How Nelly Korda's Dream Win at Lake Nona Became LPGA’s Nightmare Start

The phrase “optimal competitive environment” has entered the golf lexicon. No one really knows what that means exactly, but as reported by Golf Channel’s Amy Rogers, it’s the reason LPGA officials gave for reducing their season opener to 54 holes. Conditions on Sunday at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions did not meet this ambiguous, undefined threshold. Therefore, Nelly Korda’s brilliant 64 during Saturday’s awful cold and wind, a round she said was in the top three of her career, was more than enough for her 16th LPGA win. After going winless all of last year, she’s one-for-one to start 2026. Sunday was one of the most bizarre, head-scratching days you’ll ever witness in professional golf. In an attempt to understand the decisions and missteps along the way, I’ve put together a timeline of the events.

Friday

5 p.m. ET – After a typical weather day for late January in Florida, the second round concludes. Despite forecasts showing a drop in temperatures and wind gusts over 30 mph, third round tee times are not adjusted. Leaders will tee off at midday right as the cold front kicks into gear.

Saturday

3 p.m. ET – As TV coverage begins, it’s clear that conditions are deteriorating on the closing stretch at Lake Nona, which is the most exposed part of the golf course. Korda makes her lone bogey of the day at the par-3 17th. After her round, she commented on the green’s playability: “My ball was definitely oscillating when I was on the green. I had to step away from it a few times.”

4 p.m. ET – With an LPGA rules official looking on, Youmin Hwang’s 18-foot putt on the 17th rolls all the way off the green. Shortly after, play was suspended. During the delay, Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott and Karen Stupples recreate Hwang’s putt, showing how the front pin location is impossible to hold with the wind coming directly off Lake Nona pushing balls into the rough. Other locations on the green would’ve offered a less severe and penal spot for the pin. Play does not resume for the remainder of the day.

6 p.m. ET – In preparation for even colder temperatures on Sunday, the LPGA announces that the conclusion of round three and the start of round four will begin concurrently at 10 a.m. ET. Celebrities will be off first and will only play nine holes. A Sunday finish is in the cards if play can begin on time.

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Sunday

7:15 a.m. ET – Positive news to start the day. There was no frost overnight and the play will begin as planned.

8:50 a.m. ET – Despite no delay for frost, LPGA players are not sent out as scheduled and the delays begin to mount. The celebrities begin their day on time and wrap their portion of the event by midday.

11:15 a.m. ET – Annika Sorenstam, a member at Lake Nona and participating in the tournament’s celebrity division, tells Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols that the course is “very playable.”

11:40 a.m. ET – The LPGA announces that the tournament will be reduced to 54 holes.

1:10 p.m. ET – Nichols reports that when pressed for what determines an optimal competitive environment, the LPGA “wouldn’t/couldn’t” say.

1:15 p.m. ET – Major winner Danielle Kang calls into question the shortening of the event, saying it seems to be the LPGA’s first option.

1:30 p.m. ET – Nelly Korda wins the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

1:45 p.m. ET – Ricki Lasky, the LPGA's Chief Tour Business and Operations Officer, appears in the booth with Grant Boone to explain the day’s developments. She said that when speaking with players before the original 10 a.m. scheduled start, they said “the ground was really hard and it was changing the trajectory of their shots as they were practicing. The balls were releasing when they weren't supposed to be, so we pushed back.” Lasky also stated that they tried to figure out a way to play 72 holes, saying, “We certainly did everything we could.”

3:55 p.m. ET – The LPGA releases another statement for “additional context” around the day’s events. “Hardened ground” sounds very similar to the explanation given by Lasky earlier in the afternoon. Freezing temperatures will of course make the ground firmer. Unplayable, though? Not according to Annika Sorenstam. She described her experience on the course to Beth Ann Nichols: “There's pitch marks. I mean, I hit some crispy shots today and the ball even stopped. I am surprised. It's difficult, it's cold but it's as fair as anything.”

Whew, that’s a lot to digest. There are still far more questions than answers at this point. The Tour’s inability to clearly explain what an optimal competitive environment is baffling. Lasky’s explanation of the trajectory of shots being affected by the ground is not enough to warrant shortening a tournament to 54 holes. The Tour’s follow-up statement is heavy on word count and light on transparency. The decision not to attempt a Monday finish is just as puzzling. The LPGA has access to the course as part of its tournament contract. The forecast for Monday isn’t ideal. A frost delay would most likely be in the cards, but temperatures are expected to rise to the mid-50s.

No one begins a tournament week hoping for a Monday finish. However, there is an expectation that all efforts will be made to get in as much golf as possible. The Tour trotted out the celebrities, some of whom managed just fine in the conditions. Canceling the rest of the tournament shortly after they finished playing is bad optics all around. It makes the argument that the Tour “did everything they could” questionable at best.

The Tour’s handling of the day brings up a recurring theme. After wind and heat made the second round last summer at Fields Ranch East one of the hardest of the year, Stacy Lewis remarked that the course was “making very good players look silly.” She’d like the setup to “make us look good.” That same week, the Live From crew of Brandel Chamblee and Mel Reid bemoaned that the setups are too long, making low scores difficult.

That may be the prevailing opinion these days, and perhaps it’s made its way into how officials determine whether a course is playable. But there’s an opposing side to that argument, and it was on full display on Saturday. On one hand, the wind and cold exposed players unequipped for the conditions. On the other hand, they also allowed the genius of Nelly Korda to shine. That separation should be allowed to happen more often.

In the end, when you add up everything on a day that was bungled so badly, the LPGA is left with a Nelly Korda victory that did absolutely nothing to advance its product forward. She didn’t hit a single shot on Sunday. Fans have every right to feel robbed of watching how Korda would’ve handled the final round. Almost all of her excellent Saturday 64 was not during the TV window. Fans won’t see the LPGA in action until February 19, when the Tour begins its Asian swing. It’ll be even longer before they see Korda on the course. She’ll skip the trip overseas and will tee it up next in late March at the Fortinet Founders Cup.

Did luck play a factor in this weekend’s events? Of course. Orlando looked more like Ontario. Lake Nona did its best Lake Erie impression. Did the LPGA do itself any favors in its communication and decision-making? It did not. What should’ve been a dream start for the new season – Nelly Korda back to her winning ways – is instead a fresh black eye for a Tour that many were beginning to believe was finally getting out of its own way.