Fit-again Nelly Korda hopeful of return to form at Aramco Team Series London

Nelly Korda is targeting a return to form at the Aramco Team Series London.

After disappointing results in the Women’s PGA Championship and US Women’s Open, World No.2 Nelly Korda is out to make a statement at the Aramco Team Series London.

Nelly Korda is fighting fit and targeting a return to form at this week’s Aramco Team Series event as she makes her first appearance in the London edition at Centurion Club.

Korda is still looking for her first win of a 2023 season that was interrupted by a back injury she sustained at the end of May, and being forced to take a few weeks off saw her lose the World No.1 ranking to Jin Young Ko.

The 24-year-old missed the cut on her return to action at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol before finishing outside the top 60 in last week’s US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, but Korda feels she is “close” to getting back to her best with the Women’s Open less than a month away.

“I think it [The Aramco Team Series] is a super fun event, especially the team aspect of it,” Korda said at her press conference on Wednesday. “I think it brings in a different kind of energy. It’s fun, it’s light, and it makes golf a lot of fun when you have team-mates out there with you. I think they’re really fun and unique events, but I love the individual aspect of golf as well, so it is fun to mix it up here and there.”

“Playing Baltusrol and Pebble Beach were definitely a big test after coming back from an injury, but obviously, I feel very close with my game, even if the scores may not show that right now. Last week at Pebble wasn’t the greatest showing, but I think that’s golf and you just have to take it how it is, and you have to grow from it. I mean, that’s when you appreciate the highs when you go through the lows.”

Korda also denied speculation that she has split with coach, Jamie Mulligan, insisting he remained a part of her support team along with long-time coach, David Whelan.

“I have a great team around me. I’m still working with Jamie Mulligan and David Whelan. David Whelan has been my coach since I was 14, so we kind of strictly work on a lot of short game stuff together.

“With Jamie, it’s tough because he spends a lot of time on the PGA Tour, but I love Jamie and we have a great relationship. He’s a super simple coach and he’s someone I want on my team and I love on my team. He’s super positive, and yeah, I’m still working with him.”

Korda also allayed any concerns over her fitness, adding: “I feel really good. That was the main concern, and now it’s just getting my golf fixed one round at a time, and we’ll see how it goes.”

The World No 2 is one of the headline acts in a star-studded field at Centurion, and she believes the Aramco Team Series events have played a big part in consolidating the growth of women’s golf worldwide since her elder sister, Jessica, broke onto the LPGA Tour 12 years ago.

“It’s honestly crazy,” she said. “It’s incredible to see how much the LPGA Tour has grown just from 2011. So to see every Tour and women’s golf in general grow every year and to possibly have a small part in that is amazing. And at the end of the day, we have a great product. Every Tour has a great product.

“I think the girls every year are getting so much better, and whenever we begin to showcase it, I mean, that’s going to be good for the game and hopefully we continue growing and inspiring the next generation.”

But Nelly’s comments regarding her sister were tinged with sadness as Jessica remains sidelined “indefinitely” due to a back problem of her own. “I miss her. Honestly, she’s like a built-in best buddy, a dinner buddy. So it’s definitely been a little bit of a change not having her at events this year. But, yeah, I miss her a lot.”

Bronte Law defends the title she won in spectacular style last year when she holed a huge putt for eagle on the final hole to pip fellow English star Georgia Hall, who admitted she has “unfinished business” this time around.

“I played so well last year, but I mean, these things happen,” said Hall. “It’s very up and down and that’s golf. But yeah, I feel confident going into this week and obviously we’ve got a very strong field again, same as last year.”

Law has, understandably, better memories to draw on from last year’s tournament. She is just as determined to enjoy a repeat performance in front of her home fans as she looks to build on an encouraging week at Pebble Beach following a poor run of form – a run that leaves her needing some strong results to retain her place on Europe’s Solheim Cup team in the Autumn.

“It’s great to be back,” she said. “We actually just recreated that putt on 18 so that was fun. I have a lot of fond memories from last year and love being back in England. I spend a lot of time in the US now so any time I’m back it’s nice to see a lot of friendly faces.

“I think each victory has kind of a special place just for different reasons. This one being in front of a home crowd, in front of my family, and each time I’m in a situation like that, it just feels really nice to share that with them. I played nicely last week. I mean, Pebble’s a beast so didn’t have the Sunday that I wanted, but I hit a lot of really good shots. It can be tough, and there was a couple of holes coming in where I dropped some shots. But overall, my golf is in a pretty good place now.”

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– Nelly Korda WITB

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