Nelly Korda, the world’s best golfer who is on the cusp of history
Nelly Korda plays her shot from the 18th tee during the first round of the Cognizant Founders Cup. Elsa/Getty Images CNN —
History can weigh heavy on some. Attempting to forge a path never trodden, trying to be the first can become too burdensome a task for even the greats. The expectation, the pressure increasing with each step made towards that never-before-achieved feat.
Yet two rounds, or 36 holes, away from possibly making history, Nelly Korda is an athlete who seems at ease with what could lie ahead.
“Did a really good job of staying present and just staying in my own little bubble,” she told reporters after her second round at the Cognizant Founders Cup, before laughing at how those words could be a drinking game so often does she say them.
It is the bubble which helps explain how the American was able to produce such a stunning bogey-free performance in difficult conditions in Clifton, New Jersey, to put herself back in contention for what would be a record-breaking sixth straight LPGA Tour title.
Korda, the world No.1, was six shots off the lead after her first round. Her six-under-par 66 in the second round was just one of three bogey-free rounds on a wet and windy day and moved her to third on the leaderboard, four shots behind Madelene Sagstrom and Rose Zhang who share the overnight lead.
At last month’s The Chevron Championship, Korda won her fifth consecutive title to join Annika Sörenstam and Nancy Lopez as the only players to win five in a row on the tour.
Should the 25-year-old secure a remarkable sixth title in as many outings it would be one of the greatest achievements in sport. Not only can she claim to being the best female golfer in the world, but it could also strongly be argued that she is currently the best athlete on this planet. Certainly, few have been as dominant in their chosen field.
Nelly Korda has won 13 times on the LPGA Tour. Elsa/Getty Images
“Everything is about staying very in the moment, staying very present in these kind of conditions, especially on this golf course,” she added after round two.
The 13-time LPGA Tour winner, who last lost in January, has unsurprisingly been the focus of attention leading up to this tournament and her celebrity is in the ascendancy, as her attendance at the Met Gala this week testified.
She told ESPN ahead of the tournament that her busy schedule meant she had not had time to think about being on the cusp of history.
Again, in that interview she emphasized she would stay in the moment, take it “a shot at a time,” but also admitted recent successes had taken their toll.
She opted out of competing at the JM Eagle LA Championship last month because she was exhausted.
“I just felt like mentally, I just needed the rest,” Korda told ESPN. “I was just so mentally tired going through all those situations and high-pressure moments.”
Refreshed and back playing, Korda has put herself in a strong position on a course in which she didn’t make the cut last year.
According to the LPGA, she has only led once at the halfway mark in her previous five victories of 2024 so she is more than capable of overhauling Sagstrom and Zhang.
The question is: if history looms ever closer in those closing stages, can “the bubble” protect her from the weight of trying to achieve what no one else ever has?