U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

May 31, 2025

Nelly Korda

Erin Hills GC

Flash Interview

THE MODERATOR: Nelly Korda, a bit of a tale of two nines. Looked like something maybe clicked around 13.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I just needed, honestly, a putt to go in. I chipped one up close. It wasn't really the longest of putts, but at least some momentum, some positivity to turn it around, and then two-putted on the next hole with it being reachable which was actually not the easiest of putts.

But yeah, I was happy to kind of rally back on the back nine after having such a poor start.

Q. When you can battle like that in these conditions, what do you take out of it?

NELLY KORDA: It's just golf. I mean, I've done it enough where it's just -- it's all about being patient. There's just so many ups and downs, and you just have to kind of stick with it. As crazy and as many times as I say it, it's literally one shot at a time. Anything can happen. It just takes one shot.

Q. How much pride do you take in your ability to bounce back?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I think my mental strength and having people in my corner has something that I do pride myself in. Some weeks are definitely harder than others. But I hate bogeying. I hate not playing well. Sometimes that can get me in the gutter, and sometimes that gets me out of it quickly.

But I always kind of look at what's next and where I can improve.

Q. What's the key to maybe quashing that aggravation with a bogey? What do you do to move on?

NELLY KORDA: It's just about having the right mindset. Like this week, it's like, okay, you're going to make kind of stupid mistakes, as well, because it's just a golf course where you may not hit it in the right spot and it'll go down 40 feet and you'll make -- instead of being almost tap-in range, now you have a 40-foot chip where it's running off the back, as well. You just know that your mentality is that you're going to make mistakes, but you can also bounce back here.

Q. About staying even keeled, what's your process there for a day like tomorrow where you're chasing? I know you can't control anything once it leaves your club, let alone another player, but are you going to be very aware of that? How do you stay in the moment but also know maybe at some point you might have to press a little to make a run?

NELLY KORDA: Well, sometimes actually pressing has the reverse effect. Sometimes when you press too hard, you start to make more mistakes. So just staying in my own lane, focusing on myself, taking it a shot at a time, being very simple and present.

Q. We see your visible reaction to the last putt going in, but what were your thoughts about that and how that may have set you up to end on a note like that?

NELLY KORDA: It was funny. Actually the greens are tricky out here. Sometimes they're a little hard to read, especially today on some of the ridges where it can break left, it can break right. That was kind of one of those putts where you're like, okay, straight in is a little too simple.

I may have pushed it just a tiny bit, but right as it was like kind of midway there, I'm like, oh, my gosh, it missed it right, and then sometimes you just have to get lucky with a nice ice cream swirl around the cup.