Nelly Korda names $45M actor as the celebrity she hopes to meet at HGV Tournament of Champions

Celebrities have and will be joining Nelly Korda at the HGV Tournament of Champions. She's played with superstars of different fields before, but she has her eye on one particular actor worth $45 million (George Lopez as per Celebrity Net Worth) this weekend. It will be the first tournament of 2025 for Korda.

Korda said (5:50 onwards):

"I heard that George Lopez is playing for the first time, I think that's exciting. I watched a bunch of shows with him in it growing up. I love playing with Derek Lowe, Kevin Millar, Chris Lane, too, I really like him, so I usually request them. We'll see if I play with them, but I love this event because you can create such good friendships."

The American golfer referred to Derek Lowe, Kevin Millar and Chris Lane as her "regulars" at this event, and she's hopeful to be able to reconnect with them again in 2025.

This tournament will be Korda's first chance to assert her dominance from 2024. She won seven times last year, although she did not win this event. Korda will be attempting to dethrone Lydia Ko.

She will also be up against Brooke M. Henderson, Lauren Coughlin, Haeran Ryu and other top LPGA Tour golfers this weekend for the first time this year. She will tee off on January 30 with many of her LPGA Tour peers.

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Nelly Korda talks about managing expectations in 2025

The expectations for Nelly Korda are through the roof. After a truly historic 2024 season, all eyes are on her expecting her to dominate once again. Ahead of the first tournament of the year, Korda spoke on those expectations, many of which aren't hers but are placed on her externally.

Nelly Korda addressed the expectations for her 2025 season (Image via Imagn)

She said (7:16 onwards):

"It's whatever pressure you put on yourself. I would say that golf is just very different, where there are a lot of variabilities where the course is playing different or you have different types of weather... There's a different field every year. For me, it's just going in with a positive attitude and knowing that my work is done and that I'm just gonna enjoy myself because the added pressure never really helps."

Nelly Korda continued saying expectations take away from the fun she can have on a golf course, so she doesn't want to rob herself of some joy just because she's expected to win an event.

She also said earlier in the press conference that every tournament is different every year, whether by venue, field, weather or something else, which makes them all new in a way. There are no major expectations in a new event, and she treats them all that way.