There is a rather old joke in editorial circles about trainee training, which is the equivalent of an apprenticeship in the trades – yes, even in journalism you should learn and master the craft from the ground up. In any case, the gag goes like this: “Dog bites man” is not newsworthy; “Man bites dog”, THAT is newsworthy. Exceptions prove the rule, of course. Which brings us to Nelly Korda (25), who has had some eventful times on and off the fairways. Cue thrombosis in her arm, six victories, but recently also three missed cuts in a row and rounds in the 80s at the US Women’s Open and the Women’s PGA Championship, the worst scores of her career to date. Now the world number one has cancelled her participation in the Aramco Team Series event on the Ladies European Tour (LET) this week at the Centurion Club in England (3 to 5 July), where the LIV League celebrated its premiere in 2022. Korda would have been the defending champion after last year’s victory over Lokamatador Charley Hull, but: “I was bitten by a dog in Seattle on Saturday.” That is indeed a news story.
Did a fan jinx the dog bite?
The circumstances of the mishap are not known, neither the location or extent of the injury nor the breed of the dog. Although one prankster has already claimed that Korda’s run of bad luck must have something to do with the puppy he adopted six weeks ago and named Nelly:
This cute little puppy is the reason for Nelly Korda’s downfall.
byu/cavemansoup ingolf
“I need time to get treatment and fully recover,” Korda wrote on Instagram. “I apologise to the LET, the sponsors and my fans for my absence. Thank you for your understanding and I look forward to returning to the course soon.” After all, the Amundi Evian Championship (11 to 14 July), the fourth major of the season, is coming up next week.