Korda looks to make it through Q-School

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Her summer was filled with tournaments, leaving little free time.

But that’s what it takes for a golfer aspiring to reach elite status.

Jessica Korda’s 2010 schedule was more than just a resume builder, it gave her valuable experience in pressure situations — something she can lean on in next week’s LPGA Sectional Qualifying School.

Korda was a member of Team USA during the triumphant Curtis Cup earlier this summer.

The native of Bradenton then headed to the U.S. Women’s Open for the third consecutive year.

She blitzed the sectional qualifier with a pair of 68s for medalist honors at the Oaks in Osprey, but missed the cut at the Open in Oakmont, Pa.

After skipping out on the U.S. Girls’ Junior, Korda honed her game in preparation for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

The move worked as Korda finished runner-up to Danielle Kang in the match play tournament.

“The scores look like I had easy matches, but I had to work really hard through all my matches,” she said. “And against Danielle, the putts just didn’t go in.”

Now she’s preparing herself for the next step at Q-School, albeit as an amateur.

The 17-year-old is still in high school and said she plans on petitioning the age limit for status on tour if she makes it through Q-School.

But if she doesn’t qualify, then it’s not that big of a deal because Korda said she’d still have next year.

Korda turns 18 in late February, but her game already looks like a season veteran.

“I’ve watched her hit balls, and it’s been amazing,” West Florida Golf Tour tournament director Christian Bartolacci said. “For her to play amateur golf is probably a little bit like maybe a waste of time. She’s that good, but she’s got the right coaching and people around her it seems, so she’ll make the right decisions.”

To stay active on the tournament circuit, Korda teed it up with mini-tour pros at the West Florida Golf Tour’s Tuesday stop at the Legacy Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch.

She carded a 71, while playing from about 6,500 yards — where Q-School figures to play from.

Along for the ride is her famous father, Petr, who played professional tennis.

He caddied for Jessica during her U.S. Women’s Amateur run.

“He just knows a lot of stuff,” Jessica said about her father’s caddying skills. “He reads greens really well, he’s got really good eyes.”

It’s not just the valuable professional experience that Petr can impart on his daughter.

He had a hands-off approach in the development of his daughters — Jessica’s younger sister Nelly plays junior golf tournaments — instead of the non-stop practice and playing that some parents can enforce that leads to burn out of their children in the sport.

“From Day One, we wanted to keep her under the radar to enjoy her childhood,” Petr Korda said. “To do some different stuff than the other girls on the golf day. If she wanted to ski, we skied. If she wanted to have months off in the summer, she had it off ... because I know a professional career, you can have for quite some time, but a childhood goes five years and it’s gone.”

Jessica Korda opted for the sectional qualifier at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

The tournament is on the Palmer and Dinah Shore courses, while the other sectional is in nearby Venice at the Plantation Golf & Country Club at the end of the month.

If she makes it through the sectional, then the final stage is at LPGA International in Daytona Beach in December.