“I’m beyond bummed” - Jessica Korda sidelined from the final two events of the LPGA season due to a back injury
Six-time LPGA Tour winner Jessica Korda will not be competing in the final two events of the LPGA Tour due to a back injury. Korda has been in trouble with injuries for a long time now. She took to Instagram to announce her absence but expects to return 'healthier and stronger' next season.
Korda wrote:
“I’m beyond bummed.
“I haven’t had the most luck when it comes to injuries in my career, nonetheless I’m going to keep on keeping on. Excited to be back next year for my 13th season on tour healthier and stronger.”
However, she did not mention the type or intensity of the injury or what kind of treatment she would be undergoing. Considering she missed two important tournaments, it seems to be a serious injury.
Jessica Korda currently ranks 32nd on the CME points list
Jessica Korda will miss this week’s Pelican LPGA Championship in Belleair, Florida, which is scheduled for November 10 to 13. Her sister, Nelly Korda, is the defending champion of the event.
In addition, she'll also miss the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, which has a $7 million overall prize money purse and offers a $2 million winner's check, the highest in tour history.
Korda is currently ranked 16th in the world and 32nd on the CME points list after missing most of the spring season due to injury. Her rank falls well within the top 60 eligible to play in the SME Group Tour Championship.
She said that if she continued playing, it could take longer for her to recover, which is why she made the decision to opt-out of the two tournaments.
Korda wrote on her Instagram post:
“Playing anything further would have made my recovery a lot longer, so per doctor recommendation and talking to my team, we’ve decided that this is the right call.”
In the 2022 season, Korda participated in 14 LPGA Tour events, making a cut in 12 of them. She has earned six top-10 finishes this season.
Her best performance this season was a runner-up finish at this year's first major, the Chevron Championship, her best finish at a major. The World no. 16 posted a final-round score of 69 to finish two behind winner Jennifer Kupcho.She also had a top-10 finish at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
Most recently, at the Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America in Texas, she tied for 24th place. However, Jessica hasn't featured in any tournaments since the conclusion of the event in September.
This is not the first time that an injury has forced Korda to withdraw from an event. Earlier this February, she was forced to withdraw from the LPGA's Drive On Championship due to a rib muscle sprain.
Meanwhile, her sister Nelly Korda is also recovering after undergoing blood clot removal surgery on her left arm this spring.
Jessica had a successful 2021 season as compared to this year. Last year, she represented the US at the Tokyo Olympics, won the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, and made the cut in all the 17 events she played.