“You never feel like you can take a deep breath” – Nelly Korda gets honest about the U.S. Women’s Open’s 'demanding' test

Nelly Korda opened up about how playing the US Women's Open was different from other LPGA events. Korda is playing the US Women's Open at the Erin Hills Golf Course this week, and the golfer is in second place after the tournament's second round.

Following the round, Korda joined the press conference at the Erin Hills Golf Course, where she was asked whether winning the US Open required different skills than winning a regular LPGA event. In response, Korda answered (via ASAP Sports):

“I would say that it's very demanding in every part of your game, off the tee, into the greens, on the green, too. You never can feel like you can take a deep breath like you can relax because something is always next. It's a very demanding shot. Same thing with mental. At the end of the day that's just major championship golf. That's why we do what we do is to play these types of golf courses in this type of scenery where it just tests every part of your game.”

Nelly Korda continued,

“All week I was hitting putts really well. I wasn't discouraged by all the missed putts or the close calls that I had yesterday. I just tried to build on that because I was hitting really good putts…it's not my first, and it definitely won't be my last. That's kind of the mindset that you have to have, that there are some opportunities out there, and I'm hitting it well off the tee, into the greens and putting.”

Nelly Korda finished at even par 72 after the opening round with one birdie on the last nine. She scored 5 under par 67 in the second round with four birdies on the front nine and three on the back nine.

How has Nelly Korda performed in the 2025 season so far?

Nelly Korda had five top 20 finishes in the 2025 season, including second place at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, a T7 at the Founders Cup pres. by U.S. Virgin Islands, and a T14 at The Chevron Championship. Here's a list of Korda's performances in the 2025 season so far:

2025 LPGA Tournaments

Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club: Second-place finish, 71-67-67-65, 270 (-18)
Founders Cup pres. by U.S. Virgin Islands at the Bradenton Country Club: T7, 68-68-65-71, 272 (-12)
Ford Championship pres. by Wild Horse Pass at the Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass: T22, 67-65-73-69, 274 (-14)
JM Eagle LA Championship pres. by Plastpro at the El Caballero Country Club: T16, 67-68-67-72, 274 (-14)
The Chevron Championship at the Carlton Woods: T14, 77-68-71-70, 286 (-2)
Mizuho Americas Open at the Liberty National Golf Club: T5, 68-68-68-73, 277 (-11)

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at Sportskeeda. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee