(Image credit: Getty Images)
Nelly Korda is fast becoming a global icon in the game of golf, with her record-equalling victory charge moving her streaks ahead of her rivals and putting her out in front as the woman to beat.
Away from the golf course, Korda is also transforming into quite the pop-culture figure, too. On Monday night, the 25-year-old from Bradenton, Florida, stepped onto the red carpet at potentially the world’s most prestigious fashion event – the Met Gala in New York.
The Met Gala takes place every year in the first week of May as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in Manhattan. It is widely considered to be “fashion’s biggest night” and includes “culturally-relevant” faces among contemporary society from a variety of different circles – including sport, fashion, business, entertainment, and politics.
Invitations – sent out by fashion icon, Anna Wintour – are highly-sought after, with tickets costing $75,000 each in 2024 – up from $50,000 per person in 2023. Korda was on the list as a guest of Casey Wasserman, the chair of her agency.
And dressing to impress at the who’s who of current pop-culture, Korda wore a poppy-covered dress created by famous designer, Oscar de le Renta.
While golfers are rarely included on the Met Gala’s guest list, Tiger Woods was the most recent in 2013, Korda is believed to be the first LPGA Tour golfer ever to have stepped foot inside the unique event.
Korda belonged to a wider group of sporting faces at this year’s Met Gala, too, with the likes of WNBA star Angel Reese, tennis legend Serena Williams, Australian NBA player Ben Simmons, and NFL icon Odell Beckham Jr also in attendance.
Following her night in front of the paparazzi, Korda will return to more comfortable surroundings on the golf course. Although, the pressure could well be just as intense as the Floridian attempts to secure a sixth LPGA Tour crown at this week’s Cognizant Founder’s Cup.
Should Korda lift the trophy, she would become the first woman ever to claim six LPGA Tour titles in a row – surpassing her joint-record alongside Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez.
Korda was due to play in the JM Eagle LA Championship the week after she scooped number five – the Chevron Championship , which just so happened to also be her second career Major – but withdrew citing exhaustion.
Nelly Korda smiles while lifting the 2024 Chevron Championship trophy
(Image credit: Getty Images)
In a statement, she said: “It was not an easy decision. After the unbelievable week at The Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted.
“With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”
The World No.1 – fresh off the back of an iconic appearance in New York – will now look to further cement her place as the player everyone is looking at this weekend.
