ANA INSPIRATION

September 8, 2020

Nelly Korda

Mission Hills Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome back inside the virtual media center here at the ANA Inspiration. I am pleased to be here with the Rolex Rankings No. 3 player in the world, Nelly Korda. How are you doing today.

NELLY KORDA: Good. A little hot, but good.

THE MODERATOR: I would guess with some of those temperatures out there. You had a strong finish in Arkansas with that T3 finish. What were you working on to get to that point, and what do you think was working so well for you during that week?

NELLY KORDA: I think just having a plan really. I've been kind of lost at the beginning of the season, and then finally at British I laid out a plan, and it really -- it started to work, and it's kind of kept me calmer out there, as well.

THE MODERATOR: What was the plan if you don't mind me asking?

NELLY KORDA: It's more of what to do with practice rounds, how to play my practice rounds, how to be more structured.

THE MODERATOR: We also talked about AIG Women's Open. What did that major do for your confidence level heading into Arkansas?

NELLY KORDA: I mean, the weather we played in was pretty brutal. Just to be able to stay consistent with the weather that week and just play my golf was a big confidence boost.

THE MODERATOR: Arkansas itself, I mean, that was just quite a week where everyone was going low, everyone was making birdies. What do you think that says about where your play is at this moment? What does it say about your play and how you've been working to get to that?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, you had to shoot a really low score every day out there and just to convert all those birdies and make some solid putts and just be aggressive that week. It was a really big confidence boost.

I haven't shot that low of a score this year, so just to know in a way that it's still possible felt really good. But I put in a lot of work, and it was nice to see that it paid off those two weeks.

THE MODERATOR: Last week we had that break; were you wanting to put the clubs down for any amount of time or did you keep that competitive mindset heading into this week?

NELLY KORDA: Definitely keep that competitive mindset because it is major week, so you have to prepare really well. I only took Monday off, which was travel day, and then I grinded a lot.

THE MODERATOR: What did you work on?

NELLY KORDA: Everything, really. There was nothing I didn't work on. Just you're always trying to tighten up loose ends, so you're always working on your entire game.

THE MODERATOR: This is definitely a different feel to the tournament this year, especially since it's in September, not in April. When you heard this tournament was moving to September, what are some of the things that went through your head and when did you start planning for what was to come this week?

NELLY KORDA: So I've actually played Q-school I think five years ago out here, so I was like, God, it's going to be like a sauna out here, which it is. I remember when I played Q-school even when we were on golf carts, you still had that hot wind in your face and you were like, oh, my God, you can't escape it.

But I'm super grateful that we are able to play this week, but the heat is going to play a big role.

THE MODERATOR: When you saw some of those temperature numbers flying in this week, what were you feeling like?

NELLY KORDA: Actually to be honest, I played yesterday and the weather in Florida because of the humidity feels a lot worse than here, just because there's no humidity and you're just sweating so much in Florida. It was really brutal in Florida last week. Like I was out there for possibly like three minutes and I was already soaking wet.

I'm kind of used to the heat and I like it, so it's just about staying really hydrated this week for sure.

THE MODERATOR: Do you think that's kind of an advantage for you? You went back to the Florida humidity and you got to kind of revel in those conditions?

NELLY KORDA: Kind of, maybe. I mean, it's just such like a different type of heat. I definitely had a really big headache yesterday just because you have to make sure that you're drinking out here.

THE MODERATOR: What are some of the strategies that you and your caddie are kind of working on or doing to take on the heat this week? Is he going to be using a cart or are you going to be walking it?

NELLY KORDA: Not sure yet. Possibly, but we have not decided. We used a golf cart yesterday. I walked just to see how it would be. It wasn't awful but we did play really early in the morning, so the heat is not going to be as bad. But I'm playing in the afternoon today, so we'll see.

THE MODERATOR: I kind of asked you off camera what's it like to walk up 18, and I know we haven't had grandstands for a while, but not to see that big grandstand on 18 green or the one heading up to the walking bridge, what is that like as you kind of played your practice round?

