Nelly Korda declares herself a 'new fan' of her Grant Thornton Invitational teammate
Nelly Korda was one of the LPGA Tour's main stars at the second edition of the Grant Thornton Invitational. The world number one was scheduled to team up with Tony Finau as they did a year ago, but in his absence, she had to find a replacement almost at the last minute.
The need for a substitute came when Finau failed to recover in time from knee surgery. Consequently, Daniel Berger stepped in and became Nelly Korda's new partner.
After the event, Nelly Korda praised the quality of Berger's game. Here's what she had to say (via Golf Digest):
"I’ll definitely star you on my PGA Tour app. He hit so many fairways, really great iron play, and on top of that he rolls it really well. He checks all the boxes. He has a new fan in me."
She added:
"He’s very much a finesse player. We were kind of talking about it on the first day. I never hit my shots really full, and I like to feel it in, and he does the same thing. So I always appreciate that when a player shows his artistic side."
Daniel Berger, for his part, was no less emphatic about Nelly Korda's golf skills. This was part of what he said:
"I mean, it's pretty clear why she's No. 1 in the world and I need to get my act together. There was a couple of times where I hit one in there yesterday and I looked in her bag, and she was hitting the same club I was hitting and I was like wow. It's just impressive all around."
Daniel Berger replaced Tony Finau just three days before the start of the Grant Thornton Invitational. Berger was coming off a runner-up finish at the RSM Classic three weeks earlier.
A look at Nelly Korda and Daniel Berger's performance at the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational
Nelly Korda and Daniel Berger played the first round of the Grant Thornton Invitational (scramble format) with nine birdies and no bogeys (9 under). A day later, in foursomes, they made four birdies and two bogeys (2 under).
In the third and decisive round (modified four-ball), Korda and Berger recorded another bogey-free round, but with only five birdies. They finished in a share of 13th place out of the 16 teams competing.
In the 2023 edition, Korda and teammate Tony Finau finished tied for fourth. They finished at 23-under, three strokes behind champions Lydia Ko and Jason Day.
The event was won wire-to-wire by Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp's team with a score of 27-under. The winners built their early lead with a first-round 58, which they backed up with a second-round 66 and a third-round 65.