Nelly Korda takes victory lap to New York as Grand Slam chase heats up originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Nelly Korda’s U.S. Women’s Open victory lap made its way to the Big Apple this week. Eight days after sinking the biggest putt of her career at Riviera, the world No. 1 was making the media rounds in Manhattan, where the spotlight seemed to follow her everywhere.
And not just figuratively. On Monday, June 15, the 27-year-old appeared on the Today show before later stopping to pose in front of a larger-than-life Nike billboard featuring herself in the heart of New York City. Sharing the moment on Instagram, Korda smiled under a tagline that read, “It’s not easy making it look this easy.”
She’s earned the billing. The victory checked off one of the few boxes left on Korda’s résumé, giving her a first U.S. Women’s Open title and the fourth major championship of her career. It also came with a record $2.5 million winner’s check, the largest ever awarded at a women’s major.
The championship she conquered also doubled as a testing ground for something fans never noticed. For the first time, USGA rules officials were able to use a mobile review system powered by T-Mobile’s 5G network. Instead of relying on traditional communication methods across a sprawling golf course, officials could instantly access video and communicate in real time from anywhere on the property when rulings needed to be made.
According to a press release, the same network powered ticket scanning, concessions and the photo uploads that pushed shots from the course to fans at home almost as they happened.
Ahead of the event, fellow LPGA star Brooke Henderson said the tech gave fans more ways to connect with players and follow the action, calling it “so important in continuing to grow the women’s game.”
That idea hits a little differently when it comes from someone who knows this stage. Henderson was in the field that week, finishing T-22, and has spent years playing the U.S. Women’s Open as the championship around it keeps getting bigger.
Korda knows that climb, too. She’d spent more than a decade chasing this title before it finally fell at Riviera. Now only the Evian Championship and AIG Women’s Open stand between her and a career Grand Slam, one of the rarest feats in golf.
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