Nelly Korda Unfortunately Falls Victim to Caitlin Clark Hype After Augusta Chairman’s Brutal Snub

Nelly Korda is on a scorching form unseen in more than a decade. The current world #1 has captured four straight titles this season. The 12-time LPGA Tour winner is on the cusp of matching Nancy Lopez’s 1978 record of five straight victories. Korda’s historic feat has drawn many to the game, with some even ripping apart broadcasters for showing PGA Tour Champions instead of the LPGA Tour. 

But Korda’s consecutive slam dunks haven’t drawn nearly as many eyeballs as Caitlin Clark’s meteoric rise has. During the pre-Masters press conference, Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley was asked why there might be a discrepancy in the numbers. The veteran chairman had an intriguing response. 

Not Nelly Korda, but an amateur can change the women’s golf

Ridley believes there is something about amateurs rising to the top that captures the imagination. He admits he hadn’t watched the WNBA a lot before Clark’s rise. But Clark is that special “somebody” who transcends the boundaries of sports.

“I have to confess that, in spite of my love of the game and the women’s game of golf, I haven’t watched a lot of women’s basketball, but I watched the last three or four games that Iowa played this year. So there you go. I mean, it’s just the way she plays, the way Caitlin plays the game, her passion, her energy, it just — it really just captures the imagination of the fans.

This is also why, rather than an established LPGA Tour pro, like Nelly Korda, Ridley hopes that someone from the amateurs will provide that impetus to Golf. “There’s something about, even with all the change in rules and NIL and transfer portal, but amateur athletes just have an appealing characteristic to me. And particularly the young ones,” Ridley said.

While Ridley admits there is an urgent need for “more unicorns,” that has to be someone from the amateurs. Someone like Anna Davis. Or even Rose Zhang, perhaps. That also raised the question: will we ever see an LPGA Pro teeing up at the Augusta National for a major?

What about the women’s masters?

Ridley admitted that there were some ‘fundamental’ difficulties in hosting another major at Augusta. While the Augusta National Women’s Amateur fits perfectly into the Masters week, another one wouldn’t. Aside from the logistical problems of hosting two consecutive grand events in the same course, ANGC closes down in the third week of May. 

What about the fall, though? Here is what Fred Ridley had to say in the press conference: “It doesn’t play the way we want it to play in the fall for a major tournament. We did have one, one time, and Dustin Johnson did very well. Ridley also said it’s essential “to maintain mystique and the magic of the Masters.” So, there is no chance of Nelly Korda teeing up on the par 72, 7555-yard layout for a competitive round.