World No. 1 Nelly Korda made a surprising revelation after playing nine holes with Caitlin Clark on Wednesday morning.
She suffered a neck injury almost two months ago, forcing her to withdraw from a pair of events apart of the LPGA’s Asian Swing in South Korea and Malaysia. But she desperately wanted to tee it up with Clark and play in the final two events of the season, both of which are being held in Florida, her home state.
“I really, really wanted to play this week, so in a sense, maybe I rushed my rehab to get to these two events,” Korda revealed Wednesday.
“Just a lot of rehab. I haven’t really been playing too much golf.”
Korda has not played since the Kroger Queen City Championship in September, which took place the week after she helped Team USA win the Solheim Cup. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, Korda had migraine headaches, which bothered her in Virginia and Cincinnati during those two weeks. Nobody would have known based on her play, but Korda said on Wednesday that sleeping in a dark room was the only way to ease the pain.
She also believes that those headaches led to her neck injury.
“Thankfully, no more pain. I did feel a good bit, and that’s why I couldn’t hit for a while. But have done a lot of rehab,” Korda said.
“Going to take week by week and hopefully be ready for next week as well.”
Next week’s CME Group Tour Championship will mark the end of the 2024 LPGA season, a year best remembered for Korda’s astonishing play. She won six times earlier this spring, including five in a row, as she captivated the entire sporting world. Since then, though, she has had a healthy dose of struggles, close calls, and now a neck injury, so her 2024 campaign has featured the highest of highs but plenty of lows, too.
“It goes by in a blur,” Korda said of her season.
“My job, in a sense, is kind of the love of my life. Like, I love golf so much. I love being out here. I love inspiring the next generation. I hope that with everything that has gone on this year, I’ve taken some time to reflect. It is good to take a step away sometimes and take a little bit more time for yourself. Go on a trip, disconnect, also put your head down and grind because, at the end of the day, you’re trying to perform.”
But Korda has performed so well all year that she has become the face of the LPGA. Thankfully, for her and golf fans everywhere, she is healthy once again. And yet, hopefully, her “rushed” rehab does not backfire on her but instead leads her back into contention.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
