It’s not unusual to see golfers from the LPGA Tour forming strong friendships with their counterparts on the PGA Tour. After all, they share the same passion and often find themselves navigating the same highs and lows of professional golf. But what truly raises eyebrows is when an LPGA star strikes up a close bond with a golfer from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League. Yet, that’s precisely the case with LPGA golfer Nelly Korda and LIV golfer Bubba Watson.

Korda and Watson’s friendship goes way back, long before Watson made the controversial move to LIV Golf. Over the years, they’ve created plenty of memorable moments together, but their latest story might just be the most special yet. In a recent video posted by LIV Golf on their YouTube channel, Watson fondly recalls the moment he first met Korda. Surprisingly, he hadn’t heard of her before that encounter. “I didn’t know who she was,” Watson admitted. “I’d watched some LPGA, so I’d heard about her after she shot a 62 following a missed cut somewhere.”

Watson was referring to Korda’s performance at the 2021 Solheim Cup after she missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open—a decent showing by any measure. Intrigued by her resilience, Watson reached out to Korda’s team captain, Pat Hurst, to set up a meeting. And when they finally met, Watson was all about encouragement. “I said, Nelly, I just want to meet you, talk with you, and give you a hug right? Just to support her,” he shared, highlighting his genuine admiration for Korda’s grit.

Despite Korda’s performance at the 2021 Solheim Cup being a mixed bag with a 2-2-0 record, it was moments like these that forged their unique friendship, proving that bonds in golf can transcend tour affiliations and competitive rivalries.

Nelly Korda’s reply to Bubba Watson’s wise word

Bubba Watson’s recent words of wisdom resonated with Nelly Korda. He shared his fresh perspective on golf, saying, “Forget golf. Just everyday life. Trying to be the husband I need to be, trying to be the parent I need to be, the friend I need to be.” And Korda who was still reeling from missing the cut at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open and a bad performance at the 2021 Solheim Cup took his words to heart.

She admitted, “Missing the cut was hard, kind of have to take a step back and look at it in a sense of how Bubba [Watson] and [Matthew] Wolff were saying”. Their friendship has stayed strong ever since, Watson even posted a photo of the two of them on his Instagram recently. And the lessons he gave him can still be seen in the way Korda handles pressure.