Nelly Korda Shows Why Great Putting Starts Before The Stroke
Compiled by Multiple-Award-Winning PGA Professional Brendon R. Elliott, PrimePutt’s Director of Instruction and Lead Writer
The easy lesson from Nelly Korda’s U.S. Women’s Open win is that she made the putts when she had to.
That is true.
She made the birdie putt at 17. She made the short par putt at 18. She walked off Riviera with her first U.S. Women’s Open title, her fourth major championship and another defining moment in a season that keeps getting bigger.
But the better putting lesson is not simply that Korda made those putts.
The better lesson is that she looked ready for them before she ever stepped into the ball.
That is where pressure putting really lives.
Not in the celebration. Not in the highlight. Not even in the stroke itself.
Pressure putting lives in the read, the speed picture, the decision, the breath and the ability to make one committed motion when the moment is trying to make you rush.
The Championship Was Decided Before it Was Decided
Korda’s win at Riviera was anything but comfortable.
Charley Hull and Gaby Lopez both pushed her to the final green. Hull made a late birdie at 17 and a clutch par at 18. Lopez birdied the 72nd hole to put her name at the top for a moment. In Gee Chun was part of the late battle as well.
Then Korda answered.
Her birdie putt on the par-5 17th gave her the outright lead. Her final par putt on 18 looked simple only to people watching from home. Anyone who has ever stood over a short putt that mattered knows the truth.
A short putt can feel long when the outcome is attached to it.
That is why Korda’s finish was such a strong putting lesson. She did not need a perfect-looking stroke. She needed a clear plan and the courage to roll the putt she chose.
That is what great pressure putters do.
They decide first. Then they stroke.
Speed is the First Pressure Skill
Most average golfers talk about line first. Better putters talk about speed first.
Line matters, of course. But line only works when it matches pace. Hit a breaking putt too firmly and the high side disappears. Hit it too softly and the ball can fall away before it ever has a chance.
Under pressure, this gets harder because nerves change speed.
Some golfers get quick and hit the ball too hard. Others get careful and leave the face open. Some shorten the backstroke, jab at the ball and hope. Others add one last thought while they are already standing over it.
None of that helps.
Before any pressure putt, ask one better question:
What speed gives this putt the biggest hole?
That question pulls you out of fear and back into the task. It makes you see the ball entering the cup. It helps you choose whether the putt should be firm, normal or soft.
Korda’s birdie putt on 17 was not just a good stroke. It was a good speed decision. Her final putt on 18 was not just survival. It was a reminder that even the shortest putts require complete commitment.
J.T. Poston Gave us the Same Lesson
The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village gave us another version of the same story.
J.T. Poston had to play a long, rain-delayed Sunday. He watched a four-shot lead disappear. He saw Ryan Gerard make a huge birdie putt at 17. He still had to respond.
Then Poston made a 7-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff.
That is pressure putting.
Not because the stroke was flashy. Not because the putt was long. But because the situation was loud and the job was simple.
Pick a line. Match the pace. Roll it.
Poston eventually won on the second playoff hole, but the putt that kept him alive on 18 was the one everyday golfers should study. That was the moment where a player could have been thinking about the lead he lost, the tournament that was slipping away or the mistake he could not afford.
Instead, he made the putt in front of him.
That is the whole game inside one stroke.
Pressure Putting is a Decision Skill
Most golfers think pressure putting is a nerve skill.
It is not.
Pressure putting is a decision skill.
Nerves are part of it. Everyone feels them. The best players in the world feel their heart rate climb, their hands change and their thoughts speed up. The difference is that they have a process to return to.
They do not stand over the ball hoping to feel calm.
They know what to do when they are not calm.
That is the lesson from Korda at Riviera and Poston at Muirfield Village. Their biggest putts were not won by trying harder. They were won by narrowing the job.
Read it. Feel it. Breathe. Roll it.
The PrimePutt Drill of the Week: The 9-3-1 Ladder
This week’s drill is built for exactly this kind of pressure.
Find a putt with a little break. It does not need to be severe. Start with three balls from 9 feet, three balls from 3 feet and one ball from 1 foot.
Step 1: Start at 9 feet
Hit three putts with one goal: speed control. Do not obsess over make or miss. Your goal is to finish each ball no more than 18 inches past the hole.
Step 2: Move to 3 feet
Hit three putts with full routine. Read it, aim it, breathe and roll it. These are the putts that should feel easy, but often do not when pressure shows up.
Step 3: Finish from 1 foot
Hit one putt with total focus. This sounds almost too simple, but it matters. Many golfers relax too early. The drill is not complete until the last ball is holed.
Do this ladder five times.
Your score is how many full ladders you complete without a three-putt from 9 feet, a miss from 3 feet or a careless miss from 1 foot.
The goal is not perfection. The goal is attention.
Your Pressure Putting Checklist
Before your next important putt, keep it simple.
Read the last third of the putt.
That is where the ball slows down and breaks the most.
Pick a specific start line.
Do not aim at a general curve. Aim at a spot.
Choose the speed before you step in.
Firm, normal or soft. Make a decision.
Take one final look and breathe out.
A good exhale slows the body and quiets the hit impulse.
Hold your finish.
If you cannot hold your finish, your body probably changed the stroke.
YTD Putting Watch
Pressure putting is about the moment, but year-to-date putting stats show us who is building those moments week after week.
PGA Tour SG: Putting Leaders
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Vince Whaley, +0.880
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Jacob Bridgeman, +0.837
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Jake Knapp, +0.744
LPGA Putts Per Round Leaders
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Mi Hyang Lee, 27.88
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Hyo Joo Kim, 28.07
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Minjee Lee, 28.21
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Danielle Kang, 28.38
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Patty Tavatanakit, 28.41
Nelly Korda’s YTD putting profile
Korda’s season is a great reminder that pressure putting does not always show up as leading every putting category. She is ranked 11th on the LPGA in putts per round at 28.71, seventh in putts per GIR at 1.74 and 34th in SG: Putting at +0.09.
The bigger picture is even more interesting. She leads the LPGA in SG: Total at +4.03.
That tells the real story.
Korda is not winning because she makes every putt. Nobody does. She is winning because the rest of her game keeps giving her chances and her putting process holds up when the biggest putts arrive.
That is the model for everyday golfers, too.
You do not need to become the best putter in your group overnight. You need to become a putter who has a plan, controls speed and stays committed when the putt matters.
The Everyday golfer Takeaway
Nelly Korda’s U.S. Women’s Open win will be remembered as a major championship moment. J.T. Poston’s Memorial win will be remembered as a fight through a long, difficult Sunday.
For golfers trying to putt better, both wins point to the same truth.
Pressure putting is not magic.
It is preparation.
It is speed. It is routine. It is a clear start line. It is learning how to make a decision and trust it. It is understanding that a short putt can be just as demanding as a long one when the result matters.
The best putters in the world do not always feel calm.
They just know what to do when they are not.
Pressure Putts drops every Monday with the week’s best putting stories, stats and drills from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and DP World Tour. Got a putting question or drill request? Drop us a line.
