When Will New Mom Jessica Korda Play Pro Golf Again? Maternal Leave Policy of LPGA Explored

Jessica Korda went on an indefinite hiatus last year when she announced her pregnancy to the world! This year, on February 3, she welcomed her son, Greyson John DelPrete. She became the first LPGA Tour mom this season, and she could not be happier about it. She often shows her warm and new-mom side on social media, and this time she also gave fans a glimpse of what is up with her newborn baby.

Korda flaunted her baby’s ‘first travel stroller’ in a recent story on Instagram. Is this an indication that she’s getting ready to make a comeback to the LPGA Tour? It could be! She stepped away from the course last May to rehab lingering injuries and then went on maternity leave in August. Her last competitive start on the LPGA Tour was the 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup.

Under the tour’s maternity policy, the golfer can take maternity leave in the year in which she is pregnant and gives birth, or she can opt to take it after the birth. The golfers can take up to two years to return to the competitive greens after giving birth. A player does not have to restrict herself to a maximum of 10 starts in the maternity leave year like they had to before 2019. The LPGA stars can tee up in as many events as they like once they are back.

The maternity leave policy guarantees the player won’t lose her status when she returns the following year to compete full-time. They will have 12 months (equivalent to the number of tournaments) to play on that very status. Although her exact return details are unknown, as per the policy, it seems that the elder Korda sister can return to the tour anytime before February 2026, as per the policy.

Caroline Masson, who returned to the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship after giving birth, talked about the physical difficulties of returning to the tour after becoming pregnant. “I honestly always had so much respect for all the moms on tour,” she said. “It just doubled or tripled in the last few months…It’s been not so easy, but a cool challenge as well.” 

The new policy sure allowed her ample time to get in the proper headspace to return, as evidenced by her remarks, “Obviously, it’s a little bit of a new perspective starting to play out.” I think it’s better than before, for sure. I put in a lot of work, so I’m just excited to get out there and hopefully enjoy any golf.” The new policy sure helped a lot of female golfers, and in a way, Karine Icher and Sydnee Michaels are to thank for it.

How did Icher and Michaels help in revamping the LPGA Tour’s maternity policy?

Karine Icher’s experience with the policy was not very great when she got pregnant in 2018. She had already competed in 12 events when she learned she was expecting; it was two more events than what was allowed at that time. She didn’t want to invoke the maternity policy anyway and wanted to keep playing in the important summer events. Talking about the policy then, she said, “The maternity policy wasn’t great. I spent all year trying to get it changed.”

When the new policy came into practice, the pro said, “It’s going to be a much better policy,” Icher said. “It won’t help me, but it’s going to help a lot of players having children in the future,” and it sure did.

Michaels gave birth to her daughter, Isla, in 2017. She felt that she had to rush to the tour in early 2018 to solidify her status for the year. Her husband traveled a lot for business; hence, she was alone with her baby on the road a lot, and she thought about how a flexible policy would have helped her. “For maybe two-thirds of the events that I played, I wasn’t quite ready to return and needed a couple more months to feel good about my body and my game and to stop breastfeeding,” said Michaels.

“Without a doubt, our maternity policy is intended to encourage athletes to have families,” said Heather Daly-Donofrio, the LPGA Tour’s operations officer. About the new regulations in 2019, Sydnee Michaels stated, “Moms won’t feel like they have to rush to get back on tour.” 

Under the new guidelines, the six-time LPGA Tour winner will have the freedom to combine golf and family! When do you think she will return to the course? Are you excited to see her play?