Nelly Korda wins the lead in TOC; winds halt the third round.

Nelly Korda wins the lead in TOC; winds halt the third round.

Low temperatures and strong wind did not stop Nelly Korda much on Saturday during the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of champions at the LPGA.

The Florida native, despite the conditions in Lake Nona, braved the weather by wearing gloves and earmuffs at some point in her third round and registered one of the best rounds of the day. Korda had an amazing 64 points under par which made her the leaderboard despite the harsh weather.

Being three shots behind the lead, Korda has climbed to 13-under after 54 holes and now is the clubhouse leader, and some players are yet to complete the third round.

At 4:18 p.m. ET, the wind caused too much trouble and the 17th hole, which is a par-3, had to be stopped. One of the officials of the LPGA termed the scenario as uber unfair especially to players who had already finished their round, such as Korda and Canada-based Brooke Henderson who is six strokes behind.

The officials of the LPGA then verified that the play will be resumed at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday with the temperatures being around 30 C. The remaining three rounds and the last round will be played concurrently where the players will be paired on split tees. No regrouping of Round 3 will mean that Korda will not form part of the final threesome despite the leadership.

Some of the competitors are still in the leaderboard but they were compelled to wait until Sunday to finish their rounds. Amy Yang, who is willingly second after 10 under and Youmin Hwang could not manage to complete the 17th hole in favour of the deteriorating conditions. At 8 under are Hwang and Lydia Ko who passed through 15 holes.

The suspension was eventually provoked by Hwang treatment on 17, with her ball rolling over the slope and off the green rolling up a powerful gust.

Korda confessed the factors that propelled her to survival mode during her final leg.

Holes 15 to 18 are savage when you get a bit naked, Korda said. “Mentally, I was ready for it. I had heard it was going to be hard, with the wind on the north.

She further mentioned that the conditions were particularly bad on the 17th green and her ball was certainly rolling back and forth as she attempted to putt.

Korda said, “It is so bare out of the water. One might ride on that water to-day. That is a green in which you will get into trouble when the gusts really blow. It was a brutal hole.”

The schedule of Sunday was already changed prior to the suspension of Saturday. The final round will not involve amateurs, the number of participants will reduce to 60, and the start of the game was postponed expecting the severe weather.