Jessica Korda hoped to shake off the rust this week in Asia after undergoing jaw surgery in the offseason. Instead, the five-time tour winner went wire-to-wire to leave the rest of the LPGA Thailand field — including Lexi Thompson, who put on quite a show in Sunday’s finale — in her dust.
Jessica Korda holds off Lexi Thompson in wire-to-wire win at LPGA Thailand
Lexi to move to No. 2 in the world as Jessica Korda makes an impressive return to the LPGA Tour following surgery.
Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images
Korda, who finished with a 5-under 67, shattered some records along the way to her 25-under tourney-winning score. Not too bad for the 24-year-old, who entered the week looking for some tournament reps after returning from surgery she had to get rid of the headaches that plagued her constantly over the past few years.
Korda needed every one of the six birdies (along with one bogey) she carded on Sunday to retain the lead she held since the opening round at Siam Country Club, what with Thompson matching the low round of the day at 8-under, thanks to the eight birds she carded in a flawless final round.
Lexi, who was involved in another unusual penalty situation in the second round, played a ferocious back nine in her final round that included three birdies in a row to start her incoming nine holes and one on the 18th. She finished in a tie with Moriya Jutanugarn for second, at 21-under.
Thompson, who is likely to jump to No. 2 in the world on the strength of her performance in Thailand, had a chance to reach the top spot. She would have gotten there but for that two-shot penalty she incurred after improperly removing signage on Friday, since LPGA.com projected Thompson needed a solo second and a fifth-place finish or worse for currently top-ranked Shanshan Feng.
Feng’s birdie on 18 gave her a 66 and a share of fifth, while Thompson would have had runner-up to herself but for that penalty. Even so, it was quite a rebound for Lexi, who put the mishap behind her and posted four straight scores in the 60s (66-68-69-64).
But Sunday was all about the tourney winner, who entered the week with no grand illusions.
“I just came in with no expectations after surgery. It’s really hard for me to move,” said Korda, who started her first tour event as a rookie in the same event in 2011. “This is the most holes I’ve played in a row since [the season-ending] CME [Tour Championship]. I didn’t know how I was going to do. I was just coming in here just happy to be able to play.”
So stellar was Korda’s play — and the popularity of her final-round playing partner, Thailand’s own Jutanugarn — that a large and noisy crowd had her thinking about a certain aging superstar who’s in the midst of his own post-surgery comeback and who’s in contention this week over on the PGA Tour.
“I felt at one point I was in the trees on nine and hit a punch out into the bunker and I felt like Tiger Woods,” Korda said. “All these crowds are coming in right behind me. I was like, This is really cool. It’s all really fun playing in front of crowds like this. I really, really enjoyed it.”
The victory was Korda’s first since 2015 and it included firing a course-record 62 in her second round.
Korda’s winning score of 25-under was also a new tourney mark.
Not bad for someone who had her nose and jaw broken as part of her three-hour December surgery and still has 27 screws in her face, according to the BBC.
”I can’t believe it. Today was such a blur,” she said. “I was just trying to make birdies. I tried to relax, but I was nervous.”
