Nelly Korda ready for Sahalee challenge

Nelly Korda is ready to take on the challenge of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club, a venue known for its stunning scenery and demanding course layout. Reflecting on her initial impressions of Sahalee, she described it as a beautiful place but emphasised the importance of precision,  "I didn't get to play in 2016, but my sister did, and she told me you really have to hit your shots, especially your tee shots. It's just a really beautiful golf course as well. You kind of get lost in the nature out here."

With its narrow fairways, Sahalee presents a unique challenge, especially for a player like Korda who favours her driver. Despite the intimidating tee shots, she plans to remain aggressive. "There's a couple holes where I can't hit driver, but for the majority of the round, I will be hitting driver just because you don't want a longer club into these greens," she explains. "Yes, the tee shots are pretty intimidating, but the second shot in is pretty tough as well. So overall, if you have the length, you have to hit it. This is the type of golf course where you just got to suck up and hit your driver."

Missing the cut in her last two starts

Despite missing the cut last week and at the U.S. Women’s Open, Korda remains optimistic, focusing on the positives. "You can dwell on the negatives, but that will never lead you anywhere, so you try to look at the positives. I did hit it really actually good on Thursday afternoon [at the Meijer LPGA Classic]. It’s just my course management wasn't very good. I was flying my pins and leaving myself in really tough spots, and on kind of bumpy greens in the afternoon it's hard to be aggressive with your putting and to kind of gain confidence from that. Then I did have a good round on Friday and I drove it really well, so trying to take the positives from that."

Korda embraces the pressure that comes with the top player in the world, viewing it as a privilege. "You can listen to the outside voices, but at the end of the day, when you have pressure you can take it in a positive way that you are doing good and playing well. I'm just going to stay in my bubble this week and go out and try to execute my shots, be confident in what I have. This golf course is already hard enough, and if I'm going to put more pressure on myself, then I think it's just going to make it even harder this week."

Inspiring the next generation of golfers

Reflecting on her journey and the joy of competing, Korda expresses gratitude for her career and the opportunities it brings. "I think you can kind of dwell on as athletes we're never home, we're travelling so much. I look at it like I get to do what I love for a living, hopefully inspire the next generation. I love seeing the little kids out here. Last week I was four-over through I don't know how many holes, and these kids were giving me fist pumps and they're like, good job, and I'm like, thank you, i'm like 100 and something, but thank you. So that to me is so much fun, doing that out here. I have such an amazing team that we always keep it so light, so fun. There is no filter. We just all understand each other. I love traveling and hopefully I love competing and inspiring the next generation."

As she steps onto the 10th tee at Sahalee with defending champion Ruoning Yin and 2019 Champion Hannah Green at 8:11am local time, Korda will be doing what she does best, staying in her bubble, trusting the process and doing her best to enjoy every moment as she goes in search of a seventh victory and second Major of the year.

View the full tee time list for the 70th KPMG Women's PGA Championship here.