FORD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY WILD HORSE PASS

March 27, 2026

Jessica Korda

Whirlwind Golf Club

Quick Quotes - Rd 1

Q. All right, we are pleased to be joined by Jessica Korda here in the flash area at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass. First things first, how does it feel to be back after a couple years out?

JESSICA KORDA: Yeah, I was pretty nervous on the tee, but having -- being paired with Austin, it's so easy oops we were talking smack the entire 18 holes. There were some times where we weren't hitting the fairways and when we finally did and we high fived each other.

It was very easygoing out there and we had a blast.

Q. You mentioned the nerves a little bit. Did having the friendly group with you kind of subdue the nerves for you?

JESSICA KORDA: Yeah, for sure. And, too, being the first tee time off, being done early is really, really nice.

I actually won't miss bedtime which I was a little worried about. It's not something I'm willing to give up just yet.

So, yeah, really happy. Just a lot of rust. There is a lot of rust. Won't take me one or two events to get off the rust, but slowly and surely I'm sure we'll get there.

Q. Do you take pride in just wanting to come back and feeling like you want to come back and do the work to get back, get that rust off like you said?

JESSICA KORDA: I mean, yes and no. I mean, I'm in such a different place in my life than prior. I'm so happy in my life. I love exactly where I am and this is just a bonus for me.

This isn't something I'm chasing. It's just a bonus. I feel like I don't have anything to prove and I'm just really happy being a mom and raising my son and being at home with my husband.

So this is just a bonus.

Q. I know you've joked, heard you say a couple times you're just visiting.

JESSICA KORDA: Yes.

Q. I love that terminology. Who have you been most excited to see? Nelly obviously.

JESSICA KORDA: Yeah.

Q. Outside of Nelly, who have you been most excited to catch up with while you're just visiting?

JESSICA KORDA: I mean, Austin, it's been great to see Austin. I haven't seen her much. I saw her a couple times this year already. She came to stay at my house.

But yeah, both of us being moms it's really fun to just compare notes. She lives in Virginia now so I don't get to see her as often.

And other than that, I mean, just some of the OG girls. I saw Yani the other day. That was awesome. Saw Chella on the range the other day. That was really cool. We caught up about our kids as well.

So just kind of the originals that I was here with. And catching up with Lyds and being locker room buddies again. Just little things like that.

Q. Last one from me: Is it kind of nice to just play with no expectations?

JESSICA KORDA: It's a weird feeling because you still like want to hit certain shots and you get a little bit frustrated that you don't.

But you just play with such less pressure that you get to enjoy it a little bit more. We play with Hailee who is a rookie so also just watching the next generation and you definitely have a different perspective on it.