PELICAN WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

November 11, 2022

Nelly Korda

Pelican Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Nelly Korda, our defending champion after her first round at the Pelican Women's Championship. Take us through a little bit of your round today. What were some of the challenges out on the golf course and the things that you were doing really well?

NELLY KORDA: I think it was just the wetness of the ground kind of. I mean, the golf course is in really good condition with what it went through yesterday, but the ground is pretty wet.

Just like the different strikes, sometimes when it is a little wet you may catch it a little heavier than you want to or it actually springs on you.

So I think the challenges were just kind of judging the distances.

But overall the golf course was good. Had a bit of the a slow start to my front nine, but got it going towards the end of the back.

Q. Speaking of yesterday's conditions, interested to know what you did during the hurricane to keep yourself mentally prepared after an unexpected delay?

NELLY KORDA: Once I found out on Wednesday that play was canceled for Thursday I drove down to my parents' and spent the night and the whole day there.

So it was nice. I got to chill with them and it was great.

Q. You're a Florida girl; you're used to the hurricanes and the wetness.

NELLY KORDA: Yes.

Q. This course you talked about yesterday, or Wednesday, just really familiar with this course. Did anything surprise you about the course today other than the wetness?

NELLY KORDA: No, not really. I think maybe -- I mean, with the -- I don't know how many inches of rain they got, but the greens were actually quite fast for what I was expecting it to be.

Overall I think they did a really good job with the golf course with the weather that they endured yesterday.

Q. Did you feel like that groove at the end of your back nine was coming? Could you sense you were hitting the ball well, getting the good putts? What kind of led to that rhythm over the last four holes, would you say?

NELLY KORDA: I was hitting it really good all day. I missed just two greens all day. Only thing I was kind of struggling with was maybe the distance control. I had more 20-footers than I would normally have with my pitching wedge, like let's say the clubs that I am typically dialed with.

So that's the only thing I kind of struggled with. Overall very happy with the way I struck it and putted it.

Q. With the tournament only 54 holes now, there is the four-stroke gap between you and number one. How do you approach the condensed time to make up the ground, and what's the balance between like understanding the ground that needs to be made up and not stressing about it too much?

NELLY KORDA: Well, last year on 17 I made a triple, so that's three shots right there. Honestly, all you can focus on is yourself out here, what you have right in front of you, and make the most of it.

That's what I'm going to do. Go out and play my game as everyone is and see where that can take me.

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