On Thursday, some of the biggest names in golf joined in on the Halloween festivities and showed off their awesome costumes. There were some notable ones, including Rory McIlroy as Super Mario and world No. 1 Nelly Korda as Master Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Some of the other players who posted photos of their Halloween costumes were Tony Finau, Gary Woodland, Sam Burns and Billy Horschel.
Her last victory came in 2021 at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
Jessica Korda, who has won six times on the LPGA, announced the birth of her first child Monday.
According to her post on Instagram, her son Greyson John DelPrete was born Saturday, Feb. 3.
Early in 2023, Korda took time off from the tour due to a lingering back injury, then announced her pregnancy last August, also via social media. Her last victory came in 2021 at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, where she edged Danielle Kang in a playoff.
The older sister of Nelly Korda, she last teed it up in May 2023 at the Cognizant Founders Cup, where she withdrew after a first-round 72. Her best finish last year in six starts was a share of 18th at the Dio Implant LPGA Open.
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Korda and her husband, Johnny DelPrete, have been married since Dec. 11, 2021.
The 32-player field will be comprised of 16 PGA Tour and 16 LPGA players competing for a $4 million purse.
A co-sanctioned event between the PGA Tour and the LPGA at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida had already announced some spectacular pairings, with the likes of Rose Zhang and Sahith Theegala, Tony Finau and Nelly Korda, Rickie Fowler and Jessica Korda, and Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson all set to team up.
The Grant Thornton Invitational is set to debut Dec. 8-10 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, as part of the Challenge Season.
It will be the first mixed-team co-sanctioned event between the two tours since John Daly and Laura Davies won the final edition of the JCPenney Classic in 1999.
The 32-player field will be comprised of 16 PGA Tour and 16 LPGA players competing for a $4 million purse. The three-day event will be televised by NBC and Golf Channel.
The Grant Thornton replaced the QBE Shootout, which was founded by Greg Norman in 1989 and had been played in Naples since 2001. Last year, Theegala teamed with Tom Hoge to win the event, coming from two down in the final round to edge Ryan Palmer and Charley Hoffman.
In this round, each player hits a tee shot and then the team selects the ball to be used for the next stroke. From there, both players hit their next shots from that spot. This process continues until the ball is holed.
Saturday, Dec. 9: Foursome (alternate shot) format
This is the most traditional of the three days, adhering to a format that is consistently featured in both the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup. Each teamâs players alternate hitting shots with the same ball until the ball is holed. One player will tee off on the odd-numbered holes, and the other tees off on the even-numbered holes.
Sunday, Dec. 10: Modified Four-Ball format
This final round will feature a format new to team play and a twist on traditional Four-Ball. In the modified format, both players tee off, and then they switch balls for their second shots and play that same ball until it is holed. The lower score of the partners is then counted as the team score for the hole.
Jessica Korda hasn’t played on the LPGA since May due to a lingering back injury, and it looks like she won’t tee it up again professionally until next year. There’s a good reason, too.
On Friday, the 30-year-old Korda and her husband, Johnny DelPrete, announced they’re expecting their first child, a baby boy due February 2024.
In social media posts, the couple shared photos of their dog, a Mini Goldendoodle named Charlie, and a sign saying ‘DELPRETE TEE TIME FOR 3 COMING FEBRUARY 2024’ with a blue pair of baby shoes propped up against the sign.
Korda and DelPrete have been married since Dec. 11, 2021.
Korda has won six times on the tour, most recently at the 2021 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and has recorded 44 additional top-10 finishes since her rookie season in 2011. Korda has $7,605,903 in career earnings.
Who do you want to watch in future versions of The Match?
Over the last five years, The Match has featured everyone from Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson to stars from other sports such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Charles Barkley and Steph Curry.
With eight editions of the made-for-tv charity golf event now in the books â Curry and Golden State Warriors teammate Klay Thompson lost to the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl-winning tandem of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce on Thursday night â we got to thinking ⌠who should be next?
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Check out who else we think would be fun to see in future versions of The Match.
