not to think ahead. There's a bunch of great girls on top of the leaderboard. They are going to be making a lot of birdies, so I'm going to have to stay patient and see where the round takes me.

Q. What about your game are you most happy with today?
NELLY KORDA: All around. I was very happy with my entire game, really, yeah.

Q. Can you talk me through those five birdies in the middle of your round?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I started off a bit slow. I was hitting just the middle of the green and had long putts for birdie. Then I missed a short one on No. 5. Missed like a 4-footer for birdie, and then I just told my -- my caddie told me there's still a bunch of birdies out there that I can make. Just to stay calm and stay in the moment.

And I birdied the next three. I parred 9 and then birdied the next two, and you know, I unfortunately dropped a shot on 12. But I got rolling again after that.

Q. This is your first time playing here. Do you talk to your sister? She's obviously been here before, like before you came here?
NELLY KORDA: No, not really. I saw the golf course for the first time on Tuesday and she got to the golf course on Wednesday. So we haven't really talked about it. We want each other to do well, but she has a different type of game and I have a different type of game.

So we can't like -- there's a couple of pin -- she gives me a couple pointers here and there maybe on a couple tournaments, but usually, not really. You've got to figure out the golf course on your own. That's why you have a caddie and that's why you're a team because I'm not going to do the same things that she's doing.

Q. When you came out here, did it feel like the course suited your eye?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I like this golf course a lot. It's a nice golf course. I'm definitely happy to be atop the leaderboard going into the last day.

Q. When you got here, did you in any way think you could score that low over three rounds?
NELLY KORDA: The conditions on Tuesday, or the practice rounds, are completely different from days like when you're playing and the type of intensity, the adrenaline. You never know, you just go into each day trying to shoot the best score you possibly can.

Q. You played with Danielle today. Did you think you could apply pressure at the start?
NELLY KORDA: No, I was just playing my game, really. I'm just trying to hit as many fairways and as many greens and if a putt rolled in, it was great.

Q. Is there anything about your game today that you pleased you?
NELLY KORDA: The entire round. The entire part of my game, yeah.

Q. Everything was clicking today?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. How much of your play this week is influenced by your sister's win last week?
NELLY KORDA: I'm definitely inspired by her win and it definitely motivated me a bunch. It was the first tournament of the year and for her to come and crush it the way she did, it was definitely inspiring and hopefully we'll see where tomorrow takes me. She's still there. So she still has a chance. Everyone does.

Q. And your brother at the Aussie Open, too. It would be a nice hat trick for the three of you.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it was exciting.

Q. Do people say, "your turn now"?
NELLY KORDA: Oh, yeah, all the time. All the time. I try not to think about it too much, but I'm just going to go back to the hotel and relax and wake up tomorrow and start the day as it's a new day obviously.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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