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Golfer Korda cool amid Aussie Open hype

3 minute read

American golfer Nelly Korda reckons it's cool to arrive in Adelaide as the defending Women's Australian Open champion.

Nelly Korda can't escape it.

Almost everywhere she looks in Adelaide, the American golfer is reminded that she's the reigning Women's Australian Open champion.

The 21-year-old's face, beaming while holding last year's open trophy, appears on promotional posters lining the surrounds of this year's venue, Royal Adelaide.

And Korda also appears in photos of past champions at the players' hotel.

"I'm definitely seeing my face a lot," Korda told reporters on Tuesday.

"It's even on the floors of the hotel.

"But yeah, it's cool.

"You kind of just try to soak it all up and it's definitely special seeing your face everywhere."

Korda's triumph at The Grange course last February capped a remarkable stretch of success for her family in Australia.

Her father Petr won tennis' Australian Open title in 1998; her sister Jessica won golf's Australian Open in 2012; and her brother Sebastian claimed tennis' boys junior Australian Open crown in 2018.

And Nelly's win kickstarted a remarkable LPGA season - two wins, 12 top-10 finishes resulting in being ranked world No.3.

"Last year, winning this was a dream, it was definitely on my bucket list as a professional golfer just to get this one here in Australia," she said.

"I started out with three bogeys last year and I looked at my caddie and said "I'm not going to think anything about winning the tournament, just go out and play'.

"And from then on, I played really well. So that is the mentality I adopted throughout the whole year."

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