Nelly Korda, after U.S. Open heartbreak, faces 1 big question at Women’s PGA

FRISCO, Texas — Nelly Korda is hungry.

Coming close to a dream will do that to a golfer. Making mistakes that cost you a chance to achieve something momentous will leave you with a void to fill.

That was Korda walking off the 18th green at Erin Hills a few weeks ago. She had finally put herself in position to win a U.S. Women’s Open — a tournament at which historically she has struggled — but a few Sunday missed putts and untimely bogeys saw her finish two shots behind eventual champion Maja Stark. A year after a making a shocking 10 in the opening round at Lancaster Country Club “put a dagger into [her] heart,” Korda had yet another U.S. Open scar.

“Just an absolute heartbreaker,” Korda said after finishing second at Erin Hills. “But that’s golf.

“Golfers, a lot of us, are perfectionists. So when I come out here and a golf course dominates you the way it does, it’s never a nice feeling.”

The U.S. Women’s Open is a title Korda has coveted since she made her debut at age 14. It’s a test that should, on paper, suit her game. But before Erin Hills, the U.S. Women’s Open had pummeled Korda, exposing the flaw in her otherwise dominant game. Her performance in Wisconsin was, by and large, spectacular. She led the field in Strokes Gained: Driving and was third in SG: Approach. But her putter betrayed her for most of the week, and she left Wisconsin with a $1 million check and a “what if.”

While Korda will never forget her Erin Hills finish, the world No. 1 arrives at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this week needing to move on as she prepares to take on Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco to try to win her third major title.

“I think it just makes you hungrier,” Korda said Tuesday of her miss at Erin Hills. “For me, I hate making mistakes. Obviously, I love winning. You don’t get to win often, but there’s nothing like it being in contention, so I think that’s kind of what makes me hungrier to come back and to work harder and put myself into that position. At the end of the day, I did put myself into that position. I was still in contention and feeling the adrenaline rush on 18, trying to win a major championship. That’s the reason why I play this game, and I love it so much.

“You can look at it in a positive way, you can look at it in a negative way. But at the end of the day, three weeks after I can spin it in a positive way, and it’s going to make me hopefully hungrier.”

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After a blistering 2024 season in which she won seven times, including her second major title at the Chevron Championship, Korda is still looking to get on the board in 2025.

The LPGA has had 15 different winners so far this season, with Mao Saigo and Maja Stark taking the first two majors of the season — the Chevron and U.S. Open, respectively — while Korda is still searching.

“It’s golf,” Korda said. “Every year is just so different. Last year, coming into this event, I had five wins. I think even Hannah Green had multiple wins under her belt, too, coming into this event. It’s just golf. You kind of just have to ride the wave, and the competition is getting better and better every year.”

Korda will not only have to contend with the windy Texas conditions and firm greens at Fields Ranch Each, but she’s also battling a neck issue that popped up during practice Monday. While trying to hit a ball out of the rough, Korda’s neck went into a full spasm, which caused her to miss the Champions Dinner.

On Tuesday, Korda covered her neck with KT Tape, but the world No. 1 said she was feeling better and doesn’t expect it to be an issue come Thursday when she goes off with Lydia Ko and Jeeno Thitikul.

For Korda, this week in Frisco is a chance to move past a U.S. Women’s Open heartbreak and add to her growing legacy. The key to doing that is something only Korda can find. But when a young fan gave her a Lego set on Tuesday, it was an easy reminder to get back on the horse, dust herself off and ride again.

“Moments like that, interactions like that, that fuels my love for the game,” Korda said. “Then competing against the best players in the world, I think it all comes down to like, if you internally want it, and that’s a question you always have to ask yourself.”

With that, Nelly Korda, with her taped neck and U.S. Open wounds, exited the press room at PGA Frisco. The march to major No. 3 had officially begun.