THE MODERATOR: Jess, what a great round today. You finished off tied with Nelly. How did you feel after that round and knowing that you and Nelly are tied?
JESSICA KORDA: Well, I saw her on the leaderboard. I was putting like towards the leaderboard on 18 or 9. I was like, Dang, I got to make this. Glad I did.
It's good to finish with a birdie. Obviously it's slightly tougher back nine. The wind started to blow a little bit. Caught a lot of fliers out of the rough that I wasn't expecting to get.
Yeah, obviously happy with a birdie. First round. It's Thursday. So much golf left.
Q. And you started with a really strong birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle, and then also ended with a birdie. Talk to us about your round today and what worked really well.
JESSICA KORDA: It was actually -- we were super relaxed on the 10th tee, just chatting with my group. Obviously playing with Aaron and Derek was just super fun.
Two-putted the 1st hole for birdie and I was like, Okay, this is fine. Hit it to like four feet on the next hole. Three feet on the next hole. All the same number.
Just tried to hit a 3-wood as hard as I could up there. Yeah, I mean, hit it to like four feet and I was like, Sweet. Then I started to kind of have to make some longer putts coming in.
But honestly, it was just a very relaxed round. Nice to get back into it, and, yeah, just happy to be here.
Q. Anything in particular over the break that you wanted to work on? You ended the season last year so strong.
JESSICA KORDA: Honestly, it was such a short break that there wasn't a whole lot to work on. I think this is just a continuation of everything going on behind the scenes for us.
We still have five weeks I think after this to work on whatever we need to work on and show back up here in Orlando.
Q. What were the details of the eagle?
JESSICA KORDA: I just hit driver, 3-wood to like five feet. Not even. Like three feet maybe.
Q. Okay.
JESSICA KORDA: Yeah, it was like 222 front and was like, I need to hit a draw. I don't know if it's soft in front of the green or not. Came up there, it was like three feet, I was like, Weeee.
It's always nice surprise when you can't see it.
Q. If you and your sister are paired together on Sunday in the final round, what do you think the atmosphere will be like between you two?
JESSICA KORDA: We'll see. I mean, it's so early. It's Thursday. Can't win it on Thursday, can't -- but you can lose it, so I guess we're happy to be in contention.
We'll see. I don't know.
Q. What was your club and putt distance on 9 for the birdie?
JESSICA KORDA: I hit 9-iron and I think I had like 18 feet.
Q. And secondly, watching your sister come up as the older sister, do you remember the point where you looked at her and said, Man, she's going to be something special?
JESSICA KORDA: Always. There was never like one point. I always knew. I knew that if she kept her head down and worked really hard, you know, she was going to make it.
You can tell by the person. I think being around athletes our entire lives you have the feel for it. Yeah, she's a great player and she's got a very long career ahead of her.
Q. What was the key part of that earlier? Was it just seeing her desire or work ethic?
JESSICA KORDA: I don't know. I think it's the whole thing. It's not just her personality. Obviously I call myself the guinea pig of the family, but having someone that's been in these situations, we have more experience with it, so it's easier to guide someone through it in a way.
But you have to make your own path. That's the whole thing. You can give a person as much information as you can or want, but it's up to them what they do with it. I just stand back now honestly. My sister is one of my best friends. The last thing we do is talk golf.
Q. Saying that, is there anything on the line this season between the two of you?
JESSICA KORDA: No. Honestly, we're past that and just trying to have fun and play golf. Yeah, be each other's cheerleaders.
Q. I have a couple fun ones. This event is so fun. What would you say is the highlight of this tournament?
JESSICA KORDA: Honestly meeting celebrities. Yeah, my brother always makes me take a bunch of selfies with people because he's so upset he's not here.
I was like, All right, so I had to do one today. He's like the biggest fan of the Office, so I was like walking around the range, Can I get a selfie? My brother is a big fan. Not even for me.
But, yeah, no, it's just getting to know these guys. They're so down to earth and fun. So just really taking it all in and enjoying the ride.
Last year was a learning experience. I didn't know what to expect, so I struggled the first couple days. I was very much prepared for the mentality of this event this year.
Q. How about yourself? Anyone in particular you were hoping to play with? And Annika is here too this week.
JESSICA KORDA: Anyone honestly. Everyone out here is just so great. There is not just one person. There are some bombers, celebrities, people that -- guys that haven't necessarily played in these events in a while or ever.
So it's fun taking them through the steps of how to read out a scorecard. So it's fun. It really is.
Q. Just on your own game, is there any one aspect of your game if it dialed up just a notch this year you could make the big jump?
JESSICA KORDA: Everything. It's so hard to win out here. At the end of the day it's who makes the most putts, and some of that comes down to luck as well, you know.
Everyone is so good out here. The level of play in the last ten years or even more has just been insane. Scores are lower, girls are getting longer, everyone is getting better.
It's tough to win out here, so when you do, you know everything absolutely came together. So, yeah, like I said, I'm really glad to be playing this week, so I don't have a super long off-season and we can kind of test a lot of things out.
Q. Final question is my personal favorite. We're so close to Disney. I've been asking players if they could play with any Disney character, who would it be and why?
JESSICA KORDA: I don't know. That's a good question. Honestly I always loved Mickey and Minnie. Why not, right? That's who you would grow up loving. Obviously Goofy because he's a dog.
I always just stick to the basic Disney characters. But, yeah, just sad that we can't go over there.
Q. Thank you so much and good luck for the rest of the week?
JESSICA KORDA: Thank you.
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