KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

October 6, 2020

Nelly Korda

Aronimink Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are here with Rolex Rankings No. 3 Nelly Korda. Nelly is competing in her third KPMG Women's PGA Championship with a best finish of a tie for third last year, making her 10th start of the 2020 season, no missed cuts and four straight top-10 finishes. Nelly, you've had a great run as play resumed following our shutdown. How are you feeling with the state of your game coming off all the success you've had the last few weeks?

NELLY KORDA: I'm feeling good. This golf course is amazing. I played 18 yesterday, and I played nine today. It's a really nice track, so it's going to be an interesting week.

THE MODERATOR: How does Aronimink set up to your game? We've been hearing that it's going to suit some of the longer hitters. I would think that fits right into your alley.

NELLY KORDA: Definitely will. Even I have like 7-irons and 6-irons into the greens, but it's playing soft right now. I heard they've gotten a little bit of rain over the past few weeks, or a lot of rain, so it's definitely soft out there, so I'm pretty sure -- I don't think there's going to be any rain throughout the week, so it's going to firm up, and I think we'll have some shorter clubs in maybe.

THE MODERATOR: Any particular holes that are standing out to you as ones that you like, that you think are fun, or is it just a fun track that we don't get to see that often?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I think overall the whole golf course is really nice. Honestly, I love 1. It's really cool. The tee shot on 1 is amazing. It's a cool view, and it's a cool way to start your day.

Q. It's a really cool place to come, and I think that speaks a lot to what KPMG and the PGA of America have done with this championship of bringing it to some of the best courses in the country. How important is that to you and your fellow players, to see the respect come out in that way with some of these courses that we're getting to go to?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, they have a great lineup for us the next couple of years, and we've already played some amazing golf courses. It's awesome to see. I mean, like it's awesome to just be out here, the history behind this whole course, and it's a super nice track. It's definitely going to be very challenging around the greens, but I'm very excited to play this week.

THE MODERATOR: I do have to ask real quickly about the other family success going on right now, your brother who made it to the second week at Roland Garros. What was that experience like with you and Jess watching him? I know had the loss but to see his success from afar.

NELLY KORDA: It's super cool. I wish we were there. Jess and I woke up every single day really early for all of his matches. It was really cool to see. I mean, he was grinding a lot over the past couple months, and it's really cool to see just how much it's paying off.

Q. Where does the chase for No. 1 fit in with things you're trying to achieve, and what would it mean for you to get to that position?

NELLY KORDA: I'm not thinking about it too much. Obviously it is a goal of mine in my golfing career, but honestly, I feel like if you set smaller goals you'll eventually get to the bigger goals. I'm just focusing on the smaller goals.

Q. How much are you inspired and sort of spurred on by your brother's play?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, definitely. I mean, he's the celebrity now of our family. Actually I think our cat may be even more. But yeah, honestly I'm just super happy for him. Everyone thinks it's really competitive between all three of us, but we're each other's biggest fans and we always try to encourage each other the most, so honestly I'm just super happy for him.

Q. What did he tell you going into this week?

NELLY KORDA: Nothing. Honestly, nothing. He's kind of like hanging out with my grandparents. He's back in Prague. My parents are going to see him today. They're flying over. I actually talked to him for maybe like five minutes yesterday and he said he took like 20 naps he was so tired.

Q. People say you're one of the most athletic if not the most athletically talented family in the country. What do you make of that?

NELLY KORDA: I don't even know. Honestly, we've always been super athletic. We've always played a bunch of sports. He's by far the most athletic one in the family. Like it's crazy. He's never gone -- I think he's never gotten a golf lesson before, and his swing is so pure. Anything he does, I'm just like, how; how are you so good at everything you do.

Q. In your kind of limited experience, why are majors so hard to win?

NELLY KORDA: I think it's -- obviously it's a good test of golf, and I feel like a lot of people put a lot of pressure on themselves during a major week, instead of just going out and just kind of trusting your game and playing some good golf.

Q. Could you describe the challenge of trying to learn these Ross greens in just a few days, and are you continuing to go with the left hand low?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, left hand low is definitely the go. I've played a bunch of Donald Ross style golf courses. I mean, I have two in my area, Sara Bay and Bradenton Country Club, so they're a little smaller greens. These are definitely bigger, a lot more undulation in them, so yeah, I mean, I played 18 yesterday. I wanted to play 18. I'm just going to play -- I played nine today and I'm going to play nine tomorrow, so definitely a lot of work around the greens. It's a lot about like placement, as well. You've got to place yourself on the greens.

Q. How big will scrambling be this week, just given the complexes and the fact sometimes you're shooting up at holes you're not going to see so much?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, for sure. I mean, every major you want to hit the middle of the fairway and you want to hit the green. If you have an opportunity, you try to capitalize on that. But pars go a long way.

Q. How much is length a factor this week do you think?

NELLY KORDA: Definitely. I mean, it's soft out here, so you're not getting a lot of roll. I'm guessing that it's going to get firmer throughout the week. Even the greens, I'm coming in with like a hybrid on a couple par-3s, and they release maybe like five yards. They're really soft. Length definitely plays a big role this week.

Q. Your parents usually go to majors, I think had planned to come here. Will you talk to your mom and dad nightly, or since they're not here, how often will you kind of -- if you do, will you go over the golf?

NELLY KORDA: Not really. I mean, it's like any other tournament. We talk -- I talk to them a couple times a day every single day, so that's normal. It's always mom, dad, mom, dad on my call list.

Q. We're not used to playing majors in these fall-like conditions. What's the policemen change of having to think about playing a major with the leaves changing around you and just the different conditions we've had to experience this year?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, so I actually played in the afternoon yesterday and it was a little warmer, and I played early in the morning today, and when it's colder it doesn't fly as far. It's probably a club to club and a half difference. Again, length is going to play a really big role this week just because when you have an early tee time, it doesn't fly as far.

Q. You've got the hashtag behind you of #inspiregreatness. Who are you inspired by, and how do you hope the next generation of golfers are inspired by you and your fellow LPGA Tour players?

NELLY KORDA: I always say whenever I step on a golf course, I hope to inspire the next generation, and I was inspired by my sister. She's five years older than me, and her first U.S. Open I was just like, oh, my gosh, this is so cool. So honestly, seeing her, all the LPGA girls back in the day in 2011, I was just inspired by all of them, and when I come out here I just try and inspire the next generation.