Nelly Korda wrapped up her 2025 season with a light-hearted moment that fans instantly adored. Fresh off a third-place finish at the CME Group Tour Championship and a year without a win, the former world No. 1 still found a reason to smile when she finally mustered the courage to ask Tommy Fleetwood for a photo.

Posting the picture on Instagram, she joked, “Wasn’t scared to ask for a photo this time 😆.” Tommy Fleetwood was seen holding a cap in his hand, which was signed by Nelly. And nobody celebrated the picture more than her sister, Jessica Korda, who chimed in with the perfect comment in three words: “The confidence grew 🔥.”

It was a full circle moment for both Fleetwood and Nelly Korda as she even shared an older snapshot from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (held in 2021), where a much more shy Nelly posed with Fleetwood. But there’s a funny story behind that photo.

In an older interview (in 2024) with Claire Rodgers on The Scoop that she shared that she had been too timid to ask Fleetwood for a photo herself.

“I love Tommy Fleetwood,” she said. “Like, I love his game, and I just really like Tommy. I met him at the Olympics, and I was too shy to ask for a photo, and Mel Reid went up to Tommy and told him I really want a photo with him, so I ended up with this photo of me and him from the Olympics.”

Even around the time when Tommy Fleetwood had won his maiden PGA Tour title at the 2025 Tour Championship at East Lake, Korda didn’t hold back. Fleetwood has been playing on the PGA Tour since 2018, but always remained a journeyman. Claiming the FedEx Cup title as his first victory on the tour, he became the first player since Chad Campbell (2003) to make the Tour Championship his first PGA Tour win.

Clearly, that moment stuck with Nelly Korda, who had always admired Fleetwood not just for his game but for his journey on the PGA Tour. She reacted publicly to his milestone, reposting the PGA Tour’s congratulatory post on her Instagram story to celebrate his first American Tour win.

Beyond the admiration for each other, the two also share something in common. They are both Taylormade staffers.

Nelly Korda and Tommy Fleetwood’s Taylormade connection

Nelly Korda and Tommy Fleetwood, both, have chosen Taylormade for their equipment choice for a few years now. In 2023, Nelly Korda’s partnership with TaylorMade began after her previous deal with Titleist ended, and she quickly became one of the LPGA Tour’s biggest attractions for the brand.

Alongside a multi-year agreement with Nike, Korda has represented TaylorMade in high-profile campaigns, including a 2023 Christmas shoot that featured Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and even Tommy Fleetwood. While the exact figures of her deal remain undisclosed, signing a former World No. 1 clearly wasn’t cheap.

Recently, just ahead of The ANNIKA, Korda made the switch from the P7MC irons to the newer P7CB players’ cavity irons. She admitted that she made the switch so her approach shots “have maybe a little bit more height to them so the descent angle is a little steeper and should land a little softer.”

While she made this switch, she hasn’t yet adopted the brand’s latest driver and fairway woods, the Qi4D range, which Fleetwood debuted at the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He has been with Taylormade since 2021 and was seen using the latest Qi4D LS driver at Yas Links earlier this month. Fleetwood lost in a playoff to Aaron Rai in the event, finishing solo second.

Korda’s admiration for Fleetwood has clearly lingered over the years. And while four years ago, she needed someone to ask for her, this time, she confidently stepped up and asked Fleetwood herself for a picture, marking a small but satisfying personal victory.