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Jessica Kordaonly needed a single word to celebrate an amazing shot at the 2021 Lotte Championship in Hawaii this week.
The 28-year-old LPGA golfer “dunked” her third shot on the 17th hole of the tournament on Wednesday, scoring an eagle.
“Oh! Slam dunk!” one of the announcers says after seeing the shot. “Are you serious?”
Then, Korda is heard yelling “Kobe!” as she flicks her wrist high in the air — a move many have emulated over the years. It was a fitting tribute to basketball starKobe Bryant, the former Los Angeles Lakers player who died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
As of Thursday morning, Korda is tied for seventh place in the Lotte Championship. Yuka Saso and Brittany Altomare are currently tied for first.
Korda’s sister, Nelly Korda, is also competing in the tournament and is tied for third with Ryu So-yeon and Ally Ewing.
The golfers are all competing for ashare of a $2 million purse, with $300,000 going to the championship’s winner. The last day of the tournament is Saturday.
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In January, Korda won the 2021 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, marking her sixth overall LPGA title, and her second to happen stateside.
Her last win on the tour came at the Honda LPGA Thailand in 2018.
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“I feel great. I haven’t won in a while. I’ve had a lot of close calls, but it’s really hard to win that on the LPGA tour these days,” shetold PEOPLE at the time.
“The level of golf is so high now,” she added. “I think it’s harder to win now than it was 10 years ago, for sure. The scores are getting lower and the girls are just getting so much better. So it’s a great time to be out on tour and be able to calve off another win.”
source: people.com
