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No Place Like Home: Bradenton's Nelly Korda comes home to play in LPGA Drive On Championship

doug fernandes, sarasota herald-tribune
·4 min read
Nelly Korda, from Bradenton, Florida, tees off on the par three, ninth hole Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024 at the LPGA Drive On Championship at the Bradenton Country Club in Bradenton, Florida.
Nelly Korda, from Bradenton, Florida, tees off on the par three, ninth hole Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024 at the LPGA Drive On Championship at the Bradenton Country Club in Bradenton, Florida.

BRADENTON ― Nelly Korda is back home. To the professional golfer who spends much of their year living in hotel rooms and out of suitcases, that can mean many things. But to the 25-year-old Korda, in Bradenton for the LPGA Drive On Championship, it carries one special perk.

A closet stuffed with clothes.

"It's definitely weird staying at home and sleeping in my own bed," she said, "and having a closet full of options for the week and not living out of a suitcase. But it's been nice. I live 40-ish minutes away, so not too close. My parents probably live like 15, so I'll be stopping by their house for dinner probably every single day. A little spoiled."

We can help: Fan's Guide: What you need to know to enjoy the LPGA Drive On Championship at Bradenton CC

Korda hopes her hometown fans turn out to support her over the four-day tournament ending Sunday, but their attendance won't simply be rooted in cheering on a favorite daughter. If they fancy watching world-class golf, from a player once ranked No. 1 in the world, they can't do much better than focusing on the younger daughter of former pro tennis players Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtova.

That top ranking happened in 2021, when Korda played in 17 tournaments, made the cut in 16, and won four LPGA events, the biggest being the Women's PGA Championship. She'll enter the Drive On Championship ranked fourth in the world, behind Lilia Vu, Ruoning Yin, and Celine Boutier.

That she's played the Bradenton Country Club course before won't offer Korda any kind of advantage. Perhaps if she had played it scores of times, but those occasions only came as a junior golfer and several times for the U. S. Open qualifier.

"I'm usually out at The Concession, Sara Bay, and the Ritz," she said. "Overall, it's nice to play a golf course you kind of know. It's kind of like going to a tournament where you've played most of your career where you, like, let's say Lake Nona. I've played out there probably just as much as I've played out here."

In 2021, when she advanced to No. 1 in the world, Korda capped that year by winning the gold medal for the United States in the women's golf event at the Tokyo Olympics. Winning gold wasn't the highlight for Korda. Her memory was getting to share it with older sister Jessica.

Nelly Korda, of the United States, bites her gold medal of the women's golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe, Japan. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Nelly Korda, of the United States, bites her gold medal of the women's golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe, Japan. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

"That was the best part of it," she said. "It was a weird year. You couldn't have family or friends out there (because of the pandemic). Didn't really have the fans even though all the volunteers coming down (hole) 18 really made you feel you were playing in front of a lot of fans. Honestly, that week is such a blur. All these weeks that you win kind of in a sense you black out, where it just, you kind of get into your zone and you just grove.'

If she qualifies, Korda plans to play in the Paris Olympics later in the year. But it'll be a big year even if she doesn't get the chance to defend her gold medal. Besides the Olympics, there's the Solheim Cup, set for Sept. 10-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville. There, the best female golfers from the United States and Europe will compete for the most prestigious team title in women's golf.

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And just before that is the AIG Women's Open, this year in late August at The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland.

"I feel like the years are getting better and better with the course lineups," Korda said. "Last year we played at Pebble (Beach). This year we have Solheim, Olympics, and then St. Andrews. Just the lineup of events is getting better and better every year, which is always fun to look forward to these events."

Nelly Korda tees off on the first hole last year at the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples.
Nelly Korda tees off on the first hole last year at the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples.

But play long enough, and play well enough long enough, and a tournament could bear your name as well. It's an American Junior Golf Association event, but The Nelly will be played May 3-6 at The Concession. The 54-hole stroke event will bring together 65 of the world's top junior golfers.

"It's going to be so amazing," she said. "I'm very excited, honored that I could have a tournament named after me and TaylorMade and I can bring the best of the best to The Concession, my home club. Hopefully, the girls put on a good show. The AJGA gave me so much in junior golf, and it's a huge honor to be part of that process."

And there's another positive to having your name on an event so close to home.

A closet stuffed with clothes.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bradenton's Nelly Korda, No. 4 in the world, competing in LPGA Drive On Championship