World No. 1 Nelly Korda joined host Gary Williams on Monday as the first guest for Golf Channel’s new morning show, 5 Clubs. Williams, a longtime Golf Channel personality, launched 5 Clubs and its podcast in 2021. At the end of her segment, Korda jokingly told Williams that it was all downhill from here, a nod to her status in the game.
The former “Morning Drive” host interviewed Korda remotely from his studio in Charlotte, Norrth Carolina, while Korda was in Bradenton, Florida, fresh off a vacation in Park City, Utah.
“When you’re going to a place where there’s a lot of snow and you’re wearing a lot of puffy jackets and a beanie, not many people recognize you,” said Korda, “so that was a perfect moment for me to recharge my batteries and do something that I normally don’t.”
Nelly, Nantz and SVP to start our year on @GolfChannel at 8 am eastern. @NellyKorda @notthefakeSVP https://t.co/2VLUTfjEwg
— Gary Williams (@Garywilliams1Up) January 4, 2025
During the course of the interview – in which Korda revealed that the first autograph she got as a kid was from Arnold Palmer – the LPGA star touched on the highs of her historic seven-win 2024 season as well as the lows, such as the shocking missed cuts at the U.S. Women’s Open and KPMG Women’s PGA.
“Those under pressure moments of being in contention, they take so much out of you,” said Korda, “that, you know, it’s it was really important for me to recharge, and I’m not gonna lie and say that I knew what I was doing.
“I mean, in the middle of the year where I had, let’s say, U.S. Open, KPMG and just like a couple of other regular events, I was really struggling. I didn’t have much energy … my mind kind of wasn’t connecting to my body, and I think I was just kind of a little too tired and obviously kind of the negative energy and not playing great kind of wore on me a little. But that was a great learning opportunity for me and made me realize that people around me and those are the most important people and I’m so grateful and I’m so lucky for those people, and it was a great way to lean on others, too.”
.@Garywilliams1Up starts off strong with No. 1 Nelly Korda as his first guest. Nice to see!
Korda recently returned from a snowy vacation in Utah. pic.twitter.com/z01OAO8TGV
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) January 6, 2025
Williams opened the show explaining the background of everything from the show’s intro music to the paintings on the wall, including the iconic windmill at National Golf Links and the clubhouse at Shinnecock Hills.
“It’s not about the fact that I’ve been to those places,” said Williams, “it’s about the time spent. Because the motto here on 5 Clubs is that it is the time and not the score. So what will we do on a day-to-day basis? We’re going to be talking about the industry of golf, and it’s not just going to be me.”