Jessica Korda’s latest Instagram story didn’t feature swing highlights or highlight-reel shots. Instead, it offered a raw look at a veteran quietly testing her body and her patience. It hinted that something bigger may be forming behind the scenes. After months away from the spotlight, her words and movements suggest a player inching closer to a moment both she and her fans have been waiting to see.

“Grip strengthen. No matter how many times I try and strengthen this damn thing, it still looks weak,” Jessica Korda said in an Instagram story, while discussing her goals for the day. “Two, posture. I need to bump my hip a little bit to the side. It’s getting too stacked on my left side, which is not good. And then, going back, I need to rotate my hips a little bit more instead of glide, protect my back. Oh, I’m going to keep my chest moving. Obviously, that’s like a given so those are the three things that I need to keep up today while I play. Wish me luck.”

The 6x LPGA winner and Olympian shared that she still struggles with grip strength, posture, and hip rotation to protect her back ahead of a potential full return. These technical issues are directly tied to the chronic back issues that led to her back issues in May 2023.

Korda has long battled a weak grip. While breaking down her setup, she said it is a recurring issue she checks obsessively pre-shot by standing behind the ball and strengthening her trail-hand position to avoid an open clubface. Weak grips often lead to compensatory backswing adjustments that strain the body. Her efforts align with LPGA swing norms where grip tweaks prevent slices and promote power.

The same goes for her posture and alignment. “The main thing in my golf swing is actually getting my alignment correct,” Jessica Korda had once said.

Analysts praise her athletic setup with knee flex and hip hinge. However, they also note downswing “nudges” to stabilize the center and avoid hip slides that hinder rotation. This over-stacking likely exacerbates her back pain, prompting her to “bump my hip a little bit to the side” to better center.

All these technical difficulties could have potentially led to her back issues in 2023. Now that she is eyeing a comeback in 2026, she could be trying to eliminate them. Back in 2024, the 6x LPGA winner said that she was itching to be back on the course. She was planning to take 2025 off, assess everything, and come back in 2026. After taking a break in 2023 due to back injuries, she is currently on maternity leave.

She gave birth to her son, Grayson, in February 2024. Since the LPGA’s policy allows 2 years of maternity leave, Jessica Korda can return in 2026 with the same exemption category she left under. However, she has not yet confirmed which event she will debut at after the hiatus.

While those swing changes point toward a long-term plan, Korda has already taken one small step back into competition. That moment came quietly at the end of 2025, offering a glimpse of how her game is starting to take shape again.

Top Stories

PGA Tour Champ Disqualified for Using Banned Item at Farmers Insurance Open

Patrick Reed Pays a Heavy Price for Exiting LIV Golf as Worrying Update Surfaces

Hideki Matsuyama Lashes Out at PGA Tour as Brooks Koepka Returns Without Serving Any Suspension

Bryson DeChambeau Visits PGA of America as LIV Golf’s Future Looks Bleak

‘LIV Deserves It’: Greg Norman Under Fire as LIV Golf’s Collapse Feels Inevitable

Jessica Korda tests the waters at the 2025 Grant Thornton Invitational

Jessica Korda teamed with longtime friend and PGA Tour pro Bud Cauley at the 2025 Grant Thornton Invitational, marking her first competitive golf outing in over 2.5 years after a back injury hiatus and motherhood. After taking a break in May 2023, she did play at the 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup in November. However, she withdrew after Round 1. Therefore, the 2025 Grant Thornton Invitational was her first complete event after the break.

Held December 12-14, 2025, at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida, it is a mixed-team event co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the LPGA. It featured 16 PGA Tour/LPGA pairs across scramble, alternate shot, and modified best-ball formats with a $4 million purse. Korda/Cauley were one of 12 new teams. Notably,  her sister Nelly Korda has played in all three editions of the event. In 2025, she paired with Denny McCarthy, and the pair finished T2.

Jessica Korda and Bud Cauley carded rounds of 62-74-63 to finish 17-under par 199. They were among the last to finish, alongside Lilia Vu/Tony Finau, Lydia Ko/Jason Day, and Megan Khang/Keith Mitchell. Lauren Coughlin and Andrew Novak won with a score of 28 under par, 11 strokes less than Jessica Korda and Cauley.

Her brief return at the Grant Thornton Invitational showed that competitive golf is no longer just a distant goal. It is something she can step into again, even in a limited setting. That same patience and attention to detail seen in her Instagram swing notes now frame a larger story, one in which each small adjustment hints at a much bigger moment still to come.