US golf star Nelly Korda is back in the winner's circle, as the world No. 2 lifted her first LPGA trophy in more than 14 months at the weather-shortened 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions on Sunday.
Due to unexpected extreme cold and wind in Orlando, officials canceled the final round of the season-opening competition on Sunday, reducing the tournament to 54 holes and declaring Korda the champion based on her performance in the first three rounds.
"Thursday, Friday, were obviously completely different conditions to Saturday," Korda said. "The gusts, it's so exposed off the water there. You could surf on that water [on Saturday]."
Though many struggled in Saturday's conditions, Korda thrived, with the 27-year-old posting a field-leading 8-under score, boosting her to a 13-under tournament total to take a three-shot victory over South Korean runner-up No. 79 Amy Yang.
"I'm really proud of myself, my team, and all the work that we have put in when no one was watching," said Korda after the win.
Korda victory at Tournament of Champions snaps winless streak
Korda's Sunday victory snapped a winless streak that dates back to 2024, when the US standout took the golf world by storm with a dominant seven LPGA victories.
Despite banking nine Top 10 finishes last year — and making every cut in 2025 — the lack of hardware saw Korda ultimately cede her world No. 1 status to Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul last summer.
"I was so close. I played really well last year," she reflected on Sunday. "Golf is a game of centimeters. There were so many times last year where I wished I had an inch here or a centimeter there, where it would've changed the story completely."
The US star will next take six weeks off of competition as she once again skips the LPGA Tour's upcoming Asia swing, with Korda rejoining the field for the 2026 Founders Cup in California on March 19th.
Amy Yang had a pretty good day Thursday.
The 15-year pro recorded her third career ace on the 12th hole. It’s also her first since 2010.
Using her 9-iron, Yang holed out 143 yards away from the tee for the only ace thus far this week during the Lotte Championship Tournament at Kapolei Golf Club.
🚨 ACE ALERT! 🚨
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 16, 2021
Amy Yang with a ☝️ on the 12th hole in Hawaii!@LPGALOTTE | @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/qFnvaxI7f5
“I was quite excited. I didn’t think it was going in. I mean, I hit a good shot, it was rolling perfect, and, yeah,” said Yang.
The ace adds another $20,000 donation on behalf of CME Group to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, bringing the season total of three aces to total of $60,000 donated.
The Lotte Championship continues through Saturday, with Yuka Saso and Lydia Ko holding strong atop the leaderboard. The tournament can be watched live from 7-11 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel.