KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

June 26, 2021

Nelly Korda

Atlanta Athletic Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Nelly Korda, another fantastic round today, a 68. You opened up with two birdies which gave you eight in a row, trailing back to yesterday. Had you blacked out again? You seemed to be in the groove.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, hit it pretty close on 1, and then 2, I just reached it in two, two-putted for birdie. Lizette was rolling in some nice ones today, and I told myself, I've got to hit it close to even keep up with her.

Q. What is the mindset when you're playing with someone like that who opens up so strong and you know you've got to keep up?

NELLY KORDA: Just stay calm, honestly. There's so much golf left. There's still 18 more holes, and there's a lot of water in play here, and there's a lot of really difficult tee shots I would say on this golf course that if you just miss it by a little, you're in the water.

A lot of golf, and I just told myself to stay patient out there.

Q. What are some of those tee shots that you think are tough and how hard is it not to go for it?

NELLY KORDA: No. 6 today the pin was all the way on the left and I just hit a 50 degree towards the middle of the green and left myself probably a 30-, 40-footer and then a couple of the par-3s like 17 and also 15, which I had a heart attack on today, but it's just about playing smart and taking your opportunities when you can.

Q. When two players like this sort of separate themselves, how do you remain in stroke play mode and not start paying close attention to the person next to you, and what do you and Jay talk about to get you in that mindset?

NELLY KORDA: Well, you come up with a game plan for the week and you tell yourself -- I asked him today what holes they've moved the tee boxes up on and what holes I can probably reach them in two. You just stick to your game plan and you kind of don't sway from it because it's very easy to do that when you're draining putts on top of each other.

You tell yourself that there's so much golf left that you can't win on a Saturday but you can definitely lose it.

Q. You talked about this is something where you could fall way behind but you're not necessarily going to win today. To you did this feel like part one of a two-part story a little bit?

NELLY KORDA: A bit. It was a lot of fun, honestly. It was a cool experience today, especially in the fans. But you still had to keep yourself in it and make sure that Lizette doesn't get ahead of you too much.

Q. Both you and Lizette opened with some great birdies and then on the back nine I was wondering if it's a little bit more difficult or maybe more water in play. I think you had one birdie and Lizette didn't have a birdie.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I would say that the pins, you just kind of didn't want to go for. Also water on in the day, it's really hot out today, and I would say we both got a little tired. So making sure that you just hit smart shots and don't risk anything. I mean, I risked it on No. 15, that par-5, and I swear to God I gave myself a heart attack.

I did tell Jay when he first started working for me that he'll have a heart attack a round.

Q. You're known as a relatively quick player on Tour. I'm just wondering whenever you play with someone who might not match your cadence quite as well, does it make it difficult to establish a rhythm?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, it's definitely made it difficult before. There's days that are easier than others. When you're playing well, it's not that bad, but when you're not necessarily playing so great, you get a little ticked off for sure. But make making sure you and your caddie have a good game plan and just talking about something other than golf helps a lot.

Q. Was the pace today okay for your liking?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I thought the pace was pretty good today.

Q. You used the word "fun" earlier. What's it like bringing the best out of each other, you and your playing partner? What's that like, and how do you both take your games to such incredible heights out there?

NELLY KORDA: I don't know, I guess on No. 1 Lizette drained a really long putt and I had a decent look at birdie, and I think when you get into that mindset of kind of egging each other on, it's fun, but it's also nerve-racking. Your adrenaline definitely gets up there. I think towards the back nine after 15 I couldn't get my adrenaline to kind of level out and I was just flying my irons so much further then.

Q. What's the plan now for the next few hours this Saturday evening ahead, and how do you keep your focus with such a huge career prize potentially on the line here?

NELLY KORDA: Just relax, spend some time with family. My boyfriend is here here, mom is out here, so just try to take your mind off of golf.

Q. Do you watch TV? Do you watch movies? Do you just chill out and talk?

NELLY KORDA: Yesterday I watched the Olympic trials in gymnastics, so that was fun. I like hockey, Stanley Cup is on, so I watch other sports and try to get my mind off it, yeah.

Q. When we talked last week about your kind of renewed outlook and trying to feel more positive and put less pressure on yourself, by kind of opening up about that and getting that out, do you feel like that unburdened you in any way?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, as I said, there's days that are so much easier than others. Like today I kind of struggled with it where I was like, my adrenaline was definitely up there and I was a little bit more serious and not having as much fun. Then there's days like yesterday where I was just having so much fun.

It's like, it's kind of like an ongoing battle, I think, and you're going to have that throughout your career. But as long as you and your caddie are on the same page and you keep it light out there, I think it helps a lot.

Q. Can you describe what the feeling was like before when you were kind of holding all of that in and you were feeling that pressure? What is that like for you?

NELLY KORDA: I've always kept everything in. Like I've never really shown too much emotion on the golf course. I like to keep it steady and not have it roller coaster. Inside I'm on a pretty big roller coaster. But I think it feels good to kind of let it out. You never realize it until someone says it in a sense, and I realized it when Bubba and Matt Wolff said it at the U.S. Open, and it makes you think that you're like -- you know, like why isn't everyone taking this approach, like why are you bringing your work home after. If you've had a bad day, you just feel like you just don't laugh throughout the entire day. You leave your work here, you go home, have a good day and come back with a better attitude.

Q. You said you had a perfect number on 18; what was that number?

NELLY KORDA: A perfect number on 18, yes, I had like 224 to the front. I was thinking about going with a 7-wood, but if I just pushed it right, it kind of -- the carry is a little longer, so didn't really want to risk that.

Q. Golf seems like the one sport where we look at each round as its own little story. Like no one is talking about who's leading after the first period of a hockey game or the first quarter of a football game. Do you try to look at it that way, that it's just one fourth of the way, each one is one fourth of the whole?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, you still have 18 more holes, a lot of golf left out here, so anything can happen. Someone from behind can come and shoot a really low score. You just never know with golf, and that's the beauty of it.