LPGA Tour star Nelly Korda announced her engagement to Casey Gunderson on Friday, sharing the joyous news through professional photographs on Instagram with the caption: “In this life… and the next.”
Among the congratulatory messages was a heartfelt response from close friend and WNBA sensation Caitlin Clark, who commented “congrats!!!” with a love heart emoji. The post quickly accumulated over 91,000 likes within six hours, demonstrating Korda’s widespread popularity.
The friendship between the World No. 2 golfer and the basketball star has blossomed since they first met last year, strengthening through shared experiences at the LPGA Annika pro-am. Korda noticed Clark’s growth during her second appearance at the event in 2025, where she competed alongside Indiana Fever teammates.
“I think she was maybe a little bit more comfortable,” Korda observed. “We knew each other a little bit more, so for us, chit-chatting was a lot of fun.”
What particularly impressed Korda was Clark’s competitive approach to golf. “I’ve been lucky enough to play alongside a lot of athletes, and everyone has that competitive drive to want to play the best,” she explained. “You always have that competitive drive in anything you do, if it’s from board games to other sports.”
The engagement announcement came after a challenging 2025 season for Korda, who didn’t secure a tournament victory and surrendered her World No. 1 ranking to Jeeno Thitikul. Despite finishing runner-up at the Women’s U.S. Open and battling a neck injury, she maintained perspective.
“I feel like there was a lot of ups and downs, and it made me grow a lot mentally,” Korda reflected. “I would say I’m just also very grateful for it because, you know, success is never linear.”
As Korda prepares for married life and the 2026 season, she does so with renewed determination and support from friends like Clark.
