As she wraps up a year filled with setbacks, heartbreak and hard-won progress, Nelly Korda talks about managing stress, blocking out the noise and finding confidence in the 2025 campaign.
ask. oneAfter the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship. It ends here. Is there anything you want to say about this week and the season as a whole?
NELLY KORDA: Obviously the main goal was to win the championship, but after the first day, I did give it a try. Even thought leaders are way ahead of the curve. In a sense, I always feel like I’m playing catch-up.
Overall, yes, another year. I am grateful for it all. Grateful for the highs, the lows, and my team.
ask. On the 11th, you hit your best shot of the year. Take us through that hole.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, hit my driver a little bit wide. Honestly, it’s not a bad place to miss it. I have 136 yards and it’s a perfect 9 iron and it feels really pure when I hit it and when you get in the hole it’s really good when everything matches up.
I’ve never heard Jason shout so loud. Even the photographer, he was like, man, I was scared. Great to see it coming in. I’ve been talking about it for the past year, so it’s the last round of the year and obviously the last round of the season and it feels good to see it go in.
ask. When you look back on 2025, what words will you use to describe the season? Why?
NELLY KORDA: Drudgery. Yeah, I feel like going through a lot of ups and downs, it’s made me grow a lot mentally, and I would say I’m also very grateful for it because, you know, success is never linear.
ask. How much do you think you have grown mentally?
NELLY KORDA: I would just say expectations, listen to the outside voices, and really just stick to what I know best, which is keep it simple.
ask. Were there any scenes throughout the season that kept replaying in your mind that you wished you could recreate?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, exactly 18th at the U.S. Open. I actually hit that shot pretty well. Probably the best shot I’ve hit all year, just because of the adrenaline, I hit maybe, I don’t know, ten yards too long and a little too left; at the start of the week on Monday, my feeling was, I can’t be here, but I was there.
So if I can get one back, that’s it.
But I mean, there’s a lot. That’s what I thought of, yeah.
But everything happens for a reason.
ask. It’s interesting that after all these years adrenaline is still something you have to figure out and consider.
Nellie Korda: Yes.
ask. I think the effect of adrenaline on hitting changes over time.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I think everybody deals with that. You are always learning. You never really figure it out. That’s why it always humbles you.
ask. When you were talking about your team earlier this week, and when you vented to them, how they made you see things differently, just curious what perspective did they give you that you couldn’t, maybe couldn’t step back and look at?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it was kind of like the tournament results. Like you’re just focusing on the actual results of not winning, not finishing in the top 10, not competing. At the end of the day, it’s all about improving week after week, especially if you’re playing well and you’re seeing improvement.
So there’s just more different perspectives.
ask. You said you would remember the highs and lows of this year. What do you consider a high or two or a low or two?
NELLY KORDA: The highlight was probably the U.S. Women’s Open. I mean, the adrenaline rush, there’s nothing like it. The high point would probably be like seeing that flash of awesomeness in the game and me being really excited about the work that I’m doing.
And then there are some low points like every girl can say, and all pros can say, you put so much time into your craft and you just don’t play well. You just have to do it over and over again. Sometimes you’re just a little crazy.
ask. LeBron once again commented on Nelly’s post. I wonder if there will be more in the future?
NELLY KORDA: I hope so. I mean, he’s a very busy guy and we definitely don’t live on the same coast of the United States
So if the timing is right, it would be great to play with him.
ask. How cool is it to see someone like that react to the women’s game?
Nellie Korda: That’s great. You see it in different sports and it’s interesting to see women’s golf having its moments as well. You see all the stars in tennis coming together to watch all the amazing pros, and then you see that in the men’s game as well. It’s fun for people to finally see not only myself but all these other amazing girls and finally get their time, you know, on primetime television and people invest in us and our craft and really know that we’re awesome.
I’d like to see it continue to grow.
ask. To put it simply: Jeeno has now surpassed Annika’s single-season scoring record set in 2002.
Nellie Korda: Yes.
ask. Can you put into perspective how difficult it would be to break any of Annika’s records, but what does that mean in a year’s time?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it’s amazing. Great talent, great player. It was also fun to see her craft up close.
But yeah, I mean, it’s kind of crazy, right? Finally breaking the record to date – you were talking about 2002, what was that? To have to wait until 2025 for that to happen, I mean, that’s crazy. It just goes to show you that great men don’t come around very often
