As the JM Eagle LA Championship returns at a different course in Tarzana California, the “El Cab” country club, due to current renovations being done to its previous host site, the world’s No. 1 Nelly Korda and LPGA tour winner Sophia Popov find themselves at the same place despite different points in their career as tournament returners, giving different reasons with similar appreciation for the tournament’s CEO and wife, Walter and Shirley Wang.
Earlier on Wednesday, during Korda’s pre tournament press conference, she shared her gratitude for Walter and Shirley Wang supporting women’s sports, especially, ladies in this tournament. “Walter and Shirley do such an amazing job at putting on such a great event, ” Korda said. “They treat the players so well which goes a long way for us, and I played in this event two years ago so coming back to LA, playing at this course for the first time, I am really impressed with it.”
In contrast to Korda’s first experience with this course, Popov played at “El Cab” course during her college years a little over a decade ago, but the course is not the same due impart to the recent wildfires causing it to undergo some renovations though Popov feels the changes are to her advantage.
“I’ve been very strict with my practice and compartmentalizing family versus work so I kind of excited to take it out on the golf course and see the results,” Popov said during her pre tournament press conference. “This golf course setups nice for me because it’s a ball strikers’ golf course and I want to take advantage of this opportunity that I got, thanks to Walter and Shirley.”
Both Korda and Popov, managed to keep their enthusiasm and emotions mild like experienced veterans while keeping different external focuses to execute their game plans for the rest of the week. For Korda it’s perhaps engaging in a LEGO challenge, but for Popov it’s her family, especially her daughter, whom she credited for her return because she felt she had “unfinished business” after maternity leave.
“Everyday, I think of myself as very blessed to have gone to USC. It was an amazing four years. Such a great opportunity for me to grow not just as an athlete but as a person,” Popov continued. “If I think about our golf schedule back then and our school schedule, how I managed all it’s kind of funny that it’s kind of similar to motherhood now. I have to have my time blocked exactly like how I did in college.”
Popov didn’t shy away when asked about her feelings on the controversial ‘admin error’ that impacted her career yet taking what she learned at USC about fighting on through adversity is something she realized now with her husband.
“A lot of times I think back on it and my husband tells me to kind of hone in on that a little bit and maybe use some of those skills that you’ve learned there [USC] to take forward with you and sometimes it takes 10 years after you graduate to figure those things out.”