MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC

June 17, 2022

Nelly Korda

Blythefield Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Nelly Korda. 7-under 65 today; bogey-free. Five birdies, one eagle on the card. Tell me about the shot on 14.

NELLY KORDA: The eagle?

Q. Yeah.

NELLY KORDA: I hit it out into the rough with my drive, laid up, and I had -- I don't know how far I had in. I probably had I think 82 yards and it spun right back into the hole.

Not many people saw it. It was that part of the golf course that no one really saw, but it was fun.

Q. Obviously only second start back since you had some trouble early in the year. How good does it feel to get a round under your belt, to go this low, this deep?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, for sure. You kind of have to out here. The scores are always really low. You have to put together a bunch of birdies to just try to be in contention.

I don't think the wind is supposed to be as strong as it was in the afternoon yesterday, so I'm expecting the scores to be a little lower in the afternoon. Hopefully I can put together a solid 36 holes over the weekend and see how it goes.

Q. How much did the wind change this golf course as you played to this morning?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, a good bit. There were definitely some numbers I've never had into some holes on this golf course. I mean, it's both ways. You have some really short yardages holes and some really long ones, so kind of evens it out.

But it's definitely tougher playing in the wind.

Q. How much pressure is on you to go low when you know so many birdies are being made?

NELLY KORDA: I think you just stick to your game plan. I think you try not to think about the birdies. If you try and think about the birdies you push too hard, and sometimes it goes the opposite.

So you try to stick to the game plan, see where you can take a chance to go for it, and capitalize on that.

Q. Are you surprised by how well you're playing?

NELLY KORDA: I mean, I've worked hard, so it's an -- I guess I'm not surprised. I mean, I worked hard my entire life so I'm all about consistency. If I can put together a good round, then I'm happy with that.

Q. Did you expect it to be good coming off the injury and maybe just the lack of competition?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, I had a warmup at the U.S. Women's Open. That was a tough test of golf, especially on Sunday. You didn't really see many scores under par there. Actually, I don't think -- I think there were maybe two or three girls.

So I've had a couple rounds under my belt already, so I'm happy with that going into this week.

Q. How creative with your shotmaking does the wind make you get out here?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, for sure. I think I hit a -- I was trying to hit an 8-iron like 130 yards today, just a little low bullet. It's fun. I really enjoy that type of golf. The creativity comes out of you, and so, yeah, I enjoy it.

Q. And you talked about how you expect to go low here. The scores are always low. But given the wind and what you played in in the afternoon yesterday, is it a little surprising how low people are going?

NELLY KORDA: Golf is luck of the draw, right? Unfortunately sometimes you're on the wrong side and sometimes you're on the good side of it. You just have to fare with it and see how it goes.

Q. You mentioned ball striking is so important. Obviously helped you out on 14 there. Just finding ways to get creative, and, I mean, it helps you go low. For the next two days, is it kind of draining and something you can sustain over the next two days, or do you thrive off this challenge, that creativity?

NELLY KORDA: I mean, I would hope that I could sustain it going into the weekend and throughout the weekend. Golf is a game of creativity. You have a bunch golfers that have thrived on it that haven't hit the ball so well, but their short games are unbelievable. Those are the types of people that have so much creativity.

I think that's what makes golf so much fun, is that you can just picture any type of shot. One person can hit a bump into a slope and one person can hit a flop. There is so much you can do in the game golf, and that's makes it really exciting.

Those are the weeks I obviously enjoy, yes. Playing in the wind is definitely a little bit more exhausting. You have to be way more into it when it comes to numbers, where you're starting the ball.

It's not like you go hit a ball and you'll see it going straight. You have to play a bit more with it, but I think that's what makes it a lot of fun. When you have that attitude I think it doesn't drain you as much.

Q. You were in the past champions group and Brooke went low today. How much do you guys feed off each other?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it's nice. It's nice to see competitors in the group playing well. Keeps the good energy flowing in the group. It was nice to see her put a good round together.

Hopefully we keep doing that going into Sunday.