Icy temperatures and organizational issues shorten LPGA season opener. Nelly Korda benefits and celebrates her 16th tour win.
The LPGA Tour’s season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions was scheduled to take place from January 29 to February 1 at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida. However, unusually cold and very windy weather in the Sunshine State forced tournament officials to cancel the final round.
Two tournaments were held simultaneously on the course: the 72-hole stroke play LPGA season opener, and a separate event featuring top qualified amateurs from the week’s pro-am competition. Each professional golfer was paired with two celebrities or amateurs, who rotated every round. The amateurs and celebrities competed under a modified Stableford scoring system.
Nelly Korda Seizes the Chaos to Secure Her 16th LPGA Title
Despite posting a strong 64 on Saturday to take a three-shot lead at the LPGA event, Nelly Korda faced disorder as eight players had to halt their third rounds due to incoming cold and strong winds. These rounds were only completed Sunday afternoon. Korda ultimately secured her 16th LPGA Tour win. Amy Yang finished second, three strokes behind, followed by Brooke Henderson in third place.
The decision to end the LPGA tournament prematurely on Sunday was delayed, drawing heavy criticism over the management and communication of the event. The final day started with temperatures as low as -4°C and gusts up to 24 km/h. Officials repeatedly postponed the final round’s start to await better conditions. When temperatures rose only to 4°C, it was declared the LPGA event could not continue, despite forecasts of warmer weather on Monday.
According to the LPGA, play was deemed impossible as low temperatures combined with strong winds caused balls to roll uncontrollably on the greens. Meanwhile, the amateur tournament was able to start a nine-hole round at 10 a.m.
Confusion Over Unequal Treatment of Players
Golf journalist Beth Ann Nichols from Golfweek was present and noted that journalists had waited since 10 a.m. in the press room for explanations on why amateurs played more than nine holes while LPGA players waited inside for decisions on the final day. Even after four hours, no new information from the LPGA about the tournament’s continuation was provided.
The LPGA released an official statement in the afternoon confirming the tournament would be shortened to 54 holes, citing ongoing poor weather forecasts that would have prevented completing 72 holes.
Conflicting Views on Course Conditions
Not all were satisfied with the cancellation decision. Swedish player Annika Sörenstam, participating in the amateur event, told Golfweek she found the course playable despite the cold. Former tennis player and amateur competitor Mardy Fish described the greens felt extremely hard, like ”
, “walking on concrete.\”
LPGA Chief Business and Operations Officer Ricky Lasky explained the decision, noting the ground was very hard, affecting shot trajectories during practice, and emphasized the need to maintain fairness and championship-level competition by ending the stroke play event after 54 holes, even while the amateur