Nelly Korda confirmed that she is fully fit and eager to build on her impressive record in the Aramco Team Series when she competed at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire on Friday.
The world No. 2 won the Aramco Sotogrande team race last year and finished second and fourth in the other two ATS matches, both in New York. This week sees her debut in the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF-London and she is hungry for her first success in 2023.
Korda has pulled back from injury and believes her best golf is not far off, despite not making the cut at the KPMG Women’s Championship in June and finishing 64th at the US Women’s Open last week.
She said: “I feel very close to my game – the results may not look like they do now. At the start of the year I had a really strong start. I could barely finish outside the top ten, then I lost a couple of cuts. Last week at Pebble Beach wasn’t the greatest of shows But I think that’s what golf is and you just have to take it as it is, you have to grow from it. I mean, that’s when you appreciate the highs when you go through the lows.”
Korda is an advocate of the innovative Aramco Team Series format where in the first two days 36 teams are targeting the lion’s share of the $500,000 prize pool. Each quad has a captain who selects one teammate in the draft players, while he is assigned an additional pro along with an amateur. The last 18 holes of the tournament are for professionals only when there is an additional $500,000 bid.
Korda said, “I think it’s a very fun event. Especially the team side of it, I think it brings a different kind of energy. It’s fun, it’s light, and it makes golf so much fun, having teammates with you.”
Korda’s opening look came to the Centurion Club this morning. She said: “I played on the back nine – it’s a really nice golf course, in really good shape. The wind is starting to pick up towards the end and I know high winds are expected for this week, so I think it’s going to be a tough test. Every time I get in I try to put my best foot forward.” I have. There is only one goal in mind, and that is to win the title at the end of the week. So I will give everything I have and see how it goes.”
Bronte Law delivered one of the moments of the 2022 season when she sank a long-range eagle on the 18th green to win the latest renewal of the Aramco-London team series. This week, the English lady revisited the scene of one of the most dramatic strikes of her career.
“We just recreated the hit on the 18th, so that was fun,” said Law. “It’s great to be back. I think every victory is special for just different reasons. This one is in front of a home crowd, in front of my family – every time I’m in a situation like that, I feel like it’s really good to share that with them.”
Lu finished tied for 45th at the US Women’s Open, but was encouraged by a lot of her play throughout the week. She said, “I played great last week. I mean, Pebble is a beast, so I didn’t have the Sunday I wanted, but I hit a lot of really good putts. Overall, my golf is in a pretty good place now.”
Tickets to see the event at the Centurion Club are available July 14-16 through beingTickets for adults are £5 on Friday and £10 for the weekend, while those under 18 can attend for free.