While it’s not unusual to see sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda tee it up in the same group, it’s still an uncommon enough sight to surprise. The duo was paired together on Saturday and as is common for sister acts, the third-round family affair proved to be a more enjoyable walk for the pair than most.
“I have to honestly remind myself that we're at a tournament,” said Jessica. “Sometimes we just joke around a bit too much. But it's nice. I love being paired with somebody that I like playing with. It makes it more enjoyable on tough days. So I think that's something that I always look forward to.”
Nelly unsurprisingly echoed the sentiment, citing the ability to say whatever whenever as something that makes competing together even more fun. But there’s also the telepathy that comes with sisterhood and for the Kordas, that mental connectivity manifests itself through the same clubs being pulled from the same yardages.
“We always said it's like a built-in best buddy. It's always fun, no filter, so that's nice,” Nelly said. “I enjoy playing with Jess. It's actually crazy because we legitimately hit the same stuff into every green. I see her whipping out a 7-wood and I'm like okay, 7-wood it is. I'm hitting 7-wood, too. We're like twins out there as well.”
As the final round looms, Jessica and Nelly find themselves seven and six shots back respectively of leader Jin Young Ko. Though a comeback from that far behind is unlikely, both are looking to fire another red number, bolstering the momentum they’re carrying into the rest of the 2021 season.
“This golf course is playing really tough,” Jessica said. “The rough is as high as we've seen U.S. Open roughs, it's cold out there, it's long, I've got a lot of 5-irons in my hand and this wind is something new that we haven't seen all week. So I’m just trying to put one foot in front of the other.”
“I have made a couple of stupid mistakes here and there throughout my rounds, so hopefully I'll clean it up tomorrow,” said Nelly, who has been No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings since late June. “I like to stick to my game plan and not stray away from it.”
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