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Charlotte Gibson, ESPN
LPGA star Nelly Korda joins an all-star lineup of more than 20 professional golfers featured in the PGA Tour 2k23 video game on July 5.
The eight-time LPGA Tour winner, with one major victory, becomes the fourth professional women’s golfer available on the PGA Tour 2k23 roster. In addition to Korda, the game features LPGA Tour players Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson as well as PGA Tour players Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, among others.
Now, fans and gamers can play as or against Korda on more than 26 officially licensed PGA Tour courses, including Pebble Beach Golf Links — the site of the 78th U.S. Women’s Open, which begins Thursday. This week, Korda will be one of 156 female golfers in the world teeing off at Pebble Beach for the first time in women’s major history.
“This is my first time playing Pebble,” Korda told ESPN. “As a kid, I would play golf games literally playing Pebble in the video game. It was something I did with my brother [professional tennis player Sebastian Korda] as a bonding experience. … It’s sentimental.”
Korda, who won the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, added, “People will get to watch me play Pebble and then play me, play as me at Pebble. I think that’ll be really cool, really special.”
Last year, when Korda found out that she would be added to the 2k roster, she said it was “mind-blowing,” and within minutes of finding out, she messaged her brother to tell him the big news. Sebastian texted back: “Oh my gosh! This was our dream growing up!”
When choosing an avatar growing up, Korda said she always picked Woods. Now, players can select her. Korda said she couldn’t believe how accurate her avatar looked in the game, even down to her facial expressions.
“To finally have one that looks like me, has my set, has my clubs, has the clothes I’m wearing, too. It’s incredible,” Korda said.
With history being made this week at Pebble Beach, it’s not lost on Korda how monumental it is for her to be included in PGA Tour 2k23.
“I think it’s really important. … It’s another way to grow the game,” Korda said. “Many people, they don’t know about golf or maybe they’re scared to try it. I think this is another way to get people interested. It’s like one step, one little step and then they take the big step and come out to the real deal.”
Korda added that she hopes to see players like Jin Young Ko and Rose Zhang added to the 2k roster.
“The more additions they make, the better the game will be.”