Nelly Korda reveals injury will cost her at least two LPGA starts

For Nelly Korda, a season that began on a tear is ending with a tweak.

On Monday, the World No. 1 announced on social media that she is withdrawing from scheduled starts at this week’s BMW Ladies event in Korea and the following week’s LPGA tournament in Malyasia on account of a “minor neck injury” she sustained while practicing.

“I’m currently resting and working with my team to get better,” said Korda, who is 26.

The injury is the latest wrinkle in a rollercoaster season for Korda.       

Early in the year Korda ran off five straight LPGA wins, including a major title, followed soon after by her sixth win of the season at the Mizuho Americas Open. She looked unbeatable until, suddenly, she didn’t, posting a shocking 80 in the opening round of the U.S. Women’s Open in late May. That led to a run of three consecutive missed cuts for Korda that included a second-round 81 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship that caused her to miss the weekend by one.

“It’s just golf recently for me,” Korda said at the time. “No words for how I am playing right now. I’m just going to go home and try to reset.”   

Korda looked her old self again at the Solheim Cup, where she finished 3-0-1 in the U.S.’s commanding victory in Virginia. A week later, she tied for fifth at the Kroger Queen City Championship.

Korda has few weaknesses but she has been prone to health issues. In 2022, she underwent surgery for a blood clot in a subclavian vein in her left arm. In 2023, she missed a stretch of tournaments due to back pain. In June of this year, she withdrew from an event after a dog bit her leg, but she offered few details about what exactly had happened. “Just had to go through some medical stuff,” she said.

In the wake of her latest setback, Korda did not say when she plans to return to the tour.

After three events in Asia in the next three weeks, the LPGA returns to the U.S. for three more tournaments, capped by the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.