[Photo: Julio Aguilar]

The start of the LPGA season had so much potential, but atypical freezing weather in Florida on Sunday saw tournament officials make the decision to cancel the final round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando.

RELATED: Freezing Florida temperatures force big changes to final day of LPGA season opener

Nelly Korda shot a third-round 64 and was in the lead by three shots, but eight players did not finish the third round at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club where chilly temperatures and dangerous winds quickly came into the area. When those eight finally finished on Sunday afternoon, Florida time, Korda remained on top and collected her 16th LPGA title and her first since The Annika tournament in November 2024.

The day started with lows of -4 degrees Celsius and winds whipping up to 25 kilometres per hour. The start of the final round kept being pushed back until officials believed the conditions could be played in a proper environment, but eventually, with it only just barely breaking 4 degrees, it was clear the final round could not be completed on Sunday. The forecast for Monday called for more temperatures below freezing.

“Based on conversations between the rules officials, tournament staff, partners and the grounds team, the decision has been made to reduce the 2026 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions to a 54-hole event,” a statement from the LPGA said.

“The weather and temperature for tomorrow is forecasted to be the same as this morning, which will likely create similar conditions and prevent us from completing 72 holes.”

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Not everyone was pleased with the decision despite the freezing temperatures. Annika Sorenstam, who played nine holes as part of the celebrity competition on Sunday, told Golfweek that she believed the course was definitely playable, as the reduced celebrity field all played nine holes.

“I don’t know why they’re not playing,” the Swede told Golfweek. “There’s pitch marks. I mean, I hit some crispy shots today and the ball even stopped. I am surprised. It’s difficult, it’s cold but it’s as fair as anything.”

Ricki Lasky, the LPGA’s chief business and operations officer, joined the Golf Channel booth to explain more than the statement provided.

“The ground was really hard and it was changing the trajectory of their shots as they were practising,” she said about conditions near 10am, the original start time. “The balls were releasing when they weren’t supposed to be so we pushed back, tried to take as much time as we possibly could to get all 72 holes into play. We did everything we could. But we had to make the really hard decision to call it at 54.”

Realising that it’s a bad look for the tour to allow celebrities to play nine holes in the worst of the conditions, while the world’s best were sitting inside in warmth, Lasky laid out the differences.

“Two different competitions going on,” she said. “One is Modified Stableford, one is strokeplay. Every CME point counts as we go through our schedule. We wanted to assure the competition was up to championship calibre, and for that to happen, we felt like to be fair to the entire field we had to call it at 54.”