Father yields stage to golfing daughter

Amateur Jessica Korda was the only player to break 70 in the final round of the US Open. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Globe-trotting to exotic ports at a time when he had youth and money, Petr Korda would be urged by his mentor and fellow Czech, Ivan Lendl, to unwind and get away from the tennis grind.

"Come play golf," Lendl would say, but Korda would shake his head.

"I thought golf was for dead people," said Korda.

He laughs at the memory, because my, how times have changed. Tennis is ancient history to Korda; golf is his life. Ask him if he isn't the same Petr Korda who won the 1998 Australian Open and lost to Jim Courier in the final of the 1992 French Open and he'll offer a slight smile, then a qualifier.

"Those are good memories, but now it is her stage. She has to enjoy it. My stage is over."

He refers to 15-year-old Jessica, the oldest of his three children, and last week she indeed had a stage on which to perform. Having been medalist at a sectional qualifier, Jessica Korda played in the 63d US Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club and while she appeared to be a sweet and cute blonde who was going to be overwhelmed, looks were deceiving.

The young woman put on a show in Sunday's final round. The only player in the field to break 70 - she shot 4-under-par 69 - Jessica Korda finished tied for 19th. It earned her an exemption into the 2009 US Women's Open, which is surely going to be used. After all, Jessica Korda is committed to golf and Petr Korda is committed to being there for her every step of the way. He caddied for her at Interlachen and when all those lessons and junior tournaments roll around, "I'm the designated driver," he said.

He appears lean and trim enough to take on the challenge of a five-set Wimbledon match, but at 40, Korda shakes his head. He never plays tennis and doesn't even have time for golf. He concedes that his life is devoted to Jessica and the sporting interests of his son, Sebastian (tennis), and younger daughter, Nellie (golf). That is why all these years later, Lendl remains a mentor and close friend.

Lendl, too, is a former tennis champion devoted to being a golf father, at least for three of his five daughters.

"We're very close. He lives next door to me [in Florida] and I knock on his door to get his advice," said Korda, who is eight years younger than Lendl. "It's good to know I can turn to him, to know what I should expect."

Lendl directed Korda to the Leadbetter Academy in Bradenton, Fla., which certainly served its purpose for several years as the Lendl girls and Jessica honed their games, got acclimated to national and international competition, and satisfied their thirsts for the sport. Had you offered odds last summer, they would have favored a Lendl girl making it into the US Women's Open field before Korda.

Not that Petr Korda is getting all that worked up about it. He said it was all about showing his daughter what this competitive atmosphere is like, to help her make a decision in years to come as to what she wants to do. Will she be a teenage pro? Or will she go to college?

"I'm not riding her life," said Korda. "She will make her own decisions, and we will support it."

Korda remembers full well that time in his life when wife Regina and daughter Jessica sacrificed for him. It was during his pro tennis days and while most of the time it involved a lot of travel that got old quickly, there is one memory that remains priceless. It was after he defeated Marcelo Rios in Australia and into the stands ran Korda - to hug Regina and Jessica, then 5 years old.

She remembers her father giving her a hug, but Jessica concedes that the rest of the day was a blur. "I was more interested in my coloring book," she said.

For a few years, Korda tried to get Jessica interested in tennis, "but she didn't like to sweat." She doesn't deny that, but puts a different spin on that. "I didn't have a love of the sport. I liked to be out where I could see the trees."

At Interlachen, she saw the trees, but only on those walks to her ball in the fairway or up on the greens. In other words, she played very well and made the cut on the number with a clutch putt on her 36th hole, the par-4 ninth. But from a tie for 60th through 36 holes, Korda stormed up the leaderboard, thanks to a 75-69 weekend while so many players twice her age fumbled their assignments and tumbled down the leaderboard.

It was a good effort and Petr Korda said he never had a fear that he was putting his daughter into a situation that would be too much for her to handle.

"Sometimes," he said, "I think it's good to burn your fingers."