HILTON GRAND VACATIONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 31, 2026

Nelly Korda

Lake Nona Golf & Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Okay, here with Nelly Korda after the third round of a chilly Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. Just touch on your day. Your round stood out to everyone else today. What made it kind of different?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I started off great. Birdied the first two holes and then made an eagle from the fairway on No. 3, so I can't complain ever starting my round like that.

I knew the conditions were going to be tough, so getting off to a good start like that really helped.

Overall just stayed really focused and super committed on my lines. It's really easy to doubt yourself and your lines in winds and conditions like this.

I just made sure that I was 100% committed.

Q. Can you talk about that second shot on 3?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. The club selection.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it's a pretty difficult fairway to hit so I was just in the first cut on the right. I had a 50-degree wedge in my hand and I landed it maybe two feet past and it just kind of spun back into the hole.

Q. And then can you talk about you said hitting some of those low bullets today. Were you preparing that going into the week? Is that something you kind of have in the bag?

NELLY KORDA: You kind of learn how to hit those like at British. When you play over in the UK you kind of have to hit those low bullets for the ball to stay out of the wind.

So over the years definitely have learned to kind of improve on that shot. I did kind of try to hit a few on the range before I went out, but nothing that I really prepared in advance to; just kind of few shots the day of.

Q. Is there anything you must have during a cold day like this?

NELLY KORDA: Layers. My gloves. And I put hand warmers in them because I have really bad circulation in my hands. The first thing that goes is my hands are always cold no matter what, so keeping them warm I've noticed has been really big key because then I feel in them. It's just so important over putts and shots.

Q. This may not be the lowest score you ever shot, but considering everything that went along with it, how great was this round?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I'm sure it'll hit me in a little bit. Kind of when you're out there you're so focused on being present and focusing in on the shot that it hasn't really hit me like how well I played or the score that I that I shot because in a sense you're almost in survival mode, especially the last holes.

15, 16, 17, 18, they're brutal once you get a little bit exposed. Mentally I was already preparing for that. I knew it was going to be tough on those holes, especially the wind kind of coming from the north.

But, yeah, just very proud of myself. And more the mental side for being really committed to my lines. It is really easy, especially on a golf course like this with so many run-offs, to start doubting yourself.

So just really proud of myself and Jason for committing to the lines and really dialing into specific numbers.

Q. What were the conditions like to start the day and then perhaps when did they start to deteriorate?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I would say that you're pretty protected from -- there is a lot of trees out there until you kind of hit like that kind of stretch of 13, 14, and in.

You know, the first two holes were great. I mean, I was in just one to two layers and then it started getting colder as the wind started picking up.

So just kind of progressively throughout the round it was getting worse and worse.

Q. TV cameras showed 17 particularly being exposed.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, that was brutal.

Q. I think you probably hadn't seen this, but there has been some holdup on 17 on the greens because of putts that may be affected.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it was already starting to -- my ball was definitely oscillating when I was on the green. I had to step away from it a few times. The gusts, it's so exposed off the water there. You could surf on that water today.

So that's a very exposed green where you're going to probably run into some issues when the wind starts to gust a little bit more, but that was a brutal hole.

Q. I guess, A, of you're probably glad to be in, but what kind of conditions are the last half dozen groups behind you? How much worse do you think it can get for them?

NELLY KORDA: I don't know. I'm going to be inside. I don't know, I'm not going to be outside to see.

Q. You mentioned being in survival mode, but when you're 9-under through 15, is there any thought of course records or the sort of history you could make?

NELLY KORDA: I will tell you like I'm not even aware that I'm 9-under through 15. Like I'm just so focused -- there was like a couple holes -- and I'm so diligent from when I do my scorecard that I put the score in right after the hole. There was three or four holes where I wasn't even doing it, so I wasn't even really aware of my score throughout the day, yeah.

Q. Does it surprise you -- I believe this is the second or third best score in this tournament under any conditions. Does that surprise you?

NELLY KORDA: I mean, this golf course is really tough. There is a lot of run-offs. If you're on the wrong side of the hole it just gets really, really tough.

So, yeah, as I said, I'm just proud of my commitment to every shot today.

Q. What are you looking at tomorrow now?

NELLY KORDA: We'll see. Every day brings new challenges, so I'm guessing tomorrow is -- we'll see what the golf course is like and then stay warm.

Q. Looks like you're going to have the lead after 54 holes. Are you the type that likes to go into a final round with a lead? Is there some kind of motivating factor? Sounds like an obvious answer, yeah, of course I would like to have a 54-hole lead. Some people would prefer a little wiggle room to come from behind. Can you compare and contrast leading versus slightly behind?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, you can think of it as people chasing you, but I think the most important thing is just being super present and try not think about that. For me I have won so many different ways. I've always made it very interesting coming down the stretch unfortunately.

I think that mentally made me a little bit tougher so it's been in a positive way, but I think that -- you know, I don't mind chasing and I don't mind being in the lead. I love just being in contention.