Nelly Korda wins the season opener
on the LPGA without having to hit a shot on Sunday
[February 02, 2026]
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Nelly Korda won for the first time in 14
months without having to hit a shot Sunday when the LPGA Tour
reduced the season-opening Tournament of Champions to 54 holes
because of wind and cold that led officials to deem Lake Nona
unsuitable for a final round.
Korda won seven times in 2024 and was shut out in 2025. Now the
American is a winner again with a most awkward start to the LPGA
season.
She won with an 8-under 64 on Saturday, an astonishing round that
was roughly nine shots better than the field average in bitter cold
and gusts that approached 40 mph. Korda said it was among the best
three rounds she ever played.
She finished just before the LPGA halted the third round when wind
blew Youmin Hwang's golf ball off the 17th green. The concern was
because the final two holes were the most exposed on the course.
The LPGA planned on finishing the third round Sunday morning and
playing the final round. But temperatures were below freezing in
central Florida, with the wind chill in the teens. The wind remained
strong and the ground brittle.
The LPGA said the forecast was just as bad for Monday and chose to
make the event 54 holes.
Korda finished at 13-under 203 for her 16th career victory. She was
on the putting green and the practice range even though her victory
was all but assured when the LPGA decided to cancel the final round.
“Today was nerve-wracking,” Korda said. “Not knowing what the
outcome was going to be and still trying to be in the mindset of
going out for 18 holes and knowing it was going to be tough. I was
always trying to be in that mindset.”
Amy Yang was at 10 under with two holes to play when the third round
resumed, needing a birdie and to hole out with a full shot over the
last two holes. She made par on the par-3 17th and the tournament
was over. Yang went par-par for a 69 to finish second.
Brooke Henderson, who completed a 66 on Saturday, was alone in
third.
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Nelly Korda tees off on the ninth hole during the first round of the
Tournament of Champions LPGA golf tournament, Thursday, Jan. 29,
2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
It was the first time since the Hilton Grand
Vacation Tournament of Champions returned to the LPGA schedule in
2019 that it was reduced to 54 holes. Weather is rarely an issue in
Orlando, except for rain. This was an unexpected cold front with
high wind.
The LPGA planned to start at 10 a.m., which was pushed back a couple
of more times until the final round was canceled and the third round
didn't resume until about 2 p.m.
“We talked to several players warming up,” said Ricki Lasky, the
tour's chief business and operations officer. “The ground was hard
and it was changing the trajectory of their shorts. We tried to take
as much time as we could to get in all 72 holes. We did everything
we could.”
The LPGA did allow the celebrity portion of the tournament to
proceed but reduced to nine holes. The LPGA cited the fact it was an
exhibition that used the modified Stableford scoring, where no one
could make worse than double bogey. Former tennis star Mardy Fish
won the celebrity side of the event.
Hwang hit an 18-foot putt on the 17th hole Saturday in which the
right-to-left wind sent her ball toward a ridge and then off the
green. She wound up making triple bogey. She finished with a par for
73 and tied for fifth.
Korda now will take six weeks off, saying she again will skip the
entire Asia swing.
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