Nelly Korda’s counterintuitive advice for World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul

Let’s play a game: If you could steal the swing from any professional golfer, which golfer would you pick?

Rory McIlroy, whose combination of perfect technique and lethal speed creates a move that is half-art and half-violence, like a war painting? Scottie Scheffler, whose infinite well of athleticism and flexibility seem to find perfect positions no matter the rotation of his shoulders or the angle of his spine? How about Tommy Fleetwood, whose on-course aesthetic oozes comfortable polish? Or Adam Scott, who has been perfectly slotted for so long one wonders if he’s ever experienced a really bad slice?

Now ask yourself: How many of those players have a better swing than Nelly Korda? Is the number two? Is it one? None?

Korda’s swing is glorious. A breezy thwack that lifts the ball from the earth like James Taylor plucking a D-chord. Inspiring in its beauty, Korda’s swing is her quintessence — easy, simple, to the point, unbothered and unhurried. It exemplifies her game in part because it exemplifies her character. And it is Korda’s character that attracted the attention of another compelling figure at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open: Korda’s greatest threat.

If not for Korda, Jeeno Thitikul might be the best women’s golfer in 2026. We mean that literally — Thitikul sits second on the current Rolex Rankings, behind only Korda — but also ephemerally, because Thitikul is maybe the only player on the LPGA other than Korda whose success is measured in the absence of rounds in contention, not the existence of them.

Korda, who is 27, and Thitikul, 23, have developed a friendly rivalry atop the women’s game — trading the title of World No. 1 and no shortage of press attention over the last year. This week, at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, they’re chasing the top honor in women’s golf: a U.S. Women’s Open title.

Unlike Korda, Thitikul hasn’t yet broken through at the majors. But her journey toward improving has inspired Thitikul to keep a close eye on her rival, and on Monday afternoon at Riv, she revealed the lesson Korda has taught her: the Power of Easy.

“I think she’s always one of the players that — I don’t really [see] her practice that much during the tournament,” Thitikul said. “I just always see her on the driving range a little bit before her tee time. Then [after she was done playing], she maybe just putt a couple balls and then went home.”

To Thitikul, Korda’s approach first sounded a little backward: Try less hard. But then she realized Korda might be onto something. Some of the World No. 1’s success could be tied to her sense of balance during tournament weeks, and some of her balance came from her capacity to ease off the gas.

“I just feel like, especially this year she mentioned that she changed her mindset a little bit,” Thitikul said. “It just feels like she plays in Florida a lot, and then she [goes to events] just to play golf.”

In Thitikul’s eyes, there was something to Korda’s ability to compartmentalize, to spend tournament weeks focused on more than swing maintenance or on-course prep, that seemed to be fueling her success.

“If you put too much work and you not let your body like rest and relax, especially tournament week, I think it’s going to be a disadvantage more than an advantage,” Thitikul said. “It just really inspires me to see her doing what she’s doing right now.”

In the end, Thitikul said, there was something revealing about this approach from the World No. 1. Her success on the course was owed to her swing, but her mindset might be even more impressive.

“She’s a fast player, which is my favorite,” Thitikul said with a laugh. “It’s just great to see someone that’s good-good, and then we’re just hanging around and trying to do the same things to get better together.”