Nelly Korda gets 16 th career victory to kick off 2026 LPGA season.

Nelly Korda gets 16 th career victory to kick off 2026 LPGA season.

The 2026 LPGA Tour saw Nelly Korda win the second tournament of the year, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of champions in Orlando, Florida, her 16 th career win. The world No. 2 completed a 54-hole 13-under-par round and the event was cut off to three rounds because of the brutal winds and unseasonal and cool weather conditions, which forced the suspension of play on Saturday and cancellation of the final third round on Sunday.

Korda struck with a 64 in her third round, a round under eight and this was decisive in the conditions as treacherous as it was. This performance catapulted her to the lead and she never looked back as she finished the week three shots ahead of South Korea Amy Yang who ended the week at 10-under following a final round of 69.

It is marvellous, Korda said at the victory. I am very proud of how Jason and I were able to deal with those conditions. My team makes me what I am because everybody contributes. I’m grateful for all of it.”

Korda adopted the name of her 2021 ANNIKA as the name of the car she was driving in the Pelican driven by Gainbridge, as it was her first victory since then and her second at Lake Nona, where she also won the 2021 event. Her previous top-five finish had been her only runner-up finish in the seven prior starts, which was her best performance at the Tournament of Champions.

Although the 2025 season was a winless one (with 19 made cuts and nine top-10 finishes nonetheless), it was a season that Korda never felt was too far away. This victory is the end to a one-year and two months and 15 days of drought in her last victory, which is the same difference between the last win in 2022 and the first in 2024, which is a coincidence that may augur well with the 27-year-old American.

Korda said it was a game of inches when it comes to golf. It was so easy during the last year, to have so many times when a little difference would have made the difference. Great golf the last year, and this week, and I am proud of the practise I have had.

It was the highest place that Yang, 36, had ever finished in her career, and her first top-10 place since 2024. Naturally I had wished to play the fourth round, but I had played much better than in the three days we had had, she said. It helped me to understand that my preparation during the offseason worked.

The Brooke Henderson of Canada, 2023 champion, alone occupied the third place in the last tournament she played with her sister Brittany on the bag. Lydia Ko, a former winner and a member of Lake Nona dotted right behind.

The next places were occupied by 4 players who were making their debut in the Tournament of Champions. Youmin Hwang and the AIG Women’s Open champion of the day were tied at 5th place, and Jeeno Thitikul and England’s Lottie Woad were 7 th place tied. Six players who were tied at the ninth place included defending champion A Lim Kim.

In the celebrity division, former tennis pro, Mardy Fish, won her third title, where she had won with 126 points in the modified Stableford competition.

The victory also adds more weight to the history of LPGA of Korda. She is the 28th American to win at least 16 career victories, she surpasses Amy Yang on the LPGA Career Money List to earn over 16.4 million dollars in her career, and she reaches her 20th Hall of Fame point, which puts her within striking range of automatic induction.

Korda will now have a break as the Tour will visit Asia with some stops in Thailand, Singapore and China. She will come back at the end of the month of March at the Fortinet Founders Cup at California with lots of momentum heading to the centre of the season.