CME GROUP TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 24, 2024

Nelly Korda

Tiburon Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Nelly Korda after a spectacular season at large. How are you walking away from this year's CME Group Tour Championship?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, motivated definitely, and just excited and proud of how this year went. Never in a million years would I have thought last year, 365 days ago, I would be here with seven wins in one season and another major championship.

But proud of the way I played this year. Proud of the way I bounced back after the middle of the year to win in Tampa. And, yeah, just motivated and eager to get next year going again.

Q. You had quite the amount of fight today. Everyone knows you have to go low out here to be on top of the leaderboard.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. What was the mentality of that final round knowing anything could have been possible?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I would be lying if I said that I was -- I had my A-game or B-Game this week. Just was not trying it the way I would've liked to and that's what's crazy about golf.

Last week I played so well and then this week it's like where is the center of the face? I'm happy with the way I fought back; took my chances where I could. You know, where I couldn't, I just played safe.

But you definitely have to go really low out here to just be in contention. Started out really slow on Thursday and bounced back on Friday and then had another slow one on Saturday.

So it was just kind of like a very up and down week, and that's kind of tough to contend without here.

Q. As far as accomplishing so much, you have GTI to look forward to, but how to you let yourself soak it in or get right back to the grind in the off-season?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I love getting better. I love just the game of golf and trying to excel and trying to contend. For me when people ask me how I stay motivated, it's that trophy. At the end of the day it's the trophy. At the end the week that's what motivates me.

Seeing all the kids out here telling me I'm the one that got them into golf or we're the ones that got them into golf, that's what motivates me at the end of the day too.

So proud of my team and what we've gone through this year, and just excited to get next year doing going. I don't know what it's going to throw at me, but I have great people around me, so whatever it throws I know I'll be fine with them.

Q. I would imagine 2024 Nelly in January versus 20204 Nelly in November is a vastly different person.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. How proud are you of the growth you've seen on and off the golf course personally this year?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, just have to be confident in who you are. Have to be comfortable in your own skin. Always going to be outside noise.

I think that's what I've gone through the most. I've never been put into the position of having that much outside noise. Blocking it out and knowing to stay true to myself and just because someone recommends something doesn't mean I'm going to do that.

Doesn't mean that is who I am. So doing stuff you have stuff that I feel is most a authentic is the way I'm always going to do it.

I think that's where I grew the most, yeah.

Q. Speaking of next year, I know this is a game where year to year, even day-to-day, things go way different. How do you start 2025? It's unrealistic to think, oh, I can do 2024 over again. How do you do that? Do you just go each year at a time and just say I want to get better whatever the results are?

NELLY KORDA: I just take it day by day. I take it shot by shot, round by round. That's that I do. When it comes to practice, same thing. I take it day by day. I know what I need to do.

I have people to guide me as well when I don't. I'm going to -- even if it's not going my way I'm going to give it 110%. That's how I was raised.

I'm not going to think about what I need to accomplish next year. I'm just going to think about the first tee shot, first practice round, first practice session of next year. I'm just going to take it day by day.