Nelly Korda back to No. 1, back with her old driver at 2023 AIG Women’s Open
Nelly Korda returned to No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings nine days ago. A ninth-place finish in the fourth of five LPGA majors in 2023 put her back in the top spot for the fifth time in her career.
In the third round of the Amundi Evian Championship, after scores of 70 and 73, Korda went back to her old driver and promptly saw results, posting a 64. She plans to forge ahead with her old standby this week at Walton Heath in Surrey, England.
“When I first started testing with TaylorMade, they reassured me that they want me to play what I will play best with, so I’ve been trying to kind of figure the driver out, and at the end of the day, they want me to perform my best, and they have been an amazing partner,” she explained Wednesday during her pre-tournament media session. “They have supported me through the entire process, but right now I’m just going to play with what I played best with and hopefully, you know, they have some exciting things in the work and I’m really excited for the future.”
Nelly Korda plays the pro-am ahead of the 2023 AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England. (Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
A win in mid-July in the LET’s event in London at the Centurion Club could also provide some momentum and experience with that English weather.
“That week was so much fun. The wind was brutal and the weather was just awful, and the shot-shaping and the low shots that I got to hit was a lot of fun,” she said. “I think I’m okay doing that once or twice a year. I wouldn’t want to do it every week, to play in that weather, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Weather wasn’t great for her practice rounds this week but “I do see that that’s going to be good weather throughout the rest of the week,” she said. “So we’ll see if it firms up. But right now it’s going to be a good challenge.”
During her media availability, she was also asked how she would describe golf in the UK to an American.
“I would say it’s a completely different style of golf,” she said. “I would say depending on the weather and style of golf course, you have to have a lot of creativity out here. You have to hit shots you normally wouldn’t on other golf courses. Typically with golf courses in the U.S. … you have to hit it high into the greens, and here you actually can chase it up.
“Here you have to hit low bullets out here so the wind doesn’t affect it.”