Jessica Kordaâs indefinite break from competition now includes the U.S. Womenâs Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California as the six-time LPGA winner has withdrawn. The USGA reports that Korda is one of three fully exempt players to pull out of the competition along with Japanâs Mone Inami, No. 66 in the Rolex Rankings, and South Koreaâs Hee Jeong Lim, No. 84.
The 30-year-old Korda has struggled with a back injury for some time now and said recently that she has reached a point where the pain is not improving, forcing her to withdraw from several events.
âAs a competitor, itâs upsetting to have to do this time and time again,â Korda wrote on her social media accounts. âAt the advice of my medical team, I have made the decision to stop playing until I can get my back fully healthy.â
A six-time winner on the LPGA, Korda last teed it up in May at the Cognizant Founders Cup, where she withdrew after a first-round 72. Her best finish this season in six starts is a share of 18th at the Dio Implant LPGA Open.
The U.S. Women’s Open Trophy as seen on the 18th hole of Pebble Beach Golf Links
in the Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (Copyright USGA/Kip Evans)
Five players have since been added to the field of 156, with recent LPGA winners already in the field: Azahara Munoz, Moriya Jutanugarn, Allysha Mae Mateo, Jenny Coleman and Kumkang Park.
Coleman was the second alternate from the Atlanta qualifying site and got the call after Agathe Laisne declined the spot.
This yearâs championship takes place July 6-9 and marks the first time the iconic track will play host to a womenâs major. The cutoff date to qualify from the Rolex Rankings (top 75) is July 3. The winner of this weekâs KPMG Womenâs PGA Championship will earn a spot if not otherwise qualified.
Nelly Korda tackles Baltusrol with a pain-free back and a new coach.
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. â Nelly Korda didnât touch a club for several weeks after lower back pain resulted in a forced spring break. When the 24-year-old returned to work, it was with a new swing instructor. Jason Baile, director of instruction at Jupiter Hills Club in Florida, started working with the former World No. 1 a week and a half ago and this week is at Baltusrol Golf Club helping Korda prepare for the KPMG Womenâs PGA Championship.
âA couple of my sisterâs friends work with him,â said Korda, who noted that LIVâs Peter Uihlein is among them. âI heard heâs really good, so testing him out.â
Theyâve mostly worked on setup, she said, moving closer to the ball and getting her right shoulder more through the ball rather than stuck behind it.
Korda, currently No. 2 in the world, hasnât won this season but has notched six top-six finishes. Sheâs one of four players on tour ranked in the top 20 in both strokes gained off-the-tee (third) and strokes gained putting (16th).
Korda trails only Jin Young Ko in strokes gained total per round.
This isnât the first time Korda, an eight-time winner on the LPGA, has dealt with lower back pain, which caused her to withdraw from the KPMG at Aronimink three years ago after the first round.
This time around, Korda couldnât point to a specific shot or movement that caused the pain, but she immediately talked to her doctor about it and decided to take several weeks of rest before it worsened. Korda’s last round on the LPGA was May 12 at the Cognizant Founders Cup, where she missed the cut. She’s now pain-free.
âThere’s a lot of torque in the golf swing,â said Korda, âso I feel like I’m not the only golfer that kind of struggles with the low back.
âAlso, when you’re traveling four weeks in a row, different beds, flying out right after your round, sometimes you just tweak it and you just need to take rest.â
Nelly Korda walks the first fairway with her team during a practice round before the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club on June 19, 2023 in Springfield, New Jersey. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Nelly’s sister, Jessica Korda, 30, announced late last month that she was taking a break from the tour indefinitely to try to get her back healthy.
âI think coming from a family that has played sports throughout their entire life, it just comes with it,â said Nelly. âYou look at so many athletes, they all go through something. I can only speak on let’s say tennis, where you see (Rafael) Nadal, who battled with so many injuries throughout his entire career.
âIt’s something you constantly learn from.â
Korda said her split from her previous instructor, Jamie Mulligan, was about time management more than anything else, and they remain close. She also still considers David Whelan part of her team. She sees Whelan often at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, when sheâs at home, mostly casually. Korda started working with Whelan at age 14.
âEven when he doesnât say anything, just the fact that he is there with me at practice makes me very comfortable,â she said. âI am where I am because of him.â
As the worldâs best women take on Baltusrolâs Lower Course for the first time since 1961, Korda said the first four holes will be crucial. Getting through them in even par is a big goal for the week.
