Thursday, June 4th, Los Angeles, California. I walk over to the eighth hole of Riviera Country Club with my camera. Hannah Green, Hyo Joo Kim and Nelly Korda are approaching the green. Korda is struggling in her first round while Green is playing relatively solid golf.
On my left, Petr Korda settles into his spot, watching his superstar daughter. On my right side comes in Owen Wilson, the star of Cars, Wedding Crashers, Loki and the recent golf show, Stick. He unintentionally utters his infamous catchphrase “wow” when Korda’s shot trickles in. It is a surreal, Los Angeles moment.
Korda has a habit at making the good moments exceptional. And she did that at Riviera over the last weekend.
Four-time major champion, 19-time LPGA Tour winner Nelly Korda was never necessarily great during her U.S. Women’s Open win at Riviera, but she was so consistently solid, and that got her the biggest championship of her illustrious career.
Korda had to change her game to win at Riviera. Over the week, she ranked top 20 in essentially every stat, driving, approach, around the green and putting. It was an all out assault of the golf course, but it didn’t come as easy as the stats say.
In the aftermath of this win, Hilary Duff and Adam Sandler have posted on social media while Korda was commenting on Tiger Woods and LeBron James messaging her personally.
Generally, U.S. Open Championships are won by attrition. It is a test of four days that will break players down to their most basic instincts. That wouldn’t ever seem to benefit Korda, who historically, hasn’t been very strong in this event. Korda is a pure ball striker who always ranks at an elite number off the tee, in her approach shots and, sometimes, in her short game. Her chipping isn’t always perfect, but when it is in form, it is by far the best in the world.
This particular week? It was the best in the world.
Korda gained two full strokes whenever it got near the green. That number combined with her typical ball striking greatness was enough to win by one stroke over fan favorites Charley Hull and Gaby López.
Yet, despite those two being some of the most lovable figures in the sport, the large crowd surrounding the iconic amphitheater around 18 was chanting. “NELLY! NELLY! NELLY!”
The great Beth Ann Nichols at Golfweek has been covering women’s golf for 20 years. She tweeted that she could not remember a player, outside of the Solheim Cup, who had their name chanted like that on the final hole of a championship ever.
Korda has clearly been the biggest star on the LPGA Tour for years. I’ve been to a dozen events over the last two seasons, and nobody demands a crowd like the 27-year-old from Bradenton. But what does this win do for the future of the Tour?
That is all up to the LPGA Tour, who has its biggest star ever. An American who wins at a rate that seemed impossible in the current landscape of the sport. Even Pat McAfee at ESPN talked today about how important she was to a sport in need of a superstar.
This is a moment where all of the eyes are on the LPGA, and it is up to them to show how serious it is about its growing fanbase.
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