Amid Skyrocketed Expectations, LPGA Cover Girl Nelly Korda Admits to the Spark of Mixed Golf and Its Subsequent Results: “Bring In More Viewership”

LPGA’s Nelly Korda did not really live up to her star billing in the past two majors, suffering a missed cut in one followed by a T64 finish in another. This week, at the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship, the 24-year-old will be hoping to turn things around and claim the second major title of her career.

Fans are hopeful of Korda’s chances, given her dominant victory at the recently concluded Aramco Team Series in London. The win had come hours after she witnessed the Wimbledon Quarter Final match between Novak Djokovic and Andrey Rublev at the iconic Centre Court. But Djokovic’s heroics aren’t the only thing that Korda took back from the grand slam event, as evidenced by her revelation at the press conference for the year’s fourth major. Let’s jump in to find out more!

Nelly Korda advocates for mixed events in golf

In December of 2022, the QBE Shootout, a team-based unofficial event on the PGA Tour, saw the pair of Max Homa and Kevin Kisner take on Nelly Korda and Denny McCarthy. Back then, Korda’s golfing chops grabbed eyeballs, with Kisner saying, “I think I called her the Tiger Woods of the LPGA Tour at one point.”

Responding to the praise showered upon her, Korda cheekily said, “They should watch more women’s golf.” Korda’s passion for bringing more attention to the women’s game was on display once again at the Evian Resort Golf Club on Wednesday.

Before she began her Evian Championship run, the golfer was asked about her visit to Wimbledon as well as her takeaway on the mixed doubles events that have been part and parcel of tennis for a long time. So, does the Olympic gold medalist think that mixed golfing events could help give female players some much-needed boost?

“Yeah, I think it would be really beneficial for the sport,” Korda noted. “This year we’ll have the Grand Thornton Invitational at Naples that’s going to be a joint event with the men, 16 teams, which is a very unique and fun format.”

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Later this year, the Grant Thornton Invitational will replace the QBE Shootout. It will feature 32 players, 16 from the PGA Tour and 16 from the LPGA Tour, competing in teams for a $4 million purse. “I think any single time we can be joined with the men, I think that’s going to bring in more viewership,” Korda further confessed at the press conference preceding the 2023 Evian Championship.

The PGA Tour and LPGA Tour are set to team up for the Grant Thornton Invitational

This year, mixed golf is coming to the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour. The highly anticipated Grant Thornton Invitational will take place at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, from December 8–10.

“We could not be more excited to add the Grant Thornton Invitational to our 2023 schedule,” LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said pertaining to the event. Meanwhile, PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan referred to the move as an effort to make golf “more appealing and welcoming to all.”

Not much has come out about the format of the event. However, some information has come to light about the competitors. Golfers Rickie Fowler and Jessica Korda are expected to team up, as are Tony Finau and Nelly Korda. All four players are Grant Thornton ambassadors and will attract golf fans in large numbers.

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Do you agree with Nelly Korda’s thoughts on mixed golf events? Do you think more such tournaments can boost the women’s game even further? Tell us in the comments!