March 24, 2026, 4:30 p.m. ET
- Sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda are competing in the same official LPGA event for the first time in nearly three years.
- Jessica Korda is returning to the tour after being on medical leave for a back injury and giving birth to her first child.
- Now a mother, Jessica has adjusted her practice schedule to prioritize time with her son.
- Nelly Korda credits her older sister with teaching her about the realities of life on the professional tour.
These days, Jessica Korda practices about three days a week. Mondays she usually gets in a 90-minute session. Some days it’s as little as 45. She has a sitter for five to six hours, so she decides what’s the most important task of the day and goes from there.
“I definitely prioritize my time with my son over golf, so it’s not nearly as exciting as it used to be practicing,” said the eldest Korda.
On Tuesday at the Ford Championship at Whirlwind Golf Club, Nelly Korda and Jessica Korda compared their matching navy shirts on the dais. This week marks the first time in nearly three years that the sisters are competing in the same official LPGA event. They played last December in the Grant Thornton Invitational, an unofficial mixed-team event co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour. They also teamed up at the Seminole Pro-Member earlier this month.
Jessica, who turned 33 on Feb. 27, is a six-time winner on the LPGA. She was on medical leave for a back injury before she got pregnant with her first child, Greyson, and last played in an official tour event in May 2023, when she withdrew after the first round of the Founders Cup.
“I didn’t think I would tee it up again after I was withdrawing out of a couple events in 2023, so being here, feeling good, we’ll see where it takes us,” Jessica said. “Three years is a very long time.”
Younger sister Nelly won the first event of the season and then took the next six weeks off from the tour, returning last week at the Fortinet Founders Cup, where she lost by one to Hyo Joo Kim.
The Korda family is staying together in a house this week. Nelly cooked last night and their mother, Regina, has confiscated the baby monitor.
“At Grant Thornton, after the first day, Greyson decided to not sleep,” said Jessica, “So, I didn’t sleep from midnight to 5 a.m. It adds another variable to golf, to preparation.”
Staying mentally sharp is another adjustment for Jessica, who plays most of her golf in a cart back home in South Florida. Sometimes she doesn’t get in the full 18, rushing home to relieve the babysitter.
The back pain still comes, but she’s able to manage it. She’s been working with swing instructor Jason Baile on the fundamentals, struggling through a grip change.
“I played injured for so long that I created some bad habits, so it was just going backwards to watching Nelly’s hips rotate so nicely and that’s exactly what I strive to do,” Jessica said. “But it’s a very slow process.”
Nelly lights up next to her sister. It was an adjustment for her, taking on the tour without a built-in best friend. They’re having a blast together in Arizona. It’s like old times, only different.
“Greyson is at such a fun age where there is always something to do and he’s just so much fun and laughing all the time,” said Nelly. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
The first time the sisters played together on the big stage was the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open, where the USGA paired them together at Sebonack. That doesn’t happen all that often on the LPGA, with the Kordas often appearing in different waves.
They’ve teed it up in the same LPGA-sanctioned event 96 times. Nelly, 27, has 16 LPGA wins, two major titles and an Olympic gold medal. She had the advantage of learning from her sister.
“I think Jess taught me what life on tour was kind of like,” said Nelly. “Not many people really talk about it, but sometimes it is like a super isolating, lonely life out here, especially if you’re not really a very outgoing person to develop friendships with other girls; because it is highly competitive as well. So knowing what the tour life was like, traveling and getting the insight from her from — she turned pro in 2011 — I feel like for me, it really helped my rookie year on of having a built-in best buddy.”
The pair have partnered together as pros at Solheim Cups and the Dow Championship. When asked what they admire about each other’s games and what annoys them, Nelly pointed to Jessica’s clutch putting down the stretch.
“There were so many times I was like ‘Oh my God, please make this, I really don’t want to putt,’ and she did,” said Nelly. “There were so many clutch putts that she made. And then her energy. I don’t really show too much up and down during my rounds and she throws out really big fist pumps. That’s something I always admired about her, too.”
Jessica said she admires everything about her younger sister’s game.
“I’m super jealous how she rotates to the ball right now. I think that’s something I strive for. I’m always watching videos like, I just need that. I need that,” said Jessica. “But her feel, touch around the greens, playing in tough conditions, how she just burrows down. I think if you see her name up on the leaderboard during crappy weather you’re like, ‘Oh, crap.
“And then what annoys me is exactly that, is just her steady attitude. You just know that she would rather rip your throat out than lose.”
