Guardian Retirement Championship and Nelly Korda return to Sara Bay Country Club

MANATEE -- With a tour card in hand, it just made sense to turn pro rather than wait for the fall's qualifying school.

So Bradenton's Nelly Korda did just that, following older sister Jessica, into professional golf in February.

Korda began her 2016 rookie season on the LPGA Symetra Tour's opening stop in California. And this week, she's playing in her backyard at the Guardian Retirement Championship held at Sara Bay Country Club in southern Manatee County.

"It's always really great to play in front of my friends and my family, especially in my hometown," Korda said. "It will definitely motivate me a lot more, but the golf course is very tough, especially if the winds pick up. So it's going to be a challenge no matter what."

Korda has played the tricky Donald Ross-designed track plenty over the years, and said Sara Bay's difficulty rests with the greens and how accurate you have to be with approach shots.

"This golf course is about placement," Korda said. "If you don't hit greens and if you don't hit fairways, you can't succeed out here."

And history shows how much of a proven training ground Sara Bay is for end-of-the-year success. Every past champion has earned a promotion to the LPGA Tour. Esther Choe, Christine Song and last year's champion Rachel Rohanna claimed LPGA

Tour cards through the top 10 of the Symetra Tour's money list, while Marissa Steen won three times for the automatic promotion during the 2014 season.

And that top-10 place, like all players in the field, is Korda's goal.

"I think improve every aspect of my game," she said about what it takes to get there by season's end.

"Even mentally, you have to be mentally strong. Every one of these girls, they put 100 percent into every shot. No matter if they mess up, every shot counts. So it's about learning that. That no matter what, you always have to put 100 percent into every shot even if you mess up, you can't let it get in your way."

Part of that learning curve is getting adjusted to having a swing that holds up on a weekly basis. The 17-year-old Korda said she didn't play any three-week tournament stretches during her junior career, and barely played many back-to-back tournaments.

The current schedule sees her playing her third consecutive week. She missed the cut at the Florida's Natural Charity Classic in Lake Wales and tied for 24th at the Chico's Patty Berg in Fort Myers last week.

Korda said she recently had a lesson with her coach, IMG Academy's David Whelan, to clear her mind after a couple bad ball striking weeks.

"I used to move a lot with my body, so just going back to my basics: setup, having a good setup, making sure my core with my arms because I used to be very armsy," Korda said.

But her familiarity with Sara Bay and how to attack the course, specifically in the short game, makes this week a perfect fit to trend upward moving forward.

"She's a little bit of a different short game approach, which they need here," Sara Bay head pro Daren King said. "Some of the girls aren't used to playing stuff like this, so they haven't really practiced the shots that are needed to really win here. But I think she has those shots. A lot of them, I've watched them, like to pitch the ball too high some times. They just can't flight the golf ball, even in pitch shots like 40, 50, 60-yard shots into some of the par-5's and be able to flight the ball down a little bit."

Korda, though, isn't the lone talented player in this week's tournament.

"We've got a lot of young, really quality players," tournament director Ryan Ronk said. "Rookie players that are in the field that you're going to see some pretty quality golf this week. Like every year, it's a great test and we've had a lot of playoffs at this event. So I think if you want to enjoy some warm weather and great golf, come on out."

And one of those players is Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom, a rookie that won last week, finished tied for second the week before and tied for third place in the season-opener back in February.

Jason Dill, sports reporter, can be reached at 745-7017. Follow him @Jason__Dill and like his Facebook page at Jason Dill Bradenton Herald.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Guardian Retirement Championship and Nelly Korda return to Sara Bay Country Club ."