Nelly Korda, who is defending her title at the Pelican Women’s Championship this week, admitted she’s had a “rollercoaster” year. She had trouble finding a rhythm after her injury and says she made a mistake playing “catch up” on the road after missing time. Maybe a breather and stepping back to refresh would have been better, she thought.
But at her Wednesday press conference at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., Korda wasn’t stressed about defending. Or her game. Or the conditions (which, growing up in Florida, she’s seen before).
No, she’s taxed about building a house. Just ask her.
“Oh, my gosh it’s so stressful,” Korda said. “I hate it. I literally hate it. I have an interior designer and she helps me a lot. I’m like, ‘This is all you.’ Like I can’t look through this many pieces of furniture. Like I just can’t do that.”
Korda’s new digs came up when she was asked if her plan she previously mentioned to build a spot for her trophies ever came to fruition. No, she said, because she’s in the process of building a new home altogether.
She said she was warned of the high price of lumber so that hasn’t bothered her, at least not like minor design decisions.
“Honestly, it’s awful. I hate it. It just causes me a big headache,” she said. “I learned some words like roof trusses that I would’ve never if I didn’t have to build a house. But it’s been a very interesting time to build houses. It’s kind of fun. Kind of takes my mind off golf too when I’m home.”
Korda, who missed four months in the spring after having surgery for a blood clot, enters this week coming off missed cuts in her last two LPGA starts, although she more recently finished 4th out of 64 at a Ladies European Tour Aramco Team Series event in New York.
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It’s the final tune-up before next week’s CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla., which will put a bow on the 2022 LPGA season.
Korda won four times last season, including a major title, but has yet to win this year.
“I played some solid golf since coming back, but I’ve also overdone it and also played some poor golf,” Korda said. “So definitely a learning year, more about myself, more about my body. I would say every year I’m very grateful for every year, grateful to be out here. It was definitely a little scary at the start. But overall, I’ve played some really good golf. I’m proud of that.”
But the vibes are good. This is only her second time defending at a course she’s won at and, as a Floridian, she’ll be used to the wet and windy weather players will have to deal with. Due to Tropical Storm Nicole coming through the area, the tournament was shortened to 54 holes and play will begin on Friday.
“I think in every department I can always improve and get better,” she said, “but I’m pretty satisfied with the way my game is trending right now.”
The first round will be broadcast from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Golf Channel, with the weekend rounds on tape delay, airing from 7:30-10:30 p.m. on Golf Channel.