THE AMUNDI EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 9, 2025

Nelly Korda

Evian Resort Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, welcome to the 2025 Amundi Evian championship. I'm joined by No. 1 in the Rolex Women's World of Golf Rankings Nelly Korda.

Back at Evian Resort Golf Club this week. Number of top 10 finishes in the past. What is it about this golf course that you enjoy?

NELLY KORDA: One, for starters, the views are probably the prettiest we have on Tour. You know, hitting bad shots out here is not as bad as hitting it somewhere else.

But, yeah, it's more of a learning curve with Evian. I feel like the more you play this golf course, the more you get to know it. Obviously greens are a little tricky, but I feel like the more rounds you have under your belt here the better, because it can -- the more knowledge I feel like it will go your way.

Q. Your sister, Jess, is going to be walking this week as a commentator. How great is it to see her in this role?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I love having her at events and obviously her being on other side the ropes and commentating is a little new for her, but I think it's exciting, and for her stepping outside of her comfort zone and trying something different is fun.

Also having Greyson and Johnny, her husband here, having dinner buddies, that is something that I had to adjust to when she got pregnant, was I kind of lost my automatic dinner buddy and my best friend.

So having her out here is really nice.

Q. What's your comfort level with this golf course over the years? You seem to have kind of not mastered it, but got much more comfortable playing on this challenging venue.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I feel like with major championships, you just can't get comfortable. You kind of live in the uncomfortable state because you never know what's it's going to throw at you. Especially here Evian. You get some weird bounces even if you hit a good shot.

So kind of being okay with being uncomfortable I think is really important in major championships as well. Just having a lot of patience.

Yeah, as I said, the more rounds you have under your belt out here, the more knowledge you have about the golf course, where to miss it and what kind of bounces you're expecting, is really good.

Q. Obviously you have quite a bit of European heritage as well. Do you feel comfortable coming over here and playing in mainland Europe?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, having my sister out here this week, my agent, Kim, like I have the full squad. Just having the people that I'm with day in and day out, that's kind of where I feel the most comfortable.

But I love coming to Europe. I appreciate my heritage so much that when I go back home it's so much fun to go back, see family, experience the food, and experience new things.

That's what I love about this life on Tour, is that no matter what, you're always learning something new and it's always fun.

Q. You've gone on record in the past talking about slow play is an irritant to you. I know this is a quirky, hilly course and it tests everyone's patience. Can you just say what it is about slow play that annoys you? If you were a spectator how would you feel?

NELLY KORDA: It's just long. Like you're waiting. That's kind of what irritates you. You never get into a flow of like playing golf. You're just kind of waiting out there. It's like a waiting game.

And then no matter what, your body gets stiff. If you're sitting on a tee box for 15 to 20 minutes there is no flow and your body gets stiff. When you're in a flow you're just going through the motions.

For spectators it's no fun to stand around and watch us and see us sit near our tee box or golf ball and not do anything and baking in the sun or whatever weather we are playing in.

Q. You said before that if you're a spectator you wouldn't like to watch folks going around in five and a half, six hours.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, no, I definitely wouldn't, especially for the families that bring out their kids. It's not fun for the little kids. Their patience isn't as good as an adult's. I feel like the more flow and action the better it is for the crowd. When there is so much stalling and no movement in what we're doing, that's kind of no fun, right?

Q. How do you keep your focus if you're leading a tournament and you're stuck on a tee box or waiting to play the second shot?

NELLY KORDA: At the end of the day you know you're playing a round and you're playing for -- no matter what day it is, you're playing for a championship, so you have to stay focused.

I think the longer the rounds are the more mentally draining sometimes they get. At the end of the day, I mean, you just have to kind of suck it up, build a bridge to get over it, and adjust to the circumstances at hand.

Q. Follow up with that, Nelly, what would you recommend to do to speed up slow play? And are you in favor of some of the penalty things people have talked about?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, for sure. The LPGA has already implemented some new rules this year for slow play so I think I that's improved on our Tour a tremendous amount.

At the end of the day, I think that if you start giving penalties to girls taking too long, then they're not going to want to get penalized a shot or two. That can make a really big difference in whatever they want, prize money, cut, whatever.

So they're going to speed up at the end of the day. So the harsher the circumstances, the more they're going to change.

Q. As far as you've been here now for many years; I know Jess has, too. What is special or is there anything special about coming to Evian and why would you put it as unique or different?

NELLY KORDA: The views. They're amazing. Lake Geneva, the town, Evian in general is so pretty and very cute. So I would say just the whole experience of the entire week makes Evian unique.

Q. At this point of the season, fourth major, the level of energy in a way and preparing for another one after, how do you deal with it? How do you preserve your energy?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, summertime is usually our busiest time of year. You just have to rest, recover, because there is so many big events on the line.

So making sure that you're rested and recovered is probably the most important. Sometimes pushing through and practicing harder than you would normally around this time of year is not going to be an advantage because then you're just mentally draining yourself and not going to be as fresh as you want to be when you're competing.

So just having a balance. I am entering my tenth year as a professional golfer, which makes me feel very old, but you kind of learn this. Every year you adjust your schedule to where you are the freshest in these areas.

Q. Connected to that, looking at the new generation of players coming and coming strong, do you feel a lot of that pressure?

NELLY KORDA: I just kind of focus on myself, focus on my process, what I want to do for that week. Yeah, you walk on the range every year at the start of the year and you're like, I don't recognize half of these girls. And I feel like a grandma out here.

But, yeah, that's the best thing about sports in general, is that you can never stay comfortable where you are because there is a new generation, new talent coming, and they're going to be better and have more knowledge.

Q. Looking at social media, sounded like you had some luggage problems this week. Does that impact you at all?

NELLY KORDA: No, with travel you're bound to have mishaps. The reason I posted that on social media is throughout the years I've flown Delta since my rookie year. It's probably my most organic partnership. I love them. Also had Sarah there to help out; her dad helped a lot.

With us being six hours ahead and landing in the morning all my contacts were sleeping in the morning, so throughout the yards I've used social media as getting in contact with Delta's social media team.

So I just was kind of desperate at that time. I tried every measure. By the time I woke up and with Sarah helping, everyone in the U.S. woke up and with Sarah helping, I had my bags on the way to Geneva. Didn't impact my practice at all because I had my clubs by Monday.

Q. What did you do after KPMG to refuel and get ready for this event?

NELLY KORDA: What did I do after KPMG? I took a few days off. Yeah, probably four days off where I didn't touch a club and tried Pilates for the first time. Just kind of put the clubs away and made sure that I spent time with family, with friends, and reenergized and went back into it practicing.

Q. Slow play, what do you think about having to play five-hour pro-am the day before the tournament as well?

NELLY KORDA: You know, I don't mind. My first ever sponsor that I ever got as professional was through a pro-am and I met so the incredible people through pro-ams. Getting in contact and getting to know these amazing individuals that at the end of the day are coming out and supporting us is a lot of fun for me.