AIG WOMEN'S OPEN

July 31, 2025

Nelly Korda

Mixed Zone

Q. Got off to a really good start today. Evaluate the round.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, definitely made some really good par saves on the back overall. The wind definitely picks up when you get closer to the water. You're starting to hit your shots into the water.

Overall happy with my scorecard. I would say it was pretty clean.

Q. For you, obviously got that par stretch. How significant is it to maintain that consistency with pars?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, very important, especially in links golf, especially when it blows like this.

You know, sometimes you're like, well, scorecard doesn't have pictures so doesn't matter that you kind of go from left to right, which that did happen to me a couple times. You know, you kind of do hit it -- once you're in one of those bunkers you're having a 6- or 7-iron into the green and having to scramble.

So that's what this type of golf is about. Definitely there were holes that I made it maybe look a little easy, but then there were holes that I made it very hard for myself. That's just kind of how this week usually goes.

Q. How do you stay patient when you're making birdie putts late or trying to and the growth is just there and you're hitting them as hard as you can but they just don't get in the hole?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah it's just golf. You have to really be patient. It's definitely something I learned having more rounds under my belt during these types of conditions.

Q. Which holes on the back nine where you made a par save are you really happy with?

NELLY KORDA: Gosh, honestly, 16. That was tough. I tugged it really far left. Thought I was in the bunker and got a good break where I was actually on top, but I didn't have a very good lie and all I could do was kind of leave myself 50 yards short of the green. I made a solid probably 12-footer for par.

Q. For you, getting off to such a strong start here, last major of the season, last major push as we call it, how gratifying is it to get off to that strong start and how do you build on this foundation?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, hopefully getting a little bit more confidence under your belt, especially in the conditions and on this golf course. That's all you can hope for. Every day is so different.

I was expecting the tees to be where they were the first three days when we were practicing. Obviously we always tee off from the back, and a lot of them were so far up the tee boxes today. The majority of the holes were up.

It just depends how they also play -- the R&A, how they set it up and how they play it. Yeah, every day is a challenge and you kind of just have to be very patient out here.

Q. How do you adjust your strategy when you have to throw away what you did in practice and reset on tournament day?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I was hitting more irons off the tee today than drivers, and -- or woods. So, I mean, the golf course is also firming up a lot, so on 17 I was hitting hybrid in the practice rounds and I hit a 6-iron that I had to hold off because it was going to run through.

So you just kind of have to adjust. Sometimes you have to get lucky when you make the wrong decision. You kind of have to bail yourself out.