A focus on fun

Nelly Korda is focused on having fun as she aims to secure a dream victory in the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews.

World number one Korda has enjoyed an incredible 2024, with a haul of six titles highlighted by her second major win at the Chevron Championship in April.

Success on the iconic Old Course in the final major of the year would represent a hugely significant achievement, but Korda is eager to remain relaxed and embrace the unique challenges of links golf, particularly with strong winds forecast for the start of the Championship.

“I’ve experienced all weather already and it’s just Wednesday,” said the 26-year-old.

“In a sense, you can prepare all you want. You can play Monday through Wednesday but then, you know, it's all about the weather and taking it a shot at a time, being very present.

“And it's also fun because it's a different creative side to golf where you have to work the ball sometimes more than you're used to when you're hitting different shots, bumps-and-runs.

“It's just a little bit more creative and for me that's fun to do. So I will have a lot of fun with it.”

St Andrews is hosting the AIG Women’s Open for the first time since 2013 and Korda is delighted to be at the home of golf.

“There’s so much rich history out here – it’s been really exciting,” she added.

“I played the back nine on Monday, and then I played the front yesterday for the first time.

“Coming down 18, the views there are spectacular.

“When was it, two years ago they hosted the men (for The 150th Open)? Getting to see that on TV and knowing that we were going to be here this year, I was really excited for it.

“The rich history out here and getting to play it ourselves, it's going to be such an amazing week.

“It would obviously a dream come true to have my name etched into the history. But at the end of the day, I'm just going to focus that one shot at a time and not think of Sunday. I'm just going to think of my first tee shot on Thursday.”

As the dominant figure in golf, Korda is sure to attract a significant following of fans at the Old Course.

She spent plenty of time signing autographs for spectators during her practice round on Wednesday and is eager to serve as an inspiration to the youngsters in attendance this week.

“That's probably one of my favourite things about playing tournaments is seeing all the young girls and boys come out and follow and tell me that, you know, I'm their role model or I'm the reason that they have picked up the game of golf,” Korda explained.

“Because I had role models, too, that made me pick up the game of golf. Obviously one is my sister (Jessica) but I've had so many other ones, too. Hopefully I have a positive impact on their life, and they love the game of golf as much as me.”