Nelly Korda Shoots to Kill
One had to be impressed with the second round display put on by Nelly Korda at the Olympic’s. At least the first 17 holes where she was 11-under par on her round, until a dreaded double thwarted her run to 59.
Alas, we understand trying to get a round into the clubhouse. We're usually passed out under a tree on the 15th and wake up with the sprinklers.
The drive for 59 was a harbinger of bigger things to come as she edged the field on the way to gold.
It isn’t like success arrived overnight like indigestion from too many gas station hot dogs on a road trip:
- Three time winner on LPGA this year, owns 8 career professional wins
- Won her first major at the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
- Entered the Tokyo Olympics ranked as the number player in the world
- Member of the 2019 Solheim Cup team, going 3-0-1 in a 1-point loss to Europe
Prior to turning professional, she was a decorated amateur player:
- Member of the 2015 winning Junior Solheim Cup team
- Won two events in 2015 and was named an AJGA Junior All-American
- Made the cut at the US Women’s Open in 2013 at the age of 14
She is playing this week in Japan with her older sister, Jessica, who also qualified for Team USA:
- Jessica is currently ranked 13th in the world, owns 6 LPGA wins herself
- Only the third pair of siblings in history to win on the LPGA Tour
In addition to the other half of “Team Jelly”, the Korda family is littered with athletic talent
- Father (Petr) former tennis player who won the 1998 Australian Open
- Mother (Regina) also a former pro tennis player, competed at the 1988 Olympics
- Brother (Sebastian) ranked in the top 50 in men’s tennis, recent ATP event winner
And we thought our family’s prowess and competitive zeal for shotgunning beers and competitive eating was some to behold.
Nelly is not all golf, all the time, she is also an avid gamer. Favorites of hers include Call of Duty and Modern Warfare; I guess it is not just low scores that she likes to shoot.
Her game as of late has very much been, shoot to kill.
