Nelly Korda has always been a natural at everything she tries. Her perseverance to be the best in any sport she picked up earned her the nickname ‘lion’ from a young age. It’s what she does.
“I’ve always been super determined and super focused on what I want,” Korda said.
Becoming An Olympian
Going into the games was no different. Nelly attacks every competition the same way and her training focuses in on one purpose…winning.
‘I think when people ask me if I prepare more or put more meaning than normal (into) majors or Olympics or whatever, I say, “no”, because I go into any type of an event with the same demeanor and the same goal,’ she explained.
She has more than proved herself as a force to be reckoned with on the LPGA winning six Tour events. In June, Korda won the Women’s PGA Championship just over a month ago for her first Major championship win.
So, it came as no surprise that Nelly was selected to compete for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics this year. Just like she did when she was a kid, Korda was relentless in her pursuit of her very first gold medal. In round two of the event, she shot 9 under to finish with a 62 and tied for the lowest score ever at an Olympic golf event. Her good luck continued with the round 3 where she held onto her lead to finish with two under for the day.
The Final Round
Saturday’s event was a little less comfortable for the Olympian. The fight for gold was a little crowded with no clear leader for much of the round. We also saw a nervous Korda playing with a little more caution than her fellow competitors who were in an all-out battle for the top of the podium.
After dropping back on number 7 to tie for second with Lydia Ko from New Zealand, Korda found her confidence again and birdied the next three holes to put her back in first. She didn’t let go of it again.
With Xander’s win the week before, Korda’s win locked in Team USA’s sweep of the gold medals in both the men’s and women’s golf events at the games.
“Honestly, it’s crazy,” she told reporters.
Korda’s sister, Jessica had finished her round earlier and was right by Nelly’s side to help her celebrate her big win.
“This is just kind of like almost legend status as a golfer, period, male or female,” an excited Jessica told reporters. “It’s tough to win out here and she makes it look easy, but those girls are good. So for her to be doing what she’s doing, it’s insane to me. This is like total GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) status to me. To win three times in a season, be world No. 1, going for gold.”
The fight for gold was not an easy one and Nelly had to overcome challenges and she proved yet again that she truly is a lion.
