Nelly Korda admits she made a change during the US Women’s Open which she would never recommend to anyone else

Nelly Korda’s victory at the US Women’s Open this past week was all the more impressive when you consider a change the world number one made to her game during the tournament itself.

Korda is now a four-time major champion. The 27-year-old made a crucial birdie on the 71st hole at Riviera to put herself one shot in front on a dramatic day in the Pacific Palisades.

The winning putt only just crept in, giving everyone on and around the 18th green a good scare. But Korda has now won the US Women’s Open for the first time in her career.

Nelly Korda reflects on the change she made during the US Women’s Open

Korda was the overwhelming favourite due to her form this season. She has finished outside the top two on just one occasion so far.

However, Korda was not exactly firing on all cylinders at the latest major. Her scrambling was sublime, but she was nowhere near her best off the tee.

And perhaps it could have been even worse. Korda ended up changing her grip after her sister, Jessica Korda, noticed how weak it had become ahead of the tournament.

And speaking after her victory, Nelly Korda explained just how strange it was to go into a major having made such a significant adjustment.

“It was honestly the worst. My sister was like, ‘I barely could sleep. I just literally told you to change your grip during a major championship’. But it is so uncomfortable. I think it’s the hardest thing in the game of golf is to change your grip, I was fiddling with it so much even on the range my sister was like, ‘I just saw you regrip your grip four times before you hit that one shot’, and I’m like, yeah, because it feels awful,” she said.

“I feel like I’m going to hook this thing 30 yards left. And just like being able to trust that, I think that’s why I had those shots out right too, because I didn’t trust it and I didn’t want to snap hook it left, so I was also kind of like battling that.

“But I don’t recommend it. I do not recommend changing your grip during a major championship.”

Korda says what was most stressful about her opening round at Riviera

Korda appeared to face an uphill battle to bring herself back into contention to win the event after opening up with a round of 73.

It was a surprise to see her struggle to that degree given her results this year. But she responded in superb fashion with two rounds of 67 to take charge of the event.

And she was asked on Sunday to reflect on the most stressful moment from that opening day at Riviera.

“I just kept hitting these drives out right, out right, and out right, and I kept telling Jay, like I can’t compete on this golf course if I’m not in the fairway. Like you cannot stop it on these greens,” she said.

“Am I just going to continuously just depend on my short game, which I did throughout the whole week. I did depend on my short game. But I would say the most stressful thing was like I had no idea what happened from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to Thursday where I was drawing it beautifully, hitting it pure, and then all of a sudden like I was just sending it 20 yards right of my target.

“So I think that was the most stressful part of the round. I’m really grateful to have my sister out here this week. Like even though it wasn’t perfect from Friday to Sunday, I just really grinded it out. I felt like there were a couple shots here and there where I saw my old strikes and gave myself the chances that I needed to to propel.

“You know, I think major championships are about grinding it out and also having that little window where you can be aggressive. I think I just did a really good job of staying patient and making those up and downs and then knowing that when I had that little window I was going to be aggressive.”

Korda is one of the game’s biggest superstars now. She certainly provided further proof of her greatness by winning a US Women’s Open while well short of her very best.