Q. Okay, here with Nelly Korda after her first round at the Ford Championship. Just take me through the day today. You got an afternoon round, so a little different conditions.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah.
Q. Tell me about it.
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it was firm and fast out there. The wind kind of picked up a little bit on the back nine, but a little slower, a little rusty on the front, and then got a few birdies on the back.
Q. What did your preparation look like this week? Did you get some afternoon rounds in to prepare for the firm windy conditions?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, Monday and Tuesday I was out here at 6:30 and I tee'd off before 7:00, and then I had an afternoon pro-am time, so kind of saw what it was playing like in the afternoon yesterday.
Q. What's maybe the key to this golf course and getting some birdies out there?
NELLY KORDA: I mean, just hit it close and make putts. I mean, obviously you can -- there's advantages to bombers that hit it really far, but at the end of the day in the afternoon when it gets firm, like it's not really that big of an advantage being closer to the green, because then you don't have too much room to work with and just kind of bounces on you and flies a little further out here.
So just placement. At the end of the day you just got to make it in the hole.
Q. With that in mind, what's been your strategy for some of the tee shots with those run-outs and the opportunity for the ball to get in a little bit of trouble?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, we did a good job of kind of realizing it does fly sometimes 10 to 15 yards further. You know, you're kind of adjusting to the roll-out too because the fairways have a firm underground. The grass is kind of sticky but it's firm under it so it can bounce through it quite easily.
So just making sure you're strategizing about how far you want into the green and where the pin placements are. Because if let's say you have -- one day you can hit driver and the pin is all the way in the back and it's fine. Then the next day if you hit driver and the pin is all the way in the front it's going to be a very tricky shot.
Just strategizing every day.
Q. I know you're a big coffee lover. Seems like there is a lot of really cool coffee shops in the area. Have you found anywhere that you've been religiously going to?
NELLY KORDA: No, not yet. I went to this place called Cartel twice, and then another one that actually -- I think Megan recommended the other day. I'm dairy free right now, which is so heartbreaking. I'm hoping it's really just not permanent because oatmilk lattes do not hit the same way.
Q. So you're a whole milk girl?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, whole milk, raw milk girl actually.
Q. Oh, okay. Do you mind me asking what was the motivation behind doing that?
NELLY KORDA: Just to sort out like my gut issues, yeah.
Q. A lot of low scores already. Do you like these kind of tournaments where it's a birdiefest and you have to keep the pedal to the metal?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, they're fun to play, but I wouldn't say I would like to play it every week. But you have to pedal to the meal as well, but if you make one mistake you fall so far behind.
Obviously pars, you are going to have par somewhere, but you're always trying to make birdies and always trying to stay aggressive.
But if you become too aggressive, make a bogey, then you fall down the leaderboard quite a bit.
Q. Does it feel weird just a little bit defending but at a different venue?
NELLY KORDA: I've done it a few times honestly. You know, last year was such an amazing year, but that was my eighth year on Tour. I also had seven years that were not that amazing. They were good but they weren't as amazing as last year.
I just try to keep that in perspective. Every year is a new year. The most important thing I can control is the work that I put in and the attitude that I have.
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