Nelly Korda has built a reputation as one of the most fan-friendly stars in golf. Naturally so. She handed a signed three-iron to a young girl at the AIG Women’s Open, gave away her visor at the U.S. Women’s Open, and has made a habit of trading autographs for Lego sets so often that she once joked the gifts were saving her money. That track record made her Instagram story all the more understandable.

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Posted from the CPKC Women’s Open in Edmonton, the story showed a beautiful rainbow stretching over Royal Mayfair Golf Club and a red CPKC locomotive parked outside the fairway. Alongside it, Korda shared a note of regret. She added, “Apologies to everyone that stood in line today. Had to rush to the airport after my round, so couldn’t sign any autographs.”

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Her small, thoughtful notes showed how much Korda loves her fans despite a rough week. She arrived in Edmonton as the betting favorite with one of the biggest names in the $2.75 million championship. Korda closed with a final round 69 but finished just one under for the week, well outside the top ten. A rare result in an otherwise dominant season.

That said, Korda’s willingness to engage with her fans has become somewhat of her signature. Just weeks earlier at the AIG Women’s Open, she gave her signed 3-iron to a young girl watching from her father’s shoulder.

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Moreover, she had left her signed glove at a Boston area event, and it later turned up thousands of miles away at a junior golf program in Brazil. The kids had recorded a thank-you video that spread across social media.

Anyone who loves Korda also knows her love for Lego sets. Naturally, her fans have extended the warmth by giving some to her. She has often joked that the gifts were piling up so often that they were “saving her money.”

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During the round at the Women’s PGA Championship, she was touched when fans made handmade posters for her with the slogan “Go Nelly, go.” She admitted it later: “I’ve never had that before at a tournament. They were all so cute.” She has often spoken about what these exchanges mean to her, adding, “Seeing all the little girls” is a part of “what fuels my love for the game.”

Nelly Korda now shifts her attention to the Solheim Cup, where her spot on the U.S. roster was never in question. It gives her another stage and likely another rope line to make up for the autographs she couldn’t give in Edmond.

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