Tour Confidential: Is the Summer of Nelly upon us? Has Furyk learned from Ryder Cup?

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Nelly Korda’s second turn of dominance, the new Ryder Cup captain and its exorbitant ticket prices.

Nelly Korda won the Chevron Championship, blitzing the field to win by five and claim the first major of the year, the third of her career. Two years ago she won seven times, but followed it up with a winless 2025. This year she has already won twice. Is a summer of Nelly Korda dominance ahead? What’s changed?

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): It is the hardest thing in golf to win a tournament. And yet, it is very, very hard to lose golf tournaments when you’re playing the way Nelly did this weekend. On the front nine on Sunday with a five-shot lead, feeling all of the pressure in the world to close it out, Korda made seven pars and two birdies. There’s a maturity in that kind of sensibility on Sunday at a major, and I think it explains a lot of her success in Houston.

Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): I think Nelly has settled in to a comfortable spot with what she wants to be to the game. When she last went on a run like this, there was immense pressure for her to carry the entire women’s game. To try and live up to cross-sport comparisons to Caitlin Clark. I’m not sure Korda ever really felt great about all of that. 

To answer the question, I hope a Summer of Nelly is upon us. She is unquestionably one of the best golfers we’ve ever seen, which just makes me want to see what she’s capable of achieving at her very peak. This comes the same week that DataGolf launched its women’s rankings. I want to see her take off and plant her flag with one of the best seasons of all-time. And then, if I can be greedy, I want to see Jeeno Thitikul go toe-to-toe with her. 

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@schrock_and_awe): Here in Houston all week, it was very apparent that Nelly Korda is at peace with who she is, and her maturity on the golf course stems from both personal happiness and a decision that she and caddie Jason McDede made to approach things differently after 2025. She’s made a concerted effort to play smart golf, not take on unnecessary risk and not let negativity, both internal and external, seep into her game. McDede told me that the loss last year at Erin Hills was really the catalyst for the changes she made to her mentality, and I think there’s reason to believe she could rip off several more wins this year. Every part of her game is firing, and her decision to hire a “no nonsense” putting coach has helped address what was the Achilles’ heel of her game. The hype train leading into Riviera will be out of control. 

A pre-tournament talking point at the Chevron was if the winner’s leap into Poppie’s Pond should continue with the tournament now taking place at a new venue, Memorial Park. A small pool was built as a placeholder this year (which Korda splashed into) until a more natural water feature is built by Tom Doak before next year. Should the winner’s leap have stayed put at the previous venue, Carlton Woods? Is it gimmicky? Or is it a fun tradition and important to preserve?

Colgan: Golf people get so worked up about the dumbest things. I’d argue sports are fun precisely because of our stupidly blind adherence to totally outrageous (and often watered down) traditions like the winner’s leap. We’re investing emotionally into someone’s capacity to put a white ball into a hole in the ground in fewer lashes than their opponent. That’s as dumb as it gets. If the winner wants to jump into a kiddie pool or battle an orangutan after, we should be unmoved. 

Zak: If they battle an orangutan, I’m gonna be moved by that. Sorry, James. But I actually kinda dig this tradition, mostly because … who cares? Bring your hate elsewhere. There are more important — and way more gimmicky — things to get angry about. Nelly’s team seemed to enjoy the leap. 

Schrock: Completely agree. What was all the fuss about? The players want to keep tradition alive and the LPGA created a stopgap move to allow it. There’s way too much hand-wringing about dumb things in golf. This was much ado about nothing. Korda was one of the players who wanted the tradition kept alive. She dove in. We move on. It’s sports. Go take a lap if you’re so aggrieved, maybe in a pool. 

The PGA of America announced Jim Furyk as its Ryder Cup captain for 2027, and he’ll become just the fourth repeat captain in the modern era. While we already discussed the news earlier this week, Furyk has had plenty of experience since his 2018 loss (as Ryder Cup assistant and Presidents Cup captain). What do you think his biggest learning from Paris has been that will be most beneficial next year?

Colgan: Don’t allow yourself to start the Cup by getting punched in the face. A fast start is the biggest asset for any road team, and it’s especially true at the Cup.

Zak: Here’s what the biggest learning needs to be: pairings decided weeks in advance. Perhaps months in advance. The Euros have trotted out pairs they knew would be playing together back in June. It seems like a strategy that keeps working. 

Schrock: There has to be a better strategy with the pairings than letting guys play with who they want to and flying by the seat of their pants as the competition goes on. The U.S. has the talent but they are lacking in every other area. 

Speaking of the Ryder Cup, tickets for 2027 in Ireland were recently announced as $585, which is more than double the cost of the last European Ryder Cup (in Rome in 2023). It also comes a year after $750 tickets caused an uproar at Bethpage. The PGA of America said then it’s a “Tier 1” sporting event and priced accordingly. What say you? Is it good for golf that prices (and demand) for Ryder Cup tickets are soaring? Or outrageous that it’s boxing out certain fans?

Colgan: Oh, it’s totally pathetic and completely antithetical to the spirit of an exhibition meant to celebrate golf’s best virtues. If the Euros don’t ask for payment to play in the Cup after the latest ticket news, they’re being naive. 

Zak: So is this price…Tier 2? Or is it still Tier 1, but in Ireland? I feel sad for those locals who have had this event circled on their calendars for years — after a very rich businessman won the bid to bring a now impossibly rich event to his very expensive resort. There’s a long tail of benefits that follow the Ryder Cup and make it worth everyone’s cause, but a lot of it now starts with fans paying a ton on the front end. It feels changed.

Schrock: Completely outrageous. Ticket prices for everything have unnecessarily gone through the roof, but for an exhibition match for a sport that is supposed to be about egalitarianism, this is pretty brutal. 

It’s official — for the first time in nearly six decades, the PGA Tour will not stop in Hawaii during the 2027 season, a domino of the forthcoming schedule change. Will you miss Hawaii? And what was your favorite moment during the Tour’s time in The Aloha State? 

Colgan: I’ll miss Hawaii. The golf course was fun and distinct, and the vibes were aspirational in a way few events on the golf calendar are. In a lot of ways, it feels like this is the moment we’ll look back upon as the Tour’s defining shift toward commerce in the mid-2020s. Not a bad thing, but a thing worth noting!

Zak: It’s okay to miss Hawaii as a season-starter and also know it was not an economically viable tournament. We live in an era of sports that will squeeze plenty of Things We Like out and replace them with Things We Still Like But Are Better Funded. It is what it is. This is a strictly commercial move and I think we’ll look back on it in five years in a totally accepting way. That said, the Tiger-Ernie battle from 2000 was one of the best mano a mano golf moments we’ve ever had.

Schrock: I’ll miss Hawaii for sure. Kapalua was a great course and it gave everyone buried in snow in the northeast an escape. That being said, I completely understand why the decision was made from a financial standpoint. Agree, this decision feels like a notable moment in the PGA Tour’s for-profit journey.