MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC

June 19, 2021

Nelly Korda

Blythefield Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you describe the round?

NELLY KORDA: I don't know. Easy, I guess. I guess everything was falling and I was just on a roll. You don't take these days for granted. Hopefully one day again.

Q. This week coming off your first missed cut at the U.S. Women's Open, what did you work on coming into this week?

NELLY KORDA: A bit of everything. Mental, putting, especially left low again. (Indiscernible) I Went back, and then I just feel like my putting is better left-hand low.

But I was listening to Bubba talk yesterday and I'm like, you know, it makes so much sense what they say. We take golf so seriously when you're out here. You love it so much and you may say, Oh, like it's just golf, but, I mean, definitely their words struck deep after missing the U.S. Open last week.

I just have to realize it's golf. There is going to be a lot more tournaments ahead of me and I'm going to miss a lot more cuts, I bet you that. But as long as I'm learning from each situation I think that's the most important.

Q. Nelly, 10-under 62. Quite the performance out there, rain delay and all. Take us through how you got such a low score on the leaderboard.

NELLY KORDA: I started out with three birdies. I was sticking it close. Just I guess was feeling it out there today.

I had a lot of close putts. I was really dialed in with my irons and wedges. That helps when you have shorter putts out.

Q. How did the course change at all if not make it more receptive after the rain delay?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, definitely got a lot softer. You can be a lot more aggressive on the greens. As I said yesterday the greens get bouncy, they're a little slower but bouncy. For them to be soft I can just aim at the hole and shoot at it.

Q. Okay. Nelly, Saturdays are moving days. How nice is it when you're the one making the move?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it's nice. Any day you get to make a move up the leaderboard is a good day. But definitely a big confidence booster after missing the cut at the U.S. Open.

Q. Do you have walk to a golf course like from your car in here thinking, I'm going to shoot 62 today?

NELLY KORDA: No. But I like this golf course a lot. Finished inside the Top 10 the last time we were here, so I don't know, I feel comfortable out here.

Q. I think you got the Red Wing fans as a big part of your gallery now. How fun is it to have those guys?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it's cool to have a little cheer squad. Usually it's me for them. Andreas is on a different team, but was. They're all good buddies, and it's nice to see them out.

Q. What's it like tonight for you as you get ready to -- you've got a three-shot lead. Going bed as the leader, is it easy to sleep? Is this just another night? Do you feel something?

NELLY KORDA: Every time is different I guess in a sense. I've gone to sleep and I haven't been nervous, and there has been times where I couldn't even sleep I woke up so many times during the night. We'll see tomorrow if I'm rested or not.

Q. We talk about this course being so receptive and being really gettable. I mean, you look at tournament scoring. Obviously you mentioned wedges were dialed in, you were able to get a lot of short putts. Looked like you didn't really have to grind over too many holes, just able to go out there and make it look easy.

NELLY KORDA: I made one bogey today and that's it. Just kind of leaked a 9-iron out on that par-3, No. 11.

Other than that I had short clubs in which was nice. I was hitting fairways, hitting it close. When you have a couple putts inside 10 feet you're bound to roll one or two in.

Q. And it looked like you were just having fun out there, having a good time, talking back and forth with your caddie, with your playing partners. How much fun is it, even despite -- if you're playing well? When your playing well, how much fun is it out there for you?

NELLY KORDA: I mean, yeah, missing the cut was hard last -- or my last event at the Open. Kind of have to take a step back and look at it in a sense how Bubba and Wolff were saying. It's golf. At the end of the day, just enjoy it. Have fun. You're lucky to be out here.

So kind of new perspective in a way. It takes someone to say it out loud for you to realize it deep down inside, but when you play well throughout the season, like I've had a pretty good season, you just put so much pressure on yourself.

Takes kind of the enjoyment out of it.

Q. How hard is it to take that step back and kind of, Wow, I'm doing that?

NELLY KORDA: Takes a missed cut. (Laughter.) And some bad golf.

Q. Fair enough.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. And obviously confidence had to be flowing ridiculously high. Does this flow into tomorrow's round, that confidence, or do you just kind of got to start it back up again?

NELLY KORDA: We'll see. Started back up. Every day a new day. There is still 18 more holes. There is a lot of girls bunched up, a lot of birdie opportunities. So take it shot by shot and see how it goes.

Q. Didn't seem like you really needed to warmup after the rain delay, but one bogey after the rain delay.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. Did you feel you had to get back into a groove or you were feeling the momentum from the front nine?

NELLY KORDA: I was telling my caddie, It's been like a 45 minute delay and my first shot is a 3-wood over some trees. I was like, This could be a little tight.

Whenever you're in a rain delay you try to warmup as much as possible. I did leak a shot out. I'm going to do that tomorrow. I'm going to do that for the rest of my life. So just not emphasizing on it too much and just taking it as it is and moving on and knowing that there are more birdie opportunities out there is key.

Q. During the delay I know it wasn't all that long, but what goes into what you guys do? Are you studying pin placements? Relaxing, hanging out?

NELLY KORDA: No, we were hanging out. I was with a couple of the girls and we were just hanging out watching the soccer game, I think.

Q. You had a week off after a missed cut at the U.S. Women's Open. Did that allow you to reset? Is there a little more fierce determination in Nelly Korda's eyes coming out to the Blythefield Country Club?

NELLY KORDA: More relaxing and enjoying the moment for sure. As I said, you put so much pressure on yourself when you're playing well that you just forget to be in the moment.

I think I'm going to struggle with that throughout my whole career. Not saying -- you know, today it went well. It doesn't have to go well tomorrow. I mean, your emotions are kind of like a rollercoaster. So just trying to manage them in a sense is kind of like a new part to what I'm looking at in the game.

Q. The beginning of the week you and your sister hosted that little girl on the course. Does that kind of put you in the right mindset?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, Sophia is great. Seeing her bubbliness and happiness when she's out here. I mea, she was out on -- in the first start of the afternoon round yesterday, and she always has a smile on her face.

So you look at that in a sense and say, You know what? There is a lot worse things going on and be happy out here.