Nelly Korda leads the 2024 Drive On Championship after 54 holes and is doing so in her hometown no less. However, the weekend has had more than one reason to celebrate, as she even witnessed a baby's first crawl. "Milestones at my house," Korda described it.
It just so happens that Nelly Korda welcomed her caddie, Jason McDeede, his wife and fellow LPGA Tour Player, Caroline Masson, and their nine-month-old son into her home for the week. The baby chose Korda's home to crawl around for the first time.
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This is how Nelly Korda described it after her third round at the Drive On Championship (via TenGolf):
"He actually crawled for the first time this [Saturday] morning, so, milestones at my house! That's been great, it's been so so nice to have them."
Nelly Korda is also hosting her friend and colleague Megan Khang, who is otherwise tied for second in the Drive On Championship and will play the fourth round in a group with Korda. The tournament leader said (via TenGolf):
"Megan and I are not sick of each other yet, so we played the first two days together, maybe tomorrow, and staying at the same house so... thankfully, I won't see her for seven weeks (laughing)... maybe I'll just leave her stuff outside the door today and be like 'find yourself a new place' (laughing)."
Nelly Korda leads in her hometown
Playing in a hometown tournament is so rare on the LPGA Tour that a player with seven seasons on the circuit had never done it before the 2024 Drive On Championship. Logically, leading the event and winning it is even less frequent and much more special.
Korda grew up less than 10 minutes from Bradenton Country Club, home of the event, and currently resides 40 minutes away. Her locale is such that even his childhood coach's wife is one of the volunteers helping out at the tournament.
Nelly Korda has strung together three rounds in the 60s (65-67-68) to enter the fourth and deciding day with a 13-under score. This gives her a comfortable, though not definitive, four-stroke lead over Megan Khang, Ayaka Furue, and Lydia Ko.
Korda's performance at Bradenton Country Club has included two eagles, 15 birdies, and six bogeys. The leader of the event has left several plays of high technical quality, such as the eagle achieved with her third shot from the greenside bunker of the 17th in the third round.
If she wins, it would be Korda's ninth victory (1 major) on the LPGA Tour. Her most recent win dates back to November 2022, when she won the Pelican Women's Championship also in Florida.
The Drive On Championship is the second tournament of the season for Nelly Korda. Last week, she finished T16 at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
