Nelly Korda Emerges Victorious in Tokyo
By Zack R., Team Titleist Staff On August 9, 2021
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With her historic win in Tokyo, Titleist Brand Ambassador Nelly Korda became the first golfer to win a gold medal and major championship in the same year.
- Korda – playing a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, TSi driver and fairways, T100 irons, Vokey Design SM8 wedges and Scotty Cameron Special Select Squareback 2 tour prototype putter – posted four rounds in the 60’s at Kasumigaseki Country Club’s East Course, including a second-round 9-under 62, two-putting for par from just inside 30 feet on the 72nd hole to win by one shot.
- The 23-year-old World No. 1, who claimed her first major in June at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, has now won three of her past four individual tournaments.
- The silver medalist played two Vokey Design wedges, while bronze medalist Lydia Ko played a Pro V1x Left Dash golf ball.
WHAT’S IN NELLY KORDA’S BAG?
Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: TSi1 10.0° | Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 6 S
Fairway Metals: TSi2 16.5° | Fujikura Ventus Red 70 S and TSi2 21.0°| Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 75 S
Irons: T100 5-PW | Aerotech SteelFiber i80cw F4
Wedges: Vokey Design SM8 50.08F, 54.10S, 58.08M | Aerotech SteelFiber i95cw S
Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Squareback 2 tour prototype
Three Wins With Squareback 2
- Nelly Korda has won three of her last four individual events with a Scotty Cameron Special Select Squareback 2 model that she put in play for the first time at the Meijer LPGA Classic, the first of those three victories.
- Korda – whose sister and fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador, Jessica, also plays a Squareback 2 – had won all four of her previous LPGA titles with the same Scotty Cameron Select Concept 2 tour prototype, a Newport 2-style head with a GSS insert.
- She has always preferred the look of Scotty Cameron blades and has used a blade-style putter most of her career but, according to the Scotty Cameron Tour Department, was looking for a change that could offer a different feel and help provide better distance control.
- For players that gravitate to a blade but want to look down at a more confidence-inspiring shape, the Squareback 2 offers the best of both those worlds.
- It sets up like Korda’s blade models of the past but is larger front-to-back so it provides a slightly more forgiving look.
- Korda also likes how easy she’s able to line up the Squareback 2 with its extended alignment line.
Nelly Korda’s Pro V1
- Korda switched to the 2021 Pro V1 golf ball at the Gainbridge LPGA in February, where she was the only player to shoot all four rounds in the 60’s en route to a three-shot victory at Lake Nona.
- “Nelly immediately felt like new Pro V1 was coming off the face a little faster and giving her the slightly higher flight and lower spin that she’d been wanting to see in the long game,” said Jeff Beyers of Titleist Golf Ball R&D. “She was also testing a new driver and loved the performance and numbers she was seeing from that combination.”
- “I'm playing the ‘21 Pro V, and I actually put this in my bag the week I won Nona,” Korda said. “When I tested it, I got a few more yards off of it and the spin went down. I just put it in right away.”
Nelly Korda’s TSi1 Driver
- At the Gainbridge LPGA, Korda became the first player on major professional tour to play and win with a TSi1 (or prior generation TS1) driver model
- Korda, who plays a TSi1 10.0° (Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 6), now has four wins with the ultra-lightweight, high-launching model
- Korda put TSi1 in play following a trip to the Titleist Performance Institute in early 2021.
- “She loved the shape of the TSi1 and was swinging it with a lot of confidence,” said J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s Director of Player Promotions. “Initially, we were very close with TSi2 and she was gaining up to 5mph additional ball speed. But she has a slight tendency to miss on the heel and Stephanie Luttrell (Titleist’s Director of Metalwood Product Development) suggested the TSi1 head – with its CG properties being closer to face center – could help improve strike location and provide the extra forgiveness she needed on those swings. TSi1 was never going to be the obvious choice with her 150mph ball speed, but in going through the fitting process we were able test all of the options and determine the optimal setup that is getting her 10-15 additional yards with better accuracy.”
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