Nelly Korda’s $300,000 Watch (Mostly) Survived Her Celebratory Pond Jump
Nelly Korda took home a cool $1.2 million in prize money for winning the Chevron Championship on Sunday, but she almost cost herself a fair amount of dough as well.
The win was Korda’s fifth straight LPGA Tour victory, making her the first player since Annika Sörenstam in 2005 to reel off five straight wins. (Take that, Scottie Scheffler. His run of four victories in five starts pales in comparison to what Korda has done of late.)
The Chevron is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour, and it’s customary for the winner of the tournament to celebrate by leaping into a water hazard. The tradition began when the tournament was held at the Mission Hills Country Club in Southern California, and when the tournament moved last year to The Club at Carlton Woods outside Houston, organizers dredged the lake near the 18th green to make it safer for celebratory swims. They even added nets to keep alligators out.
So when Korda punctuated her victory with a picture-perfect cannonball on Sunday, she wasn’ in any danger. Her watch was, though.
One of Korda’s sponsors is Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Richard Mille, which created a signature watch for Korda called the RM 07-04. You can buy one here—if you have $300,000. Korda was wearing hers when she leapt into the pond on Sunday, which gave some people a fright. She was asked in her press conference if the watch was waterproof but thankfully confirmed that it is.
“Yes, it is,” Korda said. “Not the strap, but it’ll be fine.”
According to the manufacturer, the watch is water resistant up to 50 meters (165 feet). So Korda could go scuba diving to celebrate her next win and it’d still be fine.
