After a minor break and some dog sledding, Nelly Korda begins follow-up to historic season
The LPGA is kicking off its 2025 campaign this week, but it didn’t feel like much of an offseason for Nelly Korda.
The world No. 1 said Tuesday she only put the clubs away for seven days, following her appearance with her father in the PNC Championship, which concluded Dec. 22.
During that week, Korda said she spent time with family, cooked and even did some dog sledding in Utah.
“That was more of like a one-and-done situation,” Korda said of the snowy excursion. “It was really cool experience, but I will probably never be doing that ever again.”
What she’d love to do again, however, is repeat her performance of last season. Korda won seven times on tour, including her second career major. Five of those triumphs came in successive starts, tying a tour record.
“Very, very, very crazy” – three verys – was how she described 2024. For all the highs, the season also had its share of lows with a few injuries and some major mishaps. Ultimately, she said it was a “learning experience,” encompassing everything from not focusing on others’ expectations to properly managing her schedule.
Korda will play this week’s limited-field tournament at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida, and then next week at her home in Bradenton, for the Founders Cup. She’ll again skip the tour’s early-year, three-event Asia swing, and return to action for her title defenses at the Ford Championship, T-Mobile Match Play and Chevron Championship.
Korda will only get a chance this season to defend five of her seven victories. The Drive On Championship – her first win of ’24 – was contested at Bradenton Country Club. That site remains but is now hosting the rescheduled Founders Cup, which is officially Rose Zhang’s tournament to defend.
Also removed from the schedule is the Fir Hills Se Ri Pak Championship, which was part of Korda’s early-2024 title run.
She doesn’t focus too much on past success, though, noting how much can change from one year to the next. “I mean, the field is different. There [are] different girls in the field. Weather is different. Golf course could be different. There are so many variabilities that just completely changes it,” she said.
This is one tournament Korda has never won (though, her sister, Jessica, did in 2021). Nelly tied for 16th last year in the event which is open to LPGA winners over the last two years and includes a concurrent, 72-hole celebrity portion.
In part to Korda’s dominance, this year’s LPGA field stands at 32 players.
Armed with “a little bit of equipment changes,” including a new driver, her follow-up to a historic season begins on Thursday — a perfect soft launch.
“It’s a different, relaxed vibe,” she said, “and no better way to start off the year than playing in this event.”