
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 18, 2024; The Woodlands, Texas, USA; Nelly Korda (USA) walks up to the 17th tee during the first round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today via Reuters
Apr 18, 2024; The Woodlands, Texas, USA; Nelly Korda (USA) walks up to the 17th tee during the first round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
The LPGA Tour has kicked off in style at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club on Thursday. The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions features a host of big names competing for the first title of the season.
The Tournament also has a celebrity division where celebrities compete against each other for a separate title. And a former winner of the celebrity division Derek Lowe turned savior for Nelly Korda. After driving off the tee at hole 9 at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, a fan proposed marriage to Nelly Korda.
She was asked about the incident after Round 2. While she stated that she does not get random proposals like that too often, she was grateful that the former Boston Red Sox Pitcher was quick to action. “Not too often, but D Lowe shut him right down.” Korda said.
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The 26-year-old who was grouped with ten-time Major Winner Annika Sorenstam and Derek Lowe was silent when it happened but the latter took it upon himself to respond for her. Korda recounted the events, saying, “I didn’t say anything and he was like, ‘Bud, I think that was a no.’ ”
What makes the story even interesting is that post the interaction with the fan, Lowe checked with Korda if it was ok that he went out of his way to speak for her. “He was like, ‘did I speak out of turn?’ I was like, ‘no, that was a great answer.’ The two-time Major winner clarified.
The crowd present at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club seemed to love the interaction, according to the tweet of Beth Ann Nichols, senior reporter for Golfweek.
Nelly Korda got a marriage proposal after this tee shot! Derek Lowe told the fan that she said no. Crowd got a big kick out of it! All in good fun. pic.twitter.com/pVmdKxex0w
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) January 30, 2025
What’s your perspective on:
Did Derek Lowe save the day for Nelly Korda, or was it just playful banter?
Have an interesting take?
The incident occurred during a difficult Round 1 for Nelly Korda, but the 15-time LPGA Tour winner quickly turned it around on day 2. What was special about day 2?
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Change in equipment does the trick for Nelly Korda
After a brilliant Round Two, in which she scored 5 under par, the Florida native placed T3, trailing behind leader Kim A-Lim by 4 strokes. That makes the last two days very crucial for Korda, as she aims to start the LPGA Tour with a victory.
Her second day showed remarkable change from the first day. And that likely could be because of her change in choice of driver. Korda played with the TaylorMade Qi35, a new choice from her side, for the first day when she only managed a 1 under par. However, she quickly changed it back. “I played the Qi35 yesterday and went back to my Qi10 today. It was just some things that I need it dial in a little bit more, so just went back to my old trusty.”
Korda explained that the tweak was just so that some more confidence oozes into her game. The Qi10 is something that she has used for a long time and therefore can be more free with it. She also stated that she needs some time to adjust to the Qi35 and over time, with a few changes to the setup, that would be a good part to her set of clubs.
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“Yeah, I think if you’re not confident in one part of your game it kind of leaks to everything else. Not saying that I’m not going to put it in for the rest of the year, but there is just a couple tweaks that I want to do to it before putting it in to actually play for my whole set to be confident.” The Florida native explained.
Korda will look to use her momentum to push for victory. But she would be hoping that no more random proposals happen on the course again!
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Did Derek Lowe save the day for Nelly Korda, or was it just playful banter?