LPGA: Nelly Korda overcomes canine chew, prepared for an additional main

Nelly Korda has had a whirlwind of a season that has included six wins, with 5 coming consecutively. That additionally features a victory on the Chevron Championship—the season’s first main. However she has two missed cuts to her identify, too: on the U.S. Girls’s Open and the KPMG Girls’s PGA Championship.

Add a canine chew to all of that, as nicely.

A canine jumped up and bit Korda within the thigh whereas in a espresso store in Seattle, the place Sahalee Golf Membership welcomed one of the best feminine gamers on this planet for this 12 months’s KPMG Girls’s PGA Championship. Due to the incident, she needed to withdraw from the Girls European Tour’s Aramco Staff Sequence occasion in London.

However now she is prepared for the Amundi Evian Championship in France after spending a few weeks together with her household.

“It was good for all of us to be collectively,” Korda stated.

“The final time we had been collectively was November final 12 months, so it is actually healthful attending to spend time with household and recharge my batteries by doing that.”

Picture by Matthew Lewis/Getty Photographs

Korda arrives on the Evian Resort feeling refreshed—a course the place she has had loads of success however has but to snag a victory. She tied for ninth on the Amundi Evian Championship in 2023 and completed in a tie for eighth the 12 months earlier than. Korda additionally completed T-19 in 2021.

“I believe the actually huge phrase this week is persistence. You possibly can hit a extremely good shot and get a extremely unhealthy bounce, and you may hit a foul shot and get a extremely good bounce. So it’s actually vital to be affected person out right here this week,” Korda defined.

“It undoubtedly took me a few years to determine it out. A very powerful factor is to not get too forward of your self and never get too pissed off with the unhealthy bounces.”

When Korda first performed within the Evian in 2017, she missed the minimize. The next 12 months, she tied for 61st after which tied for twenty fifth in 2019. However that was earlier than she ascended to the highest of the game, the place she at the moment resides.

And but, even one of the best gamers battle with this recreation, as Korda did at Lancaster Nation Membership and Sahalee over the previous two months. It’s not usually that you just see one of the best participant on this planet make a ten on a par-3, both.

Picture by Matthew Lewis/Getty Photographs

“I believe I’ve gone by way of each emotion attainable on the golf course this season, and it is solely July. , I really like this recreation. I really like the unhealthy. I really like the nice,” Korda stated.

“The unhealthy makes you admire the nice, and that’s simply how it’s. It’s sports activities. When you care so deeply about it, you’ll simply undergo the wave of the curler coaster. I’ve an excellent group and wonderful household that maintain me grounded and maintain my perspective optimistic. All of them raise me up even once I’m down, and so they ensure that all of us keep very, very grounded and really, very humble as a result of typically you may get a little bit too forward of your self.

“However the recreation humbles you sufficient itself, which I discovered an excellent deal not too long ago. That’s what I really like about it. Even when I’m not taking part in nicely, I’ll exit and provides it 100%, work tougher, and do the identical factor. I’m actually fortunate to have the help system I’ve, and it’s the explanation I’m nonetheless right here.”

One may argue that Korda has essentially the most stunning golf swing on the planet. However her sharp psychological acumen and extremely optimistic outlook are additional the reason why she is at the moment one of the best participant on this planet.

That, coupled with the truth that she arrives on the Evian well-rested, has to guide you to consider that she can be part of the story in France as soon as extra.

Both means, this occasion will function an appetizer for what’s to return on the Olympics subsequent month. Korda already has a gold medal shining proudly in her workplace. Maybe she will win one other one, too. However her focus is squarely on the Evian, correctly.

“I have a tendency simply to attempt to deal with what’s proper in entrance of me. I’ve by no means been to Paris. I’ve flown by way of Paris, so I am additionally excited to see Paris and possibly be a little bit of a vacationer if I’ve time,” Korda stated.

“However when the week comes, I do know I’m going to be so excited. I’m undoubtedly going to look at the fellows on the ultimate day, root for the U.S., and get to look at the fellows that I grew up idolizing and watching day-after-day on TV.”

Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By way of. Be sure you take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.