Nelly Korda at the Kroger Queen City Championship last month.
getty photos
For Nelly Korda, the season that started with tears ends with change.
On Monday, World No. 1 has announced on social media that she is withdrawing from this week’s BMW Ladies event in Korea and next week’s LPGA tournament in Malaysia due to a “minor neck injury” she sustained during practice.
“Right now I’m resting and working with my team to get better,” said Korda, who is 26.
The injury is the latest wrinkle in Korda’s rollercoaster season.
At the beginning of the year Korda won five LPGA in a row, including a major title, which was quickly followed by his sixth win of the season at the Mizuho Americas Open. She looked unbeatable until, suddenly, she fell short, posting a shocking 80 in the opening round of the US Women’s Open in late May. That led to Korda’s three-miss streak including a second-round 81 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship that cost her one weekend.
“Golf is very recent for me,” Korda said at the time. “There are no words for how I am playing right now. I will go back home and try to reset.”
Korda looked like a grown man again at the Solheim Cup, where he finished 3-0-1 in a big US win in Virginia. A week later, he tied for fifth at the Kroger Queen City Championship.
Korda has a few weaknesses but has been prone to health issues. In 2022, he underwent surgery for a blood clot in the subclavian vein in his left arm. In 2023, he missed several tournaments due to back pain. In June of this year, he pulled out of an event after a dog bit his leg, but gave few details about what actually happened. “I had to deal with some medical issues,” she said.
After his latest setback, Korda has not said when he plans to return to the tour.
After three events in Asia over the next three weeks, the LPGA returns to the US for three more tournaments, hosted by the season-ending CME Group Tour.
