KROGER QUEEN CITY CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY P&G

May 13, 2026

Nelly Korda

Maketewah Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Here with Nelly Korda ahead of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. Nelly, I think we'll start just got off the golf course. Heard from a lot of players it's a unique course. Just what is your take on it? Charley called it the hilliest flat course she ever played.

NELLY KORDA: That's very accurate. It's definitely going to take a lot of creativity I would say, especially with trusting your lines. More of also trusting that your carries, too. There are some holes where if you don't carry it 230, 235 with no wind, then you could have -- instead of pitching wedge you could have a 6-iron in, because it'll come all the way down the slope.

It's definitely a very unique golf course, but it's also fun to sometimes switch it up and play something you normally don't.

Q. And talk about the finishing holes. Both par-3s.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. How cool will that be or how unique is that?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, we don't really get to finish on par-3s. Last one that I could think of that I actually finished on was at Wilshire when we used to play out there.

Yeah, I mean it's a very -- it's a shorter par-3. Nine is a beast of a hole. You know, the first day I played it on Monday I had a 7-wood in and today was a little bit more downwind so I had a 5-iron in.

Nine is more like all straight carry and the defense of that hole is the greens. I would say the golf course is already tough enough with the way that you kind of have to route your shots, but then the greens are tough as well; very undulated. Just kind of like a typical Donald Ross golf course.

Q. Obviously outside of the results what do you think is the best part of your game right now?

NELLY KORDA: I think my patience for sure. Mentally being on the golf course, just really enjoying it, knowing that I am going to make mistakes and that it's okay. It's not going to ruin my round. That it's okay to bounce back.

Sometimes I feel like in the past I've been very scared to make mistakes, and that's locked me up a little bit. So just kind of trying to stay free on the golf course, knowing my swing is not going to be perfect every week. Maybe to the outside they don't see as precise of what I see, the detailing of my golf swing.

For me as long as I stay mentally fresh that's the most important.

Q. Nelly, you've had a little bit of time to digest the latest victory. Are you feeling refreshed coming into this week with a week off?

NELLY KORDA: If I'm being honest, not really. It was a really quick turnaround. Really six days at home. You know, you need to give your body a break because you played two weeks in a row with all the travel, too.

But then it's -- you're getting ready for a big summer ahead, so it's like you can't rest too much or the body doesn't feel 100%.

But that's kind of -- I think everyone gets into that middle of the season when you travel a lot, play a lot. You don't have too many weeks where you can rest, especially going into kind of the part of the season right now where we have kind of all the majors stacked up.

But it was nice to be home and to kind of digest the win. I had my family out at Chevron and then I had Casey's family out in Mexico, so it was a lot of fun.

Yeah, just enjoyed a little bit of time at home sleeping in my own bed, but made sure to also practice a lot.

Q. This golf course has a lot of Erin Hills flavor -- I know you played well there last year -- just with all the slopes and undulations. Do you look at this property and kind of feel like it suits your game in a way?

NELLY KORDA: I would hope so. But, yeah, it's definitely different. You know, I would say that it's very accurate on like where we're actually hitting from it's very flat. It's more like the walk is just brutal out here so you don't have too many blind shots.

Felt like at Erin Hills almost every hole was a blind shot, whether it was a tee shot or into the green approach shots. But I think like not every golf course is going to suit my game per se, where I can whip out a driver and hit it as far as possible and use my length to my advantage.

I feel like this golf course this week I'm just -- you're going to have to play with it a little bit more. The rough is pretty thick, so being in the fairway is a really big premium this week going into these greens.

Q. Last one from me: Haven't seen you domestically since the you were on the Pat McAfee Show. You had so much fun. Was there a moment in particular that made you crack up or was really funny that you would ultimate like to expand upon?

NELLY KORDA: The entire show. Honestly he was so high energy. I was just trying to match it just a little bit, but I don't think anyone can ever match his energy.

It was a lot of fun, you know, getting to experience a different audience for sure, a different set of maybe questions than I normally get. A different media opportunity is really cool.

I can definitely see that it -- for me in my standpoint when we get an opportunity -- when I get an opportunity to reach a broader audience, that's really fun.

Obviously they don't really know too much about golf. I know they did an interview with Cameron Young I think a few weeks before that. I think they did one right after as well when he won.

But I think just in general, it's fun to talk to people like that and hear their questions and insights and their excitement about the game of golf.

Q. With it being such a crazy stretch, are there certain things that you eliminate from your routine, try to streamline or, do differently to try manage your body and energy?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I'll probably listen to my body a lot more as in maybe pushing it in the gym. If I have a few weeks off, I really try to get a good training block in the gym. I think I went to the gym two to three times last week, which is -- normally I'm doing that way more or I'm getting run in or something.

But I just listened to my body a little bit more. I prioritize sleep and treatment with Kim. What's nice about Kim is I have her on the road and I also have her at home. I see her literally almost 365 days a year.

Yeah, that's mainly it. Like not overdoing it. I love to practice, but I know I have limits. Like at the end of the day, it's all about staying fresh mentally.

