“Is this week even real?” – said 22-year-old Nelly Korda when she won the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship which propelled her to the No.1 spot in the world. Over time, she managed to spend many weeks as the top golfer on the Rolex Rankings. The reason? She does not pay much attention to the world standings. Yes, you heard that right!
Seems a bit contradictory? Well, that’s exactly what she said. Moreover, the golfer went ahead to do the same in a video with the YouTuber Grant Horvat all the while dishing out the reasons behind her choice to “focus” on the “present” rather than getting distracted by the rankings!
Rankings take the backseat for Nelly Korda
In the new episode, titled Nelly Korda Vs. Grant Horvat (Stroke Play), on the content creator’s YouTube Channel, the professional revealed the mantra that helped her gain good rankings in her career. Divulging on the same, she said, “I feel like when you play well, the ranking will come with it,” while revealing how she “tries to focus on what’s right in front” of her.
Adding on, the 25-year-old mentioned how, throughout her career, she has focused on “being very present.” This, according to the 1X major champ, has indubitably helped her not get “wrapped up… into rankings” or into “what’s ahead of themselves,” unlike many other athletes who experienced failure doing the same. At the end of the day, she just poses one single question, “What are you doing right now to get better?”
Truly a successful mindset by the 8X LPGA Tour champ who clinched the top spot of the Rolex Rankings for a total of 36 weeks. What’s more, she did the same by achieving the feat over five times in her career, the last of which came back in July 2023 when she finished T9 in the Amundi Evian Championship, propelling her to No.1.
However, while such an attitude surely helped the American clinch many victories on the greens, there is one extra aspect that has pushed her tremendously. Even Korda was appreciative of the same as she took to admitting the need for her caddie. Enter Jason McDede!
Korda’s secret weapon on the greens
The Solheim Cup star started her road to success on the circuit in 2018, the year in which she employed McDede on the bags. Moreover, he has always been by her side in the subsequent victories she garnered on the tour, including the lone major win. “Thankfully I have such a great caddie to help me calm down,” said the athlete as she praised her looper for staying by her side and lightening up her mood during the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
That’s not all, in the episode with Horvat, the 2X Pelican Women’s Championship winner even went ahead to admit how dependent she is on McDede. The golfer went ahead to miscalculate the downwind leading her ball to make a mistake while hitting the shot. Acknowledging her error, she quickly admitted, “This is when I need my caddie out here!”
Looking back at Korda’s seven years on the circuit, one can’t help but feel awe and a sense of respect towards her. Well, with the new revelations, it doesn’t come off as too much of a surprise that she has successfully managed to do so!
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