The consistency showcased by Jessica Korda during the 2021 LPGA Tour season so far is the real deal and there’s no signs she has any plans of taking her foot off the gas.
Korda fired a bogey-free, 6-under par 65 in the second round of the HUGEL-Air Premia LA Open at Wilshire Country Club to set the 36-hole tournament scoring record of 13-under 129. It is also the 19th time in 22 competitive rounds this year that Korda has shot even par or better.
“Being able to make a lot of birdies helps,” said Korda, who has recorded 14 birdies over 36 holes. “The last couple of events, I made a lot of bogeys as well, which kind of killed my momentum a little bit. That is the only thing we’re trying to change, play a little bit smarter and get more consistent with my swing. It is [about] just making some putts and has been nice. I can’t complain, really.”
If the scoring isn’t convincing enough of her consistency, Korda has hit 119 of 144 greens in regulation going back to the third round of the ANA Inspiration. That includes 33 greens at Wilshire, despite varying shapes and sizes which, according to Mel Reid, can be categorized as “either small and fat, or very long and skinny.”
“Even when I did miss, it wasn’t by much,” Korda said. “The greens are quite small, so sometimes it is actually better to be a little bit off the green or in a certain spot on the green than to [just] be on the green. That kind of thing is what we are looking at, especially with some of the pin placements.”
She’ll be the hunted heading into the final two rounds in Los Angeles, but that won’t change the mindset or any objectives in Korda’s game.
“It’s golf,” said Korda. “You never know what you’re going to get from one day to another. You can feel great one day and not have a great day or feel crappy and have a fantastic day. You just never know. It is like a box of chocolates.
“Just try and do the same thing we have been,” she said on what she plans for the final two rounds. “Prepare for the course and try to hit it in places we know are beneficial to us then try and do our best with that.”
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