Q. You mentioned the creativity that you can -- well, it's kind of demand on this golf course. Were there certain shots as a kid that you remember experimenting with or crazy ones that you tried to perfect when you were growing up?

NELLY KORDA: I had a great coach growing up and a lot of people actually ask me, like parents ask me this question, how can I get my kid into the game of golf. How do I keep them interested.

I had a great coach. Yeah, we did technique, fundamentals, but you can only do that for so long as a kid before you are not 100% there mentally. Like your attention span is not great.

And we just started like working on creativity of hitting flop shots over trash cans, flop shots over trees onto the green, and that's kind of like what I loved doing as a kid. I was on the pitching green and just hitting the craziest shots because they were fun.

Q. Was that David?

NELLY KORDA: No. Her name was actually Tracy Riser (ph). I started working with David when I was 14. Yeah, I mean, honestly before that I was just struggling with my back actually as a 14 year old already. I just didn't -- I was in pain a lot and he brought my love back for the game.

Like I loved spending time with him. I called him a ninja. I would ask him a few questions, I would look back, he was there. I would hit a few balls, look back, he was gone. He was just a great coach to have.

I thank him so much for a lot in my career because I wouldn't be where I am without him honestly. I give him credit for my swing. Like he literally built it.

I have swings from around 2013, 2012 where I look at it right now and I just cringe so hard. I'm like, how did any parents think this swing was okay? That was my main question.

As a kid I just worked on a lot of creativity side of the game versus more of the fundamentals.

Q. You got on a similar hot run in 2024 to start the season. How is it different this time around?

NELLY KORDA: Just not going to put as much pressure on myself. If I have a bad week, I'm just going to brush it off and just go and try to improve the next week.

I'm not going to make it seem like -- I'm not going to go into panic mode, yeah.

Q. So you just mention you listen your body if you take a rest or you practice.

NELLY KORDA: Uh-huh.

Q. I'm just wondering if you have any specific routine to recover quickly your body or to gain your more practice?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I would say -- I mean, No. 1 thing is always sleep and rest. Just like sometimes doing too much is too much. Even with treatment. Just because something hurts, if you treat it too much you're not letting that muscle or injury rest and you just kind of need let it be for a little bit.

So the first couple days I just kind of live a regular life. Like I sleep in a little bit. I don't really go to the gym. I just try to give my body bit of a break. After that, I mean, I do the standard of making sure my body is in alignment.

With travel and golf, at the end of the day it's like a one-sided sport. If you ever look at a golfer, our bodies are so twisted. We're never like standing straight or like -- we're never going to be symmetrical. So making sure that I'm as symmetrical as I possibly can be, body is in line, and I can hit the gym.

Q. How many hours do you sleep?

NELLY KORDA: I love to sleep, but I try to get between eight to ten.

Q. Do you eat in any specific protein?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I'm very -- I mean, as a kid already in our household we ate very clean so I just love to cook. I love to eat clean. Yeah, I just make sure that nutrition is a priority.

Q. Last question from me: You mentioned you work out as a professional athlete.

NELLY KORDA: Uh-huh.

Q. So not as a golfer.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. So just wondering, what's the important work out as professional athlete?

NELLY KORDA: Everyone is different. Some people will do golf-specific exercises. I think it just depends what you want to achieve in the gym. I don't really want to do golf-specific exercise that help me with me swing because then I start to overthink it, and when I swing freely that's when I swing the best.

All I'm really trying to do is build a good foundation of strength that protects all my whole structure of my body.

Q. Thank you.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah.

Q. Two quick questions from me. With this being a new course, what's your typical preparation that is different from going to a course that you played kind of year in, year out?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, just do a little bit more work around the greens. Every year I feel like I've played Cincinnati when we played a little up north, I think TPC South Bend, right? Every year I just played a little different. My prep is almost the same every single time.

Only thing I have is like, okay, I have a little bit more knowledge in the back of my book that I hit this tee -- I hit this shot that year, I hit this club that year off this tee.

Overall I do the just stock standard. Like I just go out, play, and I chip around the greens, write the Xs in the book where it's not a good place to be. Other than that, I don't do anything really crazy.

Q. We're entering a stretch kind of starting this week going through the summer where the LPGA is in kind of mid-market cities.

NELLY KORDA: Uh-huh.

Q. But the fans come out in droves starting this week. What's the energy like from you guys when you see on the first tee just fans along the first tee and little girls and kids watching you as you play week in and week out?

NELLY KORDA: That's the best. It's one of the best things that -- the best parts of this job is that we get to inspire the next generation. We get to play in front of amazing crowds.

I've definitely seen the crowds grow the past couple years. It's another motivational factor to play better, make sure that they want to come back and that they're inspired by our play and impressed by our play.

Which there is a lot of talent out here. There is so much talent. So many amazing personalities that don't have the opportunity to get showcased. But I also think that it's all about bringing new fans in, and the fans that are coming in, we see them, and it's a lot of fun to play in front of.

I think the thing we do really well as LPGA players is that we take the time and we go up to all the little girls and little boys and make sure we sign everyone's autograph.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Nelly.

NELLY KORDA: Thank you.