U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

June 6, 2026

Nelly Korda

The Riviera Country Club

Flash Interview

Q. Nelly Korda, 4-under 67. Nelly, we got to start with the finish. Walk us through that.

NELLY KORDA: Just had a comfortable 8-iron on 16; then probably a four and 5-footer. You guys probably know the stats better than I do. But just a pretty solid, straightforward putt.

Then on 17 I actually hit that drive the longest I've hit it all week. I hit a comfortable hybrid but I just absolutely smoked it. I was surprised it flew so far. I knew from the practice rounds that that chip was really fast.

Jamie, I had him out for Monday and Tuesday and he told me that was one of the fastest kind of putts on the golf course, so I knew as a chip I would just need to dump it on the green and kind of let it go.

And then 18 I smoked my drive and just had a 9-iron in. Pretty comfortable nice little birdie finish. Three birdies in a row.

Q. Felt like you were fighting through the front nine. How does it feel to have a that pay off at the end of the round?

NELLY KORDA: Nice. We're playing in a major championship so it's going to test every part of your game. You're not going to hit solid shots off the tee, solid shots into the green. It's just kind of all about grinding.

I would say major championships are about grinding and then kind of when have you that little window to be aggressive, you really have to take it.

So I'm really happy with how I grinded out the front nine and then took the opportunities that I had on the last three holes.

Q. You said in your pretournament press conference this is what you play for. How much are you going to relish this opportunity to contend for your National Open tomorrow?

NELLY KORDA: Definitely it's always amazing to be in this position. That's what we work so hard for, to be in this spot. So whatever happens tomorrow happens, but I'm going to give it my all and see what the outcome is.

Q. When you look at the leaderboard obviously so many major champion winners, including yourself. What does it say about this competition and for you as a competitor that whoever wins is going to have to out-duel a lot of players who have won majors before?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I would definitely say that major championships at the end of the day are also about experience and not getting frustrated, knowing that you are going to miss a bunch of greens and you're going to have to hit some, make some crazy up-and-downs and have to grind through it.

So I would say experience definitely plays a big role in the leaderboard, how it kind of shapes up in major championships. But I'm just grateful to be in this position to be playing another 18 holes in this championship and, you know, have a chance for it.

Q. Last year was the closest you got to taking down this tournament. Was there a big take away from Erin Hills that kind of sticks with you?

NELLY KORDA: That I want to put myself into that position more and more. Yeah, I mean, I would definitely say that I'm not going to put a -- I'm not going to get too frustrated. I think last year I really, really wanted it, and the more you want it sometimes the more you stiffen up and you get a little bit more nervous.

So I play my best golf when I'm happy, free Nelly, and I'm kind of joking around out there. So that's kind of the attitude that I'm going to have tomorrow.

Q. Is there something to that end that you try to do not differently but coming into this year and maybe even this event that you tried to embrace or do differently to give you that sort of free, fun kind of attitude?

NELLY KORDA: Definitely, I think I've just had -- I've tried to have a mindset shift. Sometimes it's easier than -- one week it's a lot easier than others, but I've tried to have the attitude of instead of saying, you know, I'm screwed in this position, oh, here we go again, I'm just going to embrace the challenges and I'm not going to walk off the golf course, I'm just going to figure it out.

That's kind of been my attitude this year is like no matter what it throws at me, if I'm just going to get a silly bounce here or there I'll end up in a divot like I'll figure it out.

And that's kind of been the attitude I've tried to change to, because I think the worst thing that you can be, but which I am still, is a perfectionist in this sport. It does drive you nuts when you constantly miss a divot or you're in a divot by a centimeter here and there, or you hit a great putt and it just lips out.

Like those frustrations throughout the round can really build when it's all kind of not going your way. So I'm just going to take on the challenges head on and know that I'm doing my best out there, I've prepared the best that I possibly can and I'm just going to try and play free golf.

Q. Tomorrow if the tee's up on 10, today you were in the bunker and had to play away from the pin, do you think you'll try to go for it again?

NELLY KORDA: I think I got kind of a funky bounce. I think it hit the lip and it shot to the middle. So I think if I was around where I thought it was going to be I wouldn't have had to shift my target so far left. But it's difficult because if I back it down to a 3-wood it's not an easy chip either.

I mean, I'm sure there's been a bunch of girls that have chipped it long too. So sometimes you just have to be aggressive and know that like long is better, short's better, I think we're just going to kind of assess it when we're there because it depends on the wind too.

I mean, I told Jay that I wanted to be long because we were between 3-wood and driver, and you I missed it by literally a yard, right? And it shot to the middle of the bunker. I think if I actually missed it a little bit bigger then it would have been fine.

Q. You credited your sister with the grip change earlier, what's the best advice she's given you about big moments and how to handle 'em?

NELLY KORDA: She's given me so much advice throughout my life. Life, golf. I think it's just to kind of embrace the challenge, and to just have fun and just really soak in every single moment that you're out there.

Q. When you're making attitude changes like you talked about earlier, who do you figure that out with? Is it just you evaluating what's going on inside there or do you lean on others?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I've talked to a bunch of people. And at the end of the day I think I have to come to terms with my attitude change. Like, I can express my frustrations, I can express my frustrations to my parents, to a sports psychologist, but the only person at the end of the day that can change that is myself.

So there has been a bunch of work that I've done with other people, but I would say the person that makes the biggest change is myself. And after talking with my family, with my fiance' too, he always tells me, You need to be a little bit more positive. (Laughing).

I started at the beginning of the year writing positive notes to myself in my bathroom. And I've seen a bunch of athletes do that. So other athletes inspire me, too. I started doing that and it's a great reminder and I do it occasionally here and there. I travel with post-it notes and I stick 'em on to the mirror when I get ready and I write myself a positive note and that's my thought for the week.

Q. Do you want to share what that thought is this week?

NELLY KORDA: Nope, nope, that is all me.