To borrow a line from the Dos Equis beer commercials: I don’t write much on the LPGA Tour – Beth Ann Nichols is the best – but I do write about it when I can.
Nelly Korda, 24, won the Pelican Championship Sunday and returned to World No. 8 months after her season was threatened by a blood clot, 1 is special to me.
Jamie Mulligan, her swing instructor, also worked with Jessica and described what Nelly experienced in March in Ponte Vedra Beach. She was there for an instruction shoot for another publication.
“The next day it rained during Players Championship, and we were just hanging out at our house. Patrick’s (Cantlay), physio David Sunderland worked on Patrick and the girls. David called me upstairs while I was working. He said, Hey, there’s something wrong with Nelly.’ It was a strange feeling. I called Jay Monahan (PGA Tour Commissioner), who is a long-time friend of mine, and he said, Hey, Nelly was in town. That’s why I call you. There is a problem. Your help is needed. I believe she may have a bloodclot. Jay called the cavalry to help us. They ended up seeing a doctor immediately and then did a procedure. Jay was a catalyst and it was really, really cool.
Mulligan stated that the procedure was supposed take 45 minutes, but it ended up taking nearly three hours.
He said, “It was frightening.” “You know, it wasn’t two centimeters from the heart. She could have died, I think.
Mulligan could be the next winner on the LPGA Tour. She had already won the August individual title at the Aramco Team Series-Sotogrande by three shots.
Mulligan, 2021 PGA Coach and Teacher of the Year, said that she was trending in the right direction and it was improving. She also worked hard over the past few weeks. “Given everything she’s gone through, and to be back at World No. 1. I believe it is more impressive that probably the year prior, when she won the gold medal and four times.
Mulligan’s homegrown students include Cantlay and many others. Despite his coaching skills, Mulligan is reluctant to accept new clients, especially those who have already made it big. He did let it be known that Mulligan was a big fan of the Korda siblings – Jessica’s swing was already mechanically the best he had ever seen, and he marvels at Nelly’s effortless power. He would make an exception if he could, but it would be with the Kordas.
Cantlay’s fiancée Nikki Guidish, a good friend of the Korda sisters, met Mulligan’s crush when they were both on Facebook. About a year ago, they made their “Facebook official” date.
Women’s golf is in dire need of a superstar. Specifically, an American player could bring the game to new heights. Nelly is the right person to fulfill that role.
Mulligan said, “She’s it,” and he was the one who coached Amy Alcott to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Mulligan has been teaching golf for over 40 years. “She’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” She has it all. She can make even the most difficult sport seem easy. She’s like a unicorn in terms of her ability to match mechanics, tempo, and mind over matter, and being driven to be a great athlete, you know.
This is a rare and exceptional talent.
