When she arrived at Evian Resort Golf Club for the Amundi Evian Championship, it was the start of a different LPGA Tour major championship experience for Nelly Korda. She is now a major champion and No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, having won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June to ascend to the top spot in the women’s professional ranks.
“It’s a cool feeling. I’m very proud of it,” said Korda, a six-time LPGA winner. “[My sister] Jess kind of said it last week [at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational] in an interview we did. She was like, ‘Everyone is coming after her now.’ I’m like, that’s right. But it’s a new week, and every week I go into a tournament with a new mindset. It doesn’t matter the ranking.”
Despite the changes and a fresh mentality, Korda conducts her business in the same fashion as before.
“At the end of the day, you have the same gameplan going into every week. A ranking is just a ranking. It is a huge accomplishment but when it comes to gameplans I stick to the same thing despite my ranking,” Korda said. “I could be 30th in the world or whatever, I’m still going to go into every week with the same gameplan.”
Having already secured her spot on Team USA for the 2021 Solheim Cup at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, Korda is about to embark on a gauntlet of a schedule. It begins with a major week for the Amundi Evian Championship, followed by the Tokyo Olympics before another major, the AIG Women’s Open, and the biennial team event over Labor Day weekend.
To pass the time and embrace the challenge at hand, Korda is finding peace in a recent purchase and to not get too far ahead of herself.
“I bought a gaming laptop, so I’m gaming a little to try and keep my mind off things,” said Korda. “You kind of need a way to escape a little sometimes, so I was like, may as well try it out. Other than that, rest and take it easy. A lot of people put a lot of pressure on these weeks and tire themselves out so much, especially mentally.
“Right now, playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare. But when I was a kid, I really like car games [like Full Auto 2 and Mario Kart], so I may download one of those. Complete nerd coming out of me right now.”
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