NELLY KORDA: Well, I haven't played the back nine yet, so I'll let you know after today. But just seeing it from the putting green is definitely really odd.

It makes even 1 -- 1 looks completely different without the grandstand around it. It's just been -- the entire year has just been really odd without the grandstand, but it is what it is.

THE MODERATOR: And this course also had a few changes we talked about earlier with a few trees that are missing, a few hundred trees.

NELLY KORDA: Bunkers, they've added a couple bunkers.

THE MODERATOR: What was it like playing your practice round getting used to that and adapting to the first nine of this course?

NELLY KORDA: Definitely really weird visually. I know they kind of flattened out the bunkers, and it's just different visually. I don't think to me it'll be like, oh, my God, this is like so odd. But you would say, oh, maybe I'm going to take a different line off the tee and such like that.

Q. How do you balance the idea of trying to win your first major against not putting too much pressure on yourself and amping yourself up for the fact that it is a major championship?

NELLY KORDA: I would say probably having a game plan going into the week and just trusting it throughout the whole week, not thinking about that it's a major championship. Because if you have a really good game plan and you trust pretty much everything in your game, then it makes it a lot easier.

Q. Is there a part of your game that you think you don't trust right now, or are you very confident with all aspects?

NELLY KORDA: Coming off two pretty good finishes, I think that I'm definitely trending towards trusting everything in my game. That's the mindset going into every week.

Q. In order to stay hydrated, are you having your caddie remind you to drink more? Do you put anything in your water, anything specifically that you'll do to make sure that's not a problem?

NELLY KORDA: So I actually have a really hard time drinking. Like I do not drink on the golf course. That's something that I've always done, and I told him yesterday on the first hole, I was like, you need to remind me to drink a lot.

But yeah, of course I'm going to go get some electrolytes this week, because when you're just drinking water it makes you feel your stomach upset, too. You don't feel good. Obviously having a little bit of flavor in your water and electrolytes will be good this week.

Q. Did you want to play this afternoon on purpose just to kind of get used to playing in the heat, just to kind of acclimate?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, every week, it doesn't matter what week I play, I try to play in the morning and afternoon because obviously it plays completely different at every golf course that you play.

Q. What's the best part of your game right now?

NELLY KORDA: Well, my coach has been trying to tell me with my putting, he says -- he always asks me, he's like, who's the best putter in the world, and I always have to say, "I am." So right now, putting. I'm just going to say it: putting.

THE MODERATOR: We've been asking everyone this: If you had the chance to jump into Poppies Pond at the end of the week this week, what kind of jump would you do?

NELLY KORDA: Probably just the basic cannonball.

THE MODERATOR: Really? Why that?

NELLY KORDA: I don't know, I used to do it all the time when I was younger. My brother and I used to have like competitions who would make the biggest splash.

THE MODERATOR: Do you think your caddie would do the same thing?

NELLY KORDA: Not sure. I don't know.

THE MODERATOR: Well, it might be a nice cooling experience, especially after all this heat.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. The grass is totally different this time of year; do you prefer it this way? I know being a Florida girl you're not -- it's not unfamiliar to you.

NELLY KORDA: Um, so yes, it's Bermuda pretty much everywhere, I think. I'm used to Bermuda, so it's not going to be that big of a change for me. But it is very grainy I would say around the greens and the rough. The rough is very thick, but the whole golf course is actually in really good condition.

I remember when I was here during Q-school, and it's kind of like rough around this time of year, especially in the desert, but they've done a really good job this year. The greens are really pure, and the rough is really thick around the greens, and it's hard with -- definitely I would say there's going to be a lot of fliers this week.

Q. If you miss a fairway, is it pretty penalizing for your second shot?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I would say so, just because these fairways are pretty narrow, as well. Even some holes visually just looked a lot more narrow than they did last year.

But obviously I think the rough is thicker in some areas, so you just pray that you're not in the thick area.

THE MODERATOR: With that, I'm going to say thank you, Nelly, for joining us, and thank you all for joining us, as well.