Her voice didn’t crack, but Jessica Korda was emotional. The 29-year-old American came up just short at the year’s first major, finishing solo second in The Chevron Championship after a final-round 3-under 69 that saw two birdies and a hole-out eagle. It was a valiant effort, one she’s proud of, but Jess was still disappointed that it wasn’t her that got to make the last leap into Poppie’s Pond.
“I was further back starting than I wanted and had a bunch of lip outs and it is what it is,” said Korda who hit eight of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in round four. “Sometimes you got to be lucky to win majors, and I still haven't found that yet. Second place is not bad after being 3-over through 7, so pretty proud of myself. I really wanted to win this one because I love this event. Pretty bummed that we're leaving, but I understand why. Excited for the championship going forward, but this is just such an awesome place.”
Jess’ second-place result is her best-ever finish in a major championship and after battling a rib injury at the start of 2022, her -12 performance says a lot about the direction in which her game is heading as the LPGA Tour looks forward to the rest of a meaty tournament schedule. With her fellow U.S. Solheim Cupper Jennifer Kupcho taking the first major title, Jess is optimistic about where American women’s golf is headed as well as where she stands in that conversation, bolstered by her good play at Mission Hills’ swansong.
“I'm just trying to do the same thing week in, week out. I’m trying to figure some stuff out, and obviously trying to stay as healthy as I can. I always want to keep myself relevant, so keeping my name on top of the leaderboard definitely helps.
“It's been a long time coming, and I feel like all the hype around the ANWA as well, it's kind of stars aligned for Jen which is awesome. Seeing an American win a major is definitely going to shut some critics up for a little bit which is nice. American golf is doing great and she's definitely kind of the future of it.”
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