After only 54 holes of play, Nelly Korda was named the winner of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, her 16th win on the LPGA Tour.
Lake Nona Golf and Country Club certainly didn’t feel like it was in Central Florida on Sunday, as a bitterly cold wind plunged the temperature into the 20s for the entire morning. Because of a wind delay on Saturday night, there were still a few players who had to finish their third rounds.
The LPGA Tour announced early in the day that there was no frost delay, and play would start at 10:00 AM. At about 9:45 the first announcement that the start was being pushed back an hour came.
For hours players, media and the spectators were in limbo. A few players would make their way out to the practice facilities, and Akie and Chizzy Iwai even started kicking a soccer ball around.
Finally, the announcement came at around 12:45 PM that the tournament was being shortened to 54 holes.
“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,” said a statement released by the LPGA Tour.
Curiously, the celebrity tournament was still played, with the LPGA Tour stating that it wasn’t an optimal competitive environment for the professionals to play. Annika Sörenstam told Golf Week’s Beth Ann Nichols that she believed the conditions were “very playable.”
Danielle Kang (not in the field) weighed in on Instagram saying “I’m sure there are valid reasons to an extent but in comparison, the PGA, while it seems to be their LAST resort, it seems to be LPGA’s FIRST option.”
Regardless, this still does go down as an official win for Nelly Korda, as the LPGA Tour requires the field to play 54 holes to count. It was an impressive one too despite not hitting a shot on Sunday and getting a relatively good weather draw on Saturday. She still had the round of the week with a 64 in the third round, and it would’ve taken something great from the field to catch her.
This is Korda’s first LPGA Tour win since November 2024 when she won The Annika, her seventh win of that season. The LPGA Tour is now off for the next couple weeks before beginning its first Asian swing.
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