06/24/26 06:57:00
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06/24 18:56 CDT Nelly Korda is 2 for 2 in major titles this season. The Women's
PGA at Hazeltine National is next
Nelly Korda is 2 for 2 in major titles this season. The Women's PGA at
Hazeltine National is next
By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer
CHASKA, Minn. (AP) --- The latest stop for Nelly Korda in this especially busy
summer is the Women's PGA Championship in Minnesota, where the top-ranked
player in the world will try this week to hoist a third straight major trophy.
From winning the U.S. Women's Open in California to playing in a pair at the
Dow Championship in Michigan to brand-building for the sport in New York, the
27-year-old Korda has had little time for retreat.
If this is the price of stardom, well, she's willing to lean into it.
"I feel like in everything that you do in life --- if you're in the finance
world, if you're doing this --- the more you put yourself into that position
the more comfortable you get," Korda said on Wednesday at Hazeltine National
Golf Club. "I think the biggest change that I told myself I'm going to make is
I'm just going to be authentic and be who I am. Either that comes across great
or it doesn't, but I just want to be genuine."
Korda, whose prize money has passed $5.3 million this year, has won four of the
nine tournaments she has entered with only one finish outside of the top 10.
She leads the Vare Trophy race for the lowest scoring average on the LPGA by an
average of 1.15 strokes over Hyo Joo Kim.
The only women to win the first three majors of a season are Inbee Park in 2013
and Babe Zaharias in 1950, when there were only three on the schedule. Now the
final two majors are in Europe: the Evian Championship in France from July 9-12
and the Women's British Open in England from July 30-Aug. 2.
With the Chevron Championship win in April already on her scorecard, Korda
pulled out a one-stroke victory over Charley Hull and Gaby Lopez at the U.S.
Women's Open this month. Fulfilling her commitment to playing with partner
Olivia Cowan at the Dow Championship the following week required some
self-discipline.
"I was very tired. Honestly, I couldn't go to sleep, and every single morning I
woke up I didn't want to wake up," Korda said. "I'm still a little tired from
it."
Then she was whisked away to New York for a whirlwind media tour on behalf of
the LPGA, before heading home last week to recharge and refresh.
"It's fun to be on a different stage in front of different people doing
something that helps the game of golf and kind of puts us on a broader stage,"
Korda said.
From a cameo on the "Today' show to a visit to the New York Stock Exchange to
an appearance at Times Square, Korda relished last week the opportunity to show
the lighthearted and self-described "dorky" side of her personality to more
mainstream audiences.
"These are the types of things we need our athletes to do in order to have
transcendent stars that cut through sports and find their way into culture,"
LPGA Tour Commissioner Craig Kessler said. "She did it. She's doing it."
The major that was last held at Hazeltine on the suburban prairie southwest of
Minneapolis in 2019, has a $13 million purse this year that's the largest in
the history of women's golf.
"To see the evolution of where the women's game was to what it is now, it is
quite incredible," Korda said. "You see that across every sport. You see that
in tennis, right now in basketball, too. It is amazing to see the investment in
women's sports, and we are just really grateful for our partners continuously
raising the bar."
Hannah Green returns to Hazeltine in reflection on her 2019 win
Hannah Green, who's currently eighth in the world ranking, got her first tour
victory at age 22 with a wire-to-wire win at the Women's PGA Championship when
it last visited Hazeltine. That remains her only major title.
"There is definitely shots that I remember. I also remember some of the bad
shots as well, which is sometimes not a great thing," Green said. "But it's
nice to kind of relive those moments in the practice round. I do hit a lot
further than I used to do back then."
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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