World No. 2 Nelly Korda finally ended a prolonged drought on the LPGA Tour by winning the 2026 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida.
“It feels amazing. I’m just super proud of [caddie] Jason [McDede] and I yesterday for how we fought those conditions,” Korda said. “For my team. I wouldn’t be here without them. We’re all pieces of a puzzle. I wouldn’t be who I am without them. Just so grateful. And to be able to do it here at Lake Nona, I mean, the conditions were so amazing. We have to thank the superintendent for making this golf course just so world class.”
After a grueling 14-month stretch without a victory, the American star delivered a brilliant performance in cold, windy conditions that forced the season opener to be shortened due to weather delays.
Korda won with an 8-under 64 on Saturday, finishing 13-under 203.
“Today was nerve-wracking,” she said. “Not knowing what the outcome was going to be and still trying to be in the mindset of going out for 18 holes and knowing it was going to be tough. I was always trying to be in that mindset.”
Weekend Challenges and Weather Foes
The Tournament of Champions started like any other, but Mother Nature had other plans. Fierce winds and dropping temperatures pushed tour officials to modify the schedule and ultimately reduce the event from a traditional 72 holes to a 54-hole contest. This decision came amid debate by players and observers about course conditions and fairness, with some arguing that a delayed or extended finish could have been feasible.
“We talked to several players warming up,” Ricki Lasky, the tour’s chief business and operations officer, said. “The ground was hard and it was changing the trajectory of their shots. We tried to take as much time as we could to get in all 72 holes. We did everything we could.”
The LPGA pushed the planned Sunday 10 a.m. start time back multiple times before ultimately canceling the final round. The third round resumed late Saturday afternoon, around 2 p.m., creating stop-and-start conditions that challenged even the most experienced players and turned routine shots into survival exercises.
Youmin Hwang suffered one of the most brutal breaks of the tournament on Saturday when a right-to-left gust grabbed her 18-foot putt on the 17th hole, sending it toward a ridge and ultimately off the green. What should have been a manageable two-putt spiraled into a triple bogey, effectively ending her chances. She closed with a 73 and tied for fifth – a result that doesn’t fully reflect how close she was to contending before the elements intervened.
The Importance of Ending the Drought
For Korda, this win represents a psychological breakthrough after a season and a half of near-misses, high finishes, and plenty of questions about whether she could reclaim her status as one of the tour’s most dominant players. Prior to this triumph, Korda had won seven times in 2024, but was shutout in 2025.
Amy Yang was Korda’s biggest challenger when the third round resumed, sitting at 10 under par with two holes to play and still mathematically alive. Yang needed a birdie and a hole-out over her final two holes to force any kind of playoff scenario, but once she made par on the par-3 17th, the outcome was effectively sealed. She finished par-par for a 69 and solo second, a strong result that nevertheless underscored how little margin the conditions left for late drama.
“I wish I played final round, you know, give myself a little chance,” Yang said. “I knew what kind of weather was coming today, so wish we had a little earlier start yesterday.”
Just behind Yang, Brooke Henderson quietly put together one of the best rounds of the week. Henderson fired a 66 on Saturday, climbing into third place alone and positioning herself as a threat if play had extended into a full final round. Given her track record as one of the tour’s most consistent closers, Henderson was one of the players who may feel the most hard done by when officials ultimately canceled Sunday competition altogether. Still, her finish remains a positive sign heading into the rest of the season.
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