Miami (AFP) – Nelly Korda captured her 16th career LPGA title on Sunday at the season-opening Tournament of Champions after the event was shortened to 54 holes by sub-freezing temperatures. Korda completed an eight-under par 64 in the third round on Saturday at Lake Nona Country Club, but six leaders were left on the course when play was halted on the Orlando, Florida, layout. They finished Sunday afternoon, but none could catch Korda, the 27-year-old American winning for the first time since November 2024 in a seven-win season that qualified her for the tournament. “I really, over the off-season, was motivated to get back in the winner’s circle,” Korda said.
Tokyo Olympic champion Korda, a two-time major winner, called her Saturday 64 in blustery and cold conditions among her greatest career rounds. “I would probably say a top-three round of my career,” Korda said. “Conditions were brutal and they just got worse and worse throughout the day. Korda added that holes 17 and 18 were brutal. “I think they were probably the hardest holes I’ve ever played in professional golf.”
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After consulting with players and the grounds crew on Sunday, officials made the decision to complete 54 holes but cancel Sunday’s scheduled final round. “Play will continue with Lake Nona Golf and Country Club becoming playable in competitive competition at its peak temperature, but conditions will deteriorate later today and tomorrow making it difficult to complete 72 holes,” the LPGA said in a statement. Ricki Lasky, the LPGA chief tour business and operations officer, spoke with players, who struggled to practice in frigid weather. “As I was driving up this morning it was 23 degrees (-5 Celsius), feels like temperature of 11, so pretty shocking,” she said. “The ground was really hard and it was changing the trajectory of their shots as they were practicing. We tried to take as much time as we could to get all 72 holes into play. We couldn’t. We had to make the really hard decision to call it after 54.”
Poor forecasts put a Monday finish out of reach, she said. “We wanted to ensure the competition was up to championship caliber,” Lasky said. “To be fair to the entire field, we felt we had to call it after 54 holes.” When play resumed, Korda had a three-stroke lead over South Korea’s Amy Yang, who parred 17 and 18 on Sunday to seize second on 206 with a closing 69. Canada’s Brooke Henderson was third on 209 after completing a third-round 66 on Saturday. New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, the 36-hole leader, was fourth on 210 after completing a third-round 74 on Sunday, with Japan’s Miyu Yamashita and South Korean Hwang You-min sharing fifth on 211.
Korda warmed up in case of a playoff, but a tense day ended without her returning to the course. “Today was a little bit nerve-wracking, especially waiting for what the final say was going to be,” Korda said. “Trying to be in that mindset that I’m going to go out and play 18 holes and it’s going to be tough — I was trying to stay in that mindset.”
© 2024 AFP
