Jessica Korda, fresh off her playoff victory at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, chatted with GOLF’s Emily Haas about the big week, her style, her go-to Adidas pieces and more. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Emily Haas: Congratulations on your win. What a way to kick off the LPGA season! How did you celebrate?
Jessica Korda: I drove two hours back to my house. Did some laundry the next day, did a couple of interviews and kind of took it really easy. I was really tired.
We saw that you were wearing Adidas’ new gradient long-sleeve top on Sunday. How do you usually go about picking out your looks, particularly when you are in a featured group or like this past weekend in a final pairing and in contention on Sunday?
Honestly it’s getting harder and harder to pack each year being with Adidas. They do such an amazing job with all of our clothes. I try to stick to a color palette that I would travel with, so like sometimes blues, but this time I was driving so I couldn’t pick which outfits to take with me because there are so many amazing ones. I love the colors. I love the brightness of it. It puts me in a good mood, and I always love pairing something like a long-sleeve top with a skirt, and so this time I decided I was actually going to wear shorts and skirts. I didn’t have a rhyme or reason of what I wanted, it was just when I woke up that morning it was what I felt I wanted to wear. But every single outfit I put together we get from Adidas is always top notch, so I never have to worry about if I’m on TV, I just know I’m going to look good because anything they put out is just fantastic.
Do you have any superstitions about what you wear?
If I don’t play well in an outfit I usually don’t play in it during a tournament. If I play well in an outfit you will see me rewear it a good amount. I don’t have a whole lot of superstitions. I don’t tend to wear black on Sundays. I like to definitely have a pop of color in my outfits. I don’t have too many clothing superstitions, but if I don’t play well in something I tend to not rewear it during a tournament week.
So you are never wearing something for the first time in a tournament?
I tend to like to take it out for a practice round. [Laughs] See kind of how I feel in it, if I got the good vibes out of an outfit. It’s almost like a little routine I have done.
Is there a certain person whose on-course style you admire the most?
Not really. Clothing has evolved so much. Back when the LPGA first started they were wearing skirts down to their ankles, so it’s obviously evolved. I like the sportier look with a girly side to it, where I feel very athletic but also very feminine.
Between tops, bottoms, shoes or accessories, is there a category you’d usually splurge on?
I would say purses in general. I just like bags. That’s something that I’d reward myself with. We got a Goldendoodle three years ago and since then I haven’t completely splurged on myself because I’d rather splurge on him. So not so much anymore, but I love fashion. And for me personally with Adidas, it’s not just the golf side of it, it’s also the casual side of it. You have The Originals and then you have so many different brands in Adidas that you can wear. You can dress it up and dress it down and with our golf clothes you can wear it to the gym or the golf course and you’ll never look out of place.
Is there a specific item from Adidas’ new spring line that you would recommend as a must-have for other women golfers out there?
My biggest thing is sun protection. So for me, long sleeves I love. The different colors like I wore on Sunday [at the Diamond Resorts TOC]. But I also wore on, I think Friday, I wore a pink skirt with a white top with pink down the arm. I thought that was really neat. I think those are really cool designs. And then what Adidas has done and continuing to do is upcycling ocean waste for our golf clothes and also going into other products. How comfortable the clothes are for how they are made, I didn’t believe them at first when I put on these shirts and skirts and pants, and then when I did they told me the backstory, and I was like, there’s no way. This is so comfortable I was expecting not to be able to move, and it’s just the softest material. So it’s something you’ll feel good about buying and you’ll really love the way it feels on you.
It’s always amazing when you realize something used to be like, a plastic water bottle, and they turn it into fabric.
And it’s so comfortable honestly. It’s very cute, it’s flattering, literally on anyone, and I love the message behind it, so I think people buying something that’s good for the world is something everyone can easily get behind.
You talked a little about purses. What’s your street style typically like when you aren’t playing golf?
I always splurged on like a high-end purse — I think my first one was a Chanel — something like that, but I usually always wear sneakers. Being a tall girl I don’t tend to wear a lot of heels, so anything from Stan Smiths to All Stars I love. My shoe closet is just all Adidas and not small. I have a lot of options. [Laughs] Usually I love jeans and a top and then usually an Adidas hoodie or sweater. I just keep it in the Adidas brand; I think you can dress it up and dress it down. We have amazing dresses from Adidas and I’ve worn those to pro-am parties. Thrown on a pair of heels with that and it looks great. So it’s super easy for me to stay kind of in the Adidas brand and Adidas family and still look good — with the really nice purse.
What is your favorite new trend in women’s golf apparel?
Joggers and hoodies. Adidas has been doing it for such a long time it’s not necessarily new for us. But the joggers are the most comfortable thing ever. They look super cute, they are very comfortable. You can dress them up and dress them down. Sometimes I wear them at home instead of sweatpants or to go to the golf course. They are my favorite. And then anything to do with a hood is really comfortable.
Emily Haas
Golf.com Contributor
