On Sunday at iconic Riviera Country Club, World No. 1 Nelly Korda is on a hunt for history.
A late birdie run on Saturday has her tied for the lead and 18 holes away from capturing her first U.S. Women’s Open title. If she’s successful, she’ll also accomplish a feat no American woman has in over 60 years.
One key to Korda’s recent success, as she explained in her press conference Saturday night, was a “mindset shift” that has her dialed into one of the great runs in golf history.
But Korda also revealed the secret that helped her successfully change her attitude. It’s a habit she goes through every morning in the bathroom, a trick inspired by other pro athletes, and one that could see her summit the mountaintop on Sunday.
At last year’s U.S. Women’s Open, Korda came tantalizingly close to getting the job done. But she faltered on the back nine to finish T2, a common pattern in her career to that point.
On Saturday, she explained that last year she “really, really wanted it,” but that became an issue, because “the more you want it sometimes the more you stiffen up and you get a little bit more nervous.”
In the offseason, she pinpointed the source of the problem: her attitude. She explained that frustrations often got the better of her on the course, leading to poor play down the stretch at big tournaments.
The fix? To foster a positive, easygoing attitude on the course.
“That’s kind of been my attitude this year is like no matter what it throws at me, if I’m just going to get a silly bounce here or there I’ll end up in a divot like I’ll figure it out…” Korda said. “Because I think the worst thing that you can be, but which I am still, is a perfectionist in this sport. It does drive you nuts when you constantly miss a divot or you’re in a divot by a centimeter here and there, or you hit a great putt and it just lips out.”
She continued: “Like those frustrations throughout the round can really build when it’s all kind of not going your way.”
Korda explained that she talked to many people close to her to help with her attitude change. Some tough love from her fiancé was also crucial, “He always tells me, ‘You need to be a little bit more positive,'” Korda said while laughing on Saturday.
But while others can help her with an attitude shift, Korda explained that “the only person at the end of the day that can change that is myself.”
To make the new positive outlook stick, Korda started a new bathroom routine this year. She writes positive notes to herself on post-it notes and sticks them on the bathroom mirror when she’s getting ready.
“I started at the beginning of the year writing positive notes to myself in my bathroom,” Korda revealed on Saturday. “And I’ve seen a bunch of athletes do that. So other athletes inspire me, too. I started doing that and it’s a great reminder and I do it occasionally here and there.”
She keeps the routine up on the road, too.
“I travel with post-it notes and I stick ’em on to the mirror when I get ready and I write myself a positive note and that’s my thought for the week,” Korda explained.
But Korda refused to reveal what her bathroom post-it note thought for this week was.
“Nope, nope, that is all me.”
So far, you can only argue Korda’s new bathroom routine has been a success. She has three wins already this season and three runner-up finishes. One of those wins was a major triumph at the Chevron Championship, the third major title of her career.
After back-to-back 67s at Riviera on Friday and Saturday, Korda is tied with Sei Young Kim at six under.
If she were to claim her fourth major championship victory on Sunday, and first U.S. Women’s Open title, she would be the first American pro to do so in a long, long time.
The last American woman golfer to win four majors was Hall of Famer Mickey Wright. She accomplished the feat way back in 1960… 66 years ago.
It would also give Korda three legs of the career Grand Slam. Despite the fact that there are now five majors in women’s golf, a player only needs to win four of them to be considered a Grand Slam champion.
Better yet? With a victory on Sunday, Korda will have won the first two majors of the season, keeping her hopes for a single-season Grand Slam alive.
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