After ending the year with seven victories, Nelly Korda’s 2024 season will be remembered as one of the all-time great performances on the LPGA Tour.
Korda earned over $14 million and concluded 2024 as one of the highest-paid female athletes on the planet. However, there were some difficult moments.
The world number one headed to the US Open as the overwhelming favourite, with many predicting Korda to cruise to victory at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania. Her challenge was over before it started, however.
Korda made a ten on the par-three 12th hole after finding the water hazard on multiple occasions. The American was then left with an uphill battle to make the cut and fell just short during the second round.
A matter of weeks later, Korda was out of sorts at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and missed the cut after finishing six over.
Nelly Korda says why she struggled despite record-breaking LPGA Tour season
Speaking during an appearance on the Golf Channel, Korda admitted that she was mentally exhausted during the middle part of the season.
“You do get caught up in that light a little bit, and it’s really important to recharge those batteries,” Korda explained.
“After Chevron, I was so mentally exhausted. Those under-pressure moments of being in contention take so much out of you that it was really important for me to recharge. I am not going to lie and say I knew what I was doing. In the middle of the year, when I had the US Open, KPNG and a couple of other regular events, I was really struggling.”
She added, “I didn’t have much energy. My mind wasn’t connecting to my body, and I think I was a little too tired. The negative energy and not playing great kind of wore on me a little, but that was a great learning opportunity for me. It made me realise that the people around me are the most important people, and I am so grateful and lucky for those people. It was a great way to lean on others, too.”
Has Nelly Korda won the Women’s US Open?
After her forgetful experience at Lancaster Country Club, the US Open will be on Korda’s mind in 2025. The year’s toughest major heads to Erin Hills in May, and there’s no doubt the world number one will be looking to bounce back after what happened in Pennsylvania.
During her career, Korda has only finished under par once in the US Open, coming at the 2022 edition at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club.
At Pebble Beach in 2023, she placed near the foot of the field at 13 over, and she missed the cut in 2021 at the Olympic Club after shooting 78 and 75.
Clearly, maintaining mental toughness during the middle stretch of the season is essential for Korda if she’s to challenge for the US Open in 2025.
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