Nelly Korda played in 19 LPGA events in 2025. Her father, Petr, said he’d like to see her play less. The pair addressed the subject of an ideal schedule together in December at the PNC Championship.
Nelly said somewhere between 18 to 20 is her perfect number, and she won’t play four in a row.
Advertisement
“I’ve seen my body deteriorate over that,” she said, “and I kind of get into the zone of possibly getting injured.”
After a victory at the season-opening, weather-shortened Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, Korda will skip the next three LPGA tournaments, returning to competition six weeks from now at the Fortinet Founders Cup March 19-22 in Menlo Park, California.
It’s a second offseason for the two-time major winner, though she’ll no doubt be grinding at home.
“I mean, golf is already tough mentally, and then flying cross country, you know, traveling by yourself, sleeping in a different bed, I’m getting to the age where I’m feeling that now,” said 27-year-old Korda.
Now in her 10th season on the LPGA, Korda played in 23 events as a rookie in 2017, including four tournaments in Asia during the fall swing. In 2018, she played in six LPGA events staged in Asia, winning her first tour title at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship.
Advertisement
In 2019, Korda played in five events staged in Asia, and then after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most overseas events in 2020, she cut back substantially, with various injuries also playing a role.
The last time Korda played in Asia was 2023 (four events).
Of course, going to Europe multiple times a year also takes a toll. In July, she’ll head over for the Amundi Evian in France before traveling to the AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, which wraps up in early August. Then it’s back again in September for the Solheim Cup near Amsterdam.
Petr, a world-class tennis player and Grand Slam champion, has a number in mind that’s below Nelly’s target, though he didn’t share specifics.
Advertisement
“I would love to see her play less than she was playing [in 2025],” said Petr. “You know, really pick up the right tournaments, right time. I believe that fall showed her like she had some energy and really played well. That would be just me as a dad. I don’t know if it’s manageable.”
Nelly noted that she and her father talk about the schedule at the beginning of the year and sometimes disagree.
“Usually I have to make my own mistakes,” she said. “They’ve taught me that the majority of my life.”
For perspective, world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul played in 26 events as a rookie in 2022 but trimmed it down to 20 last season. Thitikul made her debut at the TOC last week. The LPGA has a 1-in-4 rule that requires players in the top 80 of the CME points list to compete in a domestic event once every four years or pay a hefty fine. (Thitikul had skipped the three previous years.) The rule stopped applying to overseas events in 2016.
Nelly Korda of the United States poses with the trophy following the completion of the third round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions 2026 at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club on February 1, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. The tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to adverse weather conditions.
After the PNC, which concluded on Dec. 21, Korda put the clubs away for seven days before getting back to work. While instructor Jamie Mulligan is still in the picture, Korda spent a lot of time in January with David Whelan in Bradenton, Florida, working on the fundamentals, trying, in particular, to get her posture back to where it was a few years ago (more bent over).
Advertisement
“He’s kind of, in a sense, the sounding board,” Korda told Golfweek on the range at the TOC. “Even if she’s just going to look at my short game when I’m home, he’ll go and watch me hit balls too. … He just knows me, since I was 14. He’s been my guy. He built my swing.”
Korda’s 16th career LPGA title on Sunday snapped a victory drought of 1 year, 2 months and 15 days. It also marks the second tournament won by both Nelly and her big sister, Jessica Korda, who has been on maternity leave. Jessica won the 2012 Australian Open while Nelly won it in 2019. Jessica won the 2021 TOC at Tranquilo Golf Course on the strength of a third-round 60.
“I was so close,” said Nelly of a winless 2025. “I played really well last year. Obviously didn’t get the win, but I played some amazing golf the first three days this week, and I’m really proud of myself, my team, and all the work that we have put in when no one was watching, and everyone was talking about it.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Why Nelly Korda is taking 6 weeks off after season-opening win
Read the full article here