âThey’re big, monstrous kind of holes,â she said.
Baltusrolâs dual courses (the Upper and the Lower) have hosted 16 USGA Championships and two PGA Championships. The championship tradition began in 1901 with the U.S. Womenâs Amateur. Jack Nicklaus won two U.S. Open titles on Baltusrol’s Lower Course. Mickey Wright and Phil Mickelson won here, too.
âThe club just bleeds major championship golf,â said PGA chief championships officer Kerry Haigh.
Korda was blown away Monday by the condition of the A.W. Tillinghast design, which was restored in 2020 by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner and reopened in 2021. The Lower ranks No. 35 on Golfweek’s Best list of classic courses in the U.S., and the Upper ties for No. 62. Both courses rank among the top 10 private clubs in New Jersey.
With rain in the forecast, players will face a different test than theyâve seen so far in sunny and dry practice rounds. The clubâs new drainage and sub-surface air system might be put to the test before the weekend.
The rough, last cut on Sunday, is right where they want it. Korda said she tried to hit 6-irons from the rough and they came out as knuckle balls, dead left. Haigh said the PGA plans to top it off Wednesday and again Friday if needed.
âI enjoy these kinds of golf courses where you have to kind of think a little bit more,â said Korda, âand it’s a very demanding golf course as well ⌠everything has to click for you this week in order to perform well.â
Jessica Korda is taking a break from the LPGA and isnât sure when sheâll be back.
Jessica Korda is taking a break from the LPGA and isnât sure when sheâll be back. The 30-year-old has struggled with a back injury for some time now and said sheâs reached a point where the pain is not improving, forcing her to withdraw from several events.
âAs a competitor, itâs upsetting to have to do this time and time again,â Korda wrote on her social media accounts. âAt the advice of my medical team, I have made the decision to stop playing until I can get my back fully healthy.â
A six-time winner on the LPGA, Korda last teed it up at the Cognizant Founders Cup where she withdrew after a first-round 72. Her best finish this season in six starts is a share of 18th at the Dio Implant LPGA Open.
Last year, Korda took two months off in the spring and stopped playing in late September due to lingering back pain.
âAt this point, we donât have a firm timeline for my return,” Korda wrote, “but Iâm working with the best of the best and am focused on coming back as soon as possible.
The LPGA has two majors in the span of three weeks beginning June 22 with the KPMG Women’s PGA at Baltusrol followed by the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
View photos of Jessica Korda throughout her entire career.
A six-time winner on the LPGA, Jessica Korda is way more than just Nelly’s older sister.
Jessica laid the blueprint for her younger sister with a stellar amateur career. A member of both Junior Solheim & Curtis Cup teams, Korda played in her first U.S. Open in 2008 at just 15 years old.
Earning LPGA status through Q-School in 2010, Korda made her Tour debut at 18 years of age in 2011. In her sophomore season, Korda notched her first win at the Australian Women’s Open surviving a six-person playoff.
As a professional, Korda has represented the United States on three occasions at the Solheim Cup, touting a 5-4-2 record.
In her 12 years as a pro, Korda peaked in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings at No. 13 back in 2018 and has been consistently inside the top 25 in the world since 2014. She also holds top-10 finishes in all five majors with top-five finishes in the Chevron Championship (2nd – 2022), KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (T-4 – 2014) and the Women’s British Open (T-5 – 2014).
Get to know a little bit more about the Korda sisters.
Last week, before the start of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda sat down with HSBC host Kate Burton to talk about their journeys in golf, the number of times each day they call mom and their tennis role models.
“Mom watches Nelly,” said Jessica. “Nelly needs a butler, basically.”
Nelly finished solo second to Jin Young Ko in Singapore, on the heels of a T-6 in Thailand and a fourth at the season-opening Hilton Grant Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Jessica, who celebrated her 30th birthday while in Singapore, made her first start on the LPGA since September after recovering from a back injury. She struggled with rounds of 76-78-79-72. The Korda sisters, ranked Nos. 2 and 23, respectively, have won a combined 14 titles on the LPGA.
