BELLEAIR, Fla. — Fifteen-time LPGA Tour winner Nelly Korda has designed a shoe in collaboration with Nike Golf, an opportunity that’s been a dream-come-true for the 27-year-old.

Nelly, who dreamt of being sponsored by the iconic athletics brand as a tennis- and golf-obsessed youth, officially inked a deal with the company in 2023. And now, Nelly has her own Nike Free Golf shoe launching for sale on Nov. 20, something the Olympic gold medalist described as a “pinch-me” moment in her pre-tournament press conference at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

“When I was growing up, I had so many amazing role models, but they were in tennis,” Nelly explained on Wednesday at Pelican Golf Club. “They all wore Nike. They all had their kits. At Grand Slams, Maria Sharapova always came out in her dress kit. You had Roger Federer, Nadal. We watched tennis a lot in our household, so I had tennis players as role models.

“My dream at that point was I want to be a Nike athlete. That's how you know you made it; you are a Nike athlete because all the greats were wearing Nike.”

A detail of the shoes worn by Nelly Korda Nelly’s kicks are primarily a mix of white and cream, with a pair of red and yellow Nike swooshes on each side. The soles are an almost camouflage-type pattern of red, orange and yellow and have another swoosh, this time in teal. There is a string of charms that adorns the outer side of each shoe, with charms that include a tennis racket, a Nike swoosh, a cup of coffee, a smiley face and a lion, all of which have a different significance for Nelly.

“That to me is a really pinch-me moment that I was able to sit down with a design team and go through what means the most to me in my life, family, tennis, golf, whatever,” said Nelly. “Those are what play a part in the charms, and then the Leo energy, because I am inspired by lions. I love lions. There is just so much that I pull from that to myself.”

Korda wore her new shoes in the pro-am on Wednesday morning at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, during which she teed it up alongside current WNBA superstar and former University of Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark.

Because Clark is also sponsored by Nike, Nelly had the chance to gift Caitlin a fresh pair of golf shoes before the pair played together at Pelican Golf Club, thinking that she’d maybe wear them in the pro-am.

And while Clark didn’t put them into play immediately at The ANNIKA, Caitlin was hopeful that Nelly infused the kicks with some of her golf talent, with Korda telling Golf Channel, “(Caitlin) did ask me if they're going to make her golf better, and I was like, ‘Guaranteed.’”

It’s the second time that Clark has played in the pro-am during the LPGA Tour’s annual stop in Belleair, Fla., and it’s also the second time that she has done so alongside Nelly. Caitlin made her LPGA pro-am debut in 2024, teeing it up with both Korda and tournament namesake and 72-time Tour winner Annika Sorenstam last year.

When asked if Clark seemed a bit more at ease in 2025, Nelly felt like having her Indiana Fever teammates, Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull, out as guest caddies may have made the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year feel a bit more comfortable in unfamiliar territory.

“(It was) definitely more about having fun. (Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull) were out too. They were a lot of fun,” Nelly said. “I think (Caitlin) was maybe a little bit more comfortable. We knew each other a little bit more, so for us, chit-chatting was a lot of fun. I would say the same amount of people showed up this year as last year. That to me is really cool to see.”

But what’s also going to be really cool for Nelly is seeing if Caitlin wears her shoes the next time she tees it up.

Nelly Korda Designs Nike Shoes, Gifts Pair to Caitlin Clark Before The ANNIKA Pro-Am

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