When an 18-year-old Nelly Korda revealed her mental game at a tournament – “I’m not going to get ahead of myself”

Nelly Korda has had plenty of impressive performances of late. The current world no.1 is among the most successful women golfers in the world, with 20 professional wins to her name.

Back in 2017, a year after she turned pro, she opened up about her mental game while playing at the Marathon Classic, which is currently known as the Dana Open presented by Marathon. The then 18-year-old was in the lead at the tournament after shooting a 5-under 66 in the third round. Following the conclusion of the third round of the tournament, Korda opened up about her mental game.

She said (via Washington Times),

“There’s still 18 more holes and a lot of golf left to be played, so I’m just going to stay patient and see how it goes. Not really going to think about it too much. I’m not going to get ahead of myself. I’ve done that a couple times this year, and I’m just going to take it shot by shot.”

However, after a good start at the Marathon Classic, Korda struggled on the greens and shot 74 on the Sunday , finishing in a tie for eighth place. In Kyung Kim won the LPGA Tour event in 2017 by registering a four-stroke win over Lexi Thompson.

At the 2017 Marathon Classic, Korda shot a first round of 68 and then carded a round of 64. She shot 66 in the third round and finished with 74 in the final round.

A look at Nelly Korda’s impressive career
Since turning pro in 2016, Nelly Korda has been pretty impressive on the LPGA Tour. She missed a chance to win at the 2017 Marathon Classic, but the next year, she clinched her maiden LPGA Tour event at the 2018 Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship. She registered a two-shot win over Minjee Lee.

She then won two LPGA Tour events in 2019, winning the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open before defending her title at the Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA. Korda was tied for the lead after four rounds with Minjee Lee and Caroline Masson, and the American won her third LPGA Tour event in a playoff.

Nelly Korda has won 20 tournaments in her career so far, including 15 on the LPGA Tour. She has three wins on the Ladies European Tour, one on the Epson Tour, and one Olympic gold, at the Tokyo Games 2020.

The most impressive season of her career came in 2024. She won seven tournaments this season, including a winning streak at five consecutive LPGA Tour events. Her victory streak started at the LPGA Drive On Championship and continued with the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, followed by the Ford Championship.

She went on to win the T-Mobile Match Play and her second major title, The Chevron Championship. She also won the Mizuho Americas Open and the Annika driven by Gainbridge.