Nelly Korda savours being world No 1 after landing maiden major at KPMG Women's PGA
"Being world No 1, that has a lovely ring to it, not going to lie! But I feel like you're constantly setting new goals for yourself and you're constantly striving to achieve more"
By Keith Jackson
Last Updated: 28/06/21 5:56am
Nelly Korda will take time to assess her next career targets as she reflected on the double achievement of a maiden major victory and becoming the new world No 1.
Korda's three-shot victory over Lizette Salas at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship was her third win of the season, and the young American's stellar form has ended Jin Young Ko's 92-week reign at the top of the Rolex World Rankings.
The 22-year-old arrived in Atlanta on the back of her second LPGA Tour win this year at the Meijer LPGA Classic, and a final-round 68 including two eagles was plenty enough to hold off the challenge of Salas on the final day of the third women's major of the year.
And as she came to terms with the significance of her successes, Korda vowed to keep "striving for more" with a series of huge events still to come in 2021, including two more majors, the Olympic Games and the Solheim Cup in early September.
Asked what her goals were for the remainder of the year, Korda said: "Give me some time, please. I don't know. I mean, it's super important to sit down with your team and to think about it, but you're constantly striving for more.
"Being world No 1, that has a lovely ring to it, not going to lie! It's been amazing, the past few days, the battle with Lizette, it's been a lot of fun. It's been stressful, and I think it's had everything. But I just can't believe it. I'm still in shock.
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"I mean, it's really nice and it hasn't really set in, but I feel like you're constantly setting new goals for yourself and you're constantly striving to achieve more in a sense, but I am going to sit down and just enjoy this for a little while."
Korda's eagles at the fifth, where her second pulled up a few inches short of dropping for an albatross-two, and the 12th took her to 11 under for the par-fives over the week, a key statistic in her march to victory.
"I pretty much dominated a lot of the par-fives," she added. "I hit the ball really well, putted my putts. Everything was on, and when you look back on weeks like this, it's really special, and you don't take it for granted. I'm really grateful for all the work and for my family constantly pushing me."
Korda now has the edge over elder sister Jessica, who has six LPGA titles but is still searching for her first major, and Nelly paid tribute to her sibling for her "selfless" support.
"She has a heart of gold," said Korda, whose win was the second sporting major triumph for her family after her father, former tennis star Petr, won the Australian Open in 1998. "She's the most selfless person out there.
"I mean, she's five years older, so she has showed me the ropes of the LPGA, the ropes of professional golf, and I've been super lucky to have been showed that because a lot of people don't get that opportunity.
"If I'm struggling, she's right there for me. I can't thank her enough for everything she has done and for how selfless of a person she is."
Salas, meanwhile, was "extremely proud" of her performance as she carded only two bogeys in 72 holes, but she managed only two birdies in her final-round 71 as she posted her second runner-up finish in a major.
The 31-year-old has now set her sights on making the American Solheim Cup team, while she revealed that she considered retirement from professional golf after a disappointing 2020 season.
"We came here with a goal, and I think we exceeded it," said Salas, who has played in the last four Solheim Cup contests. "I did what I planned to do. When things weren't going my way, I still said, 'I'm okay'.
"There's just a lot going on right now. There's a lot of emotion. I'm really grateful for being in this position and for fighting until the end. I was talking earlier how I was tired of playing with that chip on my shoulder, and now I own that instead of running away from it. Yeah, I played great this week, and I think this is the start of something great.
"We ranked up some Solheim Cup points, and the beautiful thing is there's two American flags on top of that leaderboard. A lot, a lot of positives. I'm just really grateful for everything."
