'Nothing to prove'

When Nelly Korda addressed the media at Royal Porthcawl on Tuesday, she did so with a confidence and an air of authority that comes with being the pre-eminent force in women’s golf.

The two-time major winner has topped the Rolex Rankings for the last year and a half following a quite remarkable spell of dominance.

Nelly conquered all before her at the beginning of 2024, winning six times in seven starts – including at the Chevron Championship, the opening major of the year.

While she was understandably unable to continue that unprecedented sequence of success, she did finish runner-up to Lydia Ko at last year’s AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews, and was also T2 at this year’s US Women’s Open.

Nelly may not have added to her trophy haul of late – but write her off at your peril.

“I feel like I don't really have anything more to prove to people ever,” she said.

“For me it's just I'm passionate about the game. I love the game. I love playing in these kind of conditions, testing my game, and getting to play against the best players in the world.

“Having something to prove to myself, I don't think I really need to do that. For me it's just enjoying it and being in the heat of the battle. Yeah, of course I want to accomplish more. There are goals that I have, goals that I set for myself.

“To make myself feel whole about winning in every country that I play in, that's definitely not my goal. My goal is to prepare the best that I can, enjoy myself, and hopefully be in contention. And then kind of enjoy the ride because, as many highs as I've had, I've had a lot of lows too with this sport.”

Nelly, who turned 27 on Monday, enters another major week as the number one player in the world, a position she has held since March 2024.

Her brilliance and charisma is sure to once again pull the bumper crowds at Royal Porthcawl.

But there will be another name on everyone’s lips this year; the magnificent Lottie Woad.

The 21-year-old finished T10 at last year’s Championship to claim the coveted Smyth Salver, a prize awarded to the top-placed amateur. Her rise since then has been as astonishing as Nelly’s relentless run of victories was.

Lottie came close to being the first amateur to win a major since 1967 when she just missed out on a play-off place at the recent Evian Championship.

She also romped to victory at the KPMG Women's Irish Open earlier this month, winning by a massive six shots from Madelene Sagstrom.

Lottie turned pro after the Evian and made another huge statement by claiming the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open last week – joining Rose Zhang and Beverly Hanson as the only players to triumph on their professional debuts on the LPGA Tour.

Nelly played with Lottie during the first two rounds at Dundonald Links – and happily waxed lyrical about the young English talent.

“[Lottie was] absolutely amazing,” said Nelly.

“I was very impressed with her composure, her process. When it comes to her shot routine, especially under pressure and in the heat of the moment, sometimes people seem to fidget and kind of doubt themselves but she stuck to it, she stuck to her process every single time, and I think that's one of the main things that I noticed; how mature she is for her age and how comfortable she was in the heat of the moment.

“You can see that she's put a ton of hours in. Her putting is very solid, her game's solid, she hits it pretty far off the tee.

“Golf is a game of confidence, and she's definitely high up there right now, so she's going to be trusting everything.”

This is Nelly’s first visit to Royal Porthcawl – which boasts a view of the sea from every hole – and she cannot wait to get going on Thursday.

“The first four holes are beautiful,” she said. “The views from the golf course are absolutely breathtaking, but you can definitely tell that, when the wind kind of picks up here, it's going to be a really, really hard test.”