(R)-p-tolyl vinyl sulfoxide 8 was transformed into the corresponding ethoxysulfonium compound 9 which smoothly underwent reaction with 5-benzyloxymethyl-1,3-cyclopentadiene 2 to give, after basic treatment, the bicyclic sulfoxide 10 with very high de. This compound was transformed in three steps into enantiomerically pure norbornenone 1, a key intermediate in some Corey syntheses of prostaglandins.