Nelly Korda is back this week at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican after taking a month off.
Her last appearance was at the LOTTE Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in early October, where she finished tied for fourth.
Korda has been dealing with injuries this season, which also kept her out of last month’s International Crown team event.
She returns now to The ANNIKA, an event where she is a three-time champion.
Nelly Korda provides fitness update ahead of Pelican return
Speaking to reporters before the event, Korda was asked how she is feeling physically. She said: “Yeah, took that time to really focus in on my neck injury and feel good. Happy to be out again.
“Sad to miss the Hanwha Classic. I love competing in Korea. I feel like the fans are so passionate so they’re so fun to play in front of. But happy to be back.”
The 27-year-old was then asked if her break was due to pain or a precautionary step, and she explained: “It was definitely very preventive, too.
“The thing with injuries and how many we travel and train, like you’re never pain-free,” she said. “If you go to any athlete across all sports and ask them if they’re pain-free, they’re going to tell you that they’re not.
“So last year was probably, I’m not going to lie, one of my worst injuries ever. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to play the rest of the year. I thought I was out for the season.
“And if I’m starting to feel that pain a little bit and I know that could possibly recur, I have to prioritise my body and say that, okay, I need to step back, take some time off, and make sure I don’t go down that path.”
Nelly Korda reflects on a full year without a win on the LPGA Tour
Korda has not picked up an LPGA Tour title since winning The ANNIKA last year, but she is still second in the world.
When asked if the lack of recent trophies has been weighing on her, the American replied:
“The only thing I can control is how much effort I put into each and every day, how I try and execute my shots. At the end of the day that’s all I can do.
“Obviously I’m very, very competitive and what I want to do on Sunday is hoist the trophy. Everyone in this field wants to do it.
“It’s definitely been a weird year, but I can’t compare this year to last year because every year… if you go back and not just talk about last year or talk about my years before that, like I’ve had years where I haven’t won and I played great golf; then the next year I won a few.
“So it’s just sports. It’s golf. You can’t expect to win. You can expect to put in 100%: 100% into your body, 100% in your routine, 100% into your practice, have no distractions. That’s what I can control and that is what I will control. But everything else is kind of out of my control.”
- READ MORE: Nelly Korda picks who she’d want as her partner to take on Grant Horvat and Phil Mickelson
As always, it was a rational response from Korda.
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