Nelly Korda secures 1st LPGA win of 2026 after bizarre weather cancellation

The LPGA Tour started the season this week at the Hilton Tournament of Champions in Lake Nona, Florida. Due to the Arctic freeze crushing the country, the tournament was shortened to 54 holes early Sunday morning. Nelly Korda won the event, her 16th LPGA Tour win, thanks to the bizarre decision.

BREAKING NEWS

The LPGA has announced that the Tournament of Champions will be reduced to a 54-hole tournament, meaning Nelly Korda is in position to win the first event of 2026. She sits three shots ahead of Amy Yang who has two holes remaining in her third round.

The LPGA… pic.twitter.com/l2aJsrl01N

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) February 1, 2026

“Based on conversations between the rules officials, tournament staff, partners, and the grounds team, the decision has been made to reduce the 2026 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions to a 54-hole event. The six players who have not finished their third round will resume their third round at 2:15 PM ET today, Feb. 1,” the tour wrote in a statement, according to Golf.com.

Korda was one of those players who had not finished their third round. So on Sunday morning, she finished with a 13-under par score for 54 holes, winning by three. After a winless season in 2025, Korda is back in the winner’s circle, which should be a positive for the tour. But LPGA Tour legend Annika Sorenstam was not a fan of this decision.

Just talked to Annika after she finished playing the back nine. (Celebrities reduced to nine holes for Round 4.) She said it’s “very playable” and doesn’t understand why the LPGA pros aren’t playing. pic.twitter.com/Lne5QlDoTr

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) February 1, 2026

“Just talked to Annika after she finished playing the back nine. (Celebrities reduced to nine holes for Round 4.) She said it’s ‘very playable’ and doesn’t understand why the LPGA pros aren’t playing,” Beth Ann Nichols from Golfweek reported.

The LPGA Tour is now off until February 19, when the players head to Thailand to start the Asian swing. The Hilton Tournament of Champions is the last event on American soil until March 19, when the Fortinet Founders Cup begins in California. So instead of playing in the cold, the tour canceled its last American round for six weeks.

Korda is looking for a bounce-back season, and her 64 in the third round is a great way to start. But to close out a four-round victory would have been another challenge for the superstar. One that she wasn’t allowed to take on.

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