Nelly Korda looking to add to stellar year at Sahalee Country Club

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SAMMAMISH, WASHINGTON - JUNE 18: Nelly Korda of The United States plays a shot during the pro-am prior to the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 18, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (David Cannon / Getty Images)

SAMMAMISH, Wash. - Nelly Korda – the No. 1 ranked player in the world – comes to Sahalee Country Club and the KPMG Women's PGA Championship seeking her second major of the year as part of a dominant 2024 season on the LPGA Tour.

Korda has won six times already this season, including five straight victories that culminated in her second major title in the Chevron Championship in April. The surge has planted Korda firmly at the top of the Rolex Rankings as the best golfer in the world.

Even coming off a pair of missed cuts at the U.S. Women's Open and Meijer LPGA Classic, Korda is one of the favorites to watch this week at Sahalee.

"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," Korda said on Tuesday. "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."

Korda has been widely regarded as one of the best in the women's game for several years. However, her ascendance to the top of the game with six victories already this season hadn't seemed imminent entering the year. Korda didn't win once on the LPGA Tour last season, though she did have ten top 10 finishes and five top 5 finishes.

A solo second place at the HSBC Women's World Championship, and a solo third place at the Chevron Championship were her best finishes of the year as she couldn't find the winner's circle.

But it was immediately clear that 2024 was going to be different. She won her second start of the year in the LPGA's Drive-On Championship in January. After skipping the tour's asian swing through February and early March, she won again in her next start in the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship.

She followed that with wins in the Ford Championship and LPGA Match Play the next two weeks leading into the first major of the year: the Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods.

Korda bounced back from two bogeys on the final nine of the tournament and delivered a birdie on the 18th hole to defeat Maja Stark by two shots to claim her second major crown.

Scottie Scheffler on the PGA Tour is the only other golfer in the world currently playing at such a high level.

"It's harder than ever to win. That's what makes Nelly's run so much more impressive," former No. 1 player Stacy Lewis said.

It is Korda's first time on the grounds at Sahalee Country Club. Korda didn't play in the 2016 event as she had just turned professional and was playing on the developmental Symetra Tour. However, Nelly's older sister, Jessica, did play in the event, missing the cut by a shot. Jessica isn't playing this year while on maternity leave, but did give some advice to her sister about the course.

"She just told me you really have to hit your shots out here, especially your tee shots," Korda said. "It's just a really beautiful golf course as well. You kind of get lost in the nature out here."

However, Korda is a past champion of this event, winning the 2021 edition at the Atlanta Athletic Club for her first major triumph.

Sahalee presents a far different test than Atlanta Athletic Club or the Club at Carlton Woods. It's tightly-lined fairways make driving accuracy a premium. But players also can't afford to hit less than driver often due to the course's length and the need to hit shorter clubs into Sahalee's challenging greens.

"Still going to be aggressive," Korda said. "There's a couple holes where I can't hit driver, but majority of the round I will be hitting driver just because you don't want a longer club into these greens. Yes, the tee shots are pretty intimidating, but the greens, the second shot in is pretty tough as well.

"So overall, I mean, if you have the length you may as well -- you have to hit it. This is the type of golf course where you just got to sack up and hit your driver."

Korda's comes into the championship off a pair of missed cuts, but that doesn't mean she's playing poor golf. Korda made a stunning 10 on the par 3 12th hole at Lancaster Country Club in the first round of the U.S. Women's Open last month that essentially ended her event on the third hole of the championship. Korda hit three balls into the water after missing the green to a treacherous front hole location.

Then last week at the Meijer LPGA Classic, Korda had a bad first day with a 4-over par 76 that took her out of contention early. Korda answered back with a 5-under par 65, which missed the cut by a shot.

"I did hit it really actually good on Thursday afternoon," Korda said. "I just -- my course management wasn't very good," Korda said. "I was flying my pins and leaving myself in really tough spots, and on kind of bumpy poa greens in the afternoon it's hard to be aggressive with your putting and to kind of gain confidence from that.

"And then I did have a good round on Friday and I drove it really well, so trying to take the positives from that."

With Korda's success comes massive expectations. She's already accomplished incredible feats this season. She became just the third player in LPGA history to win five straight starts, joining Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam. Korda also became just the 20th different player to win at least six events in a single season, and her year isn't over yet. Only 13 players have won at least seven times, nine players have won eight times, and six players have won at least nine events in a single year: Mickey Wright, Sorenstam, Betsy Rawls, Carol Mann, Kathy Whitworth, and Lopez.

If Korda were to add a third major title, she would become one of just 30 players in the history of the LPGA Tour to have at least three major championships.

"I feel like pressure is privilege, and that's something that you're the only one that can kind of control that," Korda said. "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."