Nelly Korda Swaps Out LeBron James-Gifted Shoes After Struggles At Main Championship

World No. 1 Nelly Korda made an surprising tools change in the course of the opening spherical of the U.S. Women’s Open after struggling early whereas sporting customized golf footwear gifted by LeBron James.

Korda started Thursday’s spherical at Riviera Country Club sporting a particular pair of Nike golf footwear given to her by the NBA star forward of the foremost championship. She even shared the footwear on social media earlier than the match and thanked James for the present. James later replied with a message wishing her luck for the week.

Nelly Korda Switches Shoes Mid-Round

According to Fox News, the spherical began with combined outcomes for Korda. She opened with a par on the tough tenth gap and adopted with a birdie on No. 11 earlier than working into hassle with back-to-back bogeys. As the spherical continued, Korda appeared uncomfortable off the tee and struggled along with her swing consistency.

After six holes and sitting at 1-over par, Korda determined to make a mid-round swap. Her coach, Kim Baughman, went again to the locker room to seize Korda’s standard golf footwear and delivered them to the sixteenth tee. Korda modified footwear earlier than persevering with the spherical.

According to experiences from Riviera, the customized footwear felt too free and will have affected her stability and swing mechanics. After the spherical, Korda defined that she seen spacing variations within the footwear though they have been technically the identical mannequin she usually wears.

“I felt like I had a little too much room,” Korda stated. “Sometimes when I wear a different color, they just are made a little different, so the spacing is a little different.”

Nelly Korda Shaken by Early Issues

The three-time main winner admitted she was pissed off along with her general efficiency, particularly off the tee.

“Just honestly just hit it really poorly off the tee,” she stated after ending her spherical, Yahoo reported.

Korda added that she had been taking part in nicely in apply earlier within the week and was shocked by the sudden points throughout competitors.

Despite the rocky begin, Korda managed to regular herself after altering footwear and made par on the sixteenth gap earlier than making the flip at 1-over. Still, the efficiency left her trying to find solutions as she headed on to the apply vary afterward.

Korda entered the match because the heavy favourite to win her first US Women’s Open title. The 27-year-old has already collected three victories and three runner-up finishes in the course of the 2026 season, making her one of many hottest gamers in girls’s golf this 12 months.