Bid for historic win on hold as Korda withdraws from LA event

MIAMI: The golf world will have to wait a little longer to see whether Nelly Korda can make history with a sixth consecutive LPGA Tour win. The top-ranked player in the world withdrew Monday from the JM Eagle LA Championship, scheduled to start Thursday at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles.

“It was not an easy decision,” Korda said in a statement on the LPGA Tour website. “After the unbelievable week at The Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted. “With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”

Korda, 25, fired a final-round 69 to win her LPGA record-tying fifth straight event -- and second major title -- at the Chevron Championship on Sunday in The Woodlands, Texas. With the win, she joined Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) and Nancy Lopez (1978) as the only players in LPGA Tour history to win five straight starts.

She had to play 25 holes on the final day to make up for a weather delay Saturday on her way to winning her 13th LPGA Tour event. “I can finally breathe now,” Korda said Sunday. “That back nine felt like the longest back nine of my entire life. It was a little bit of a grind on the back nine, but happy to get the win.”

It’s unclear when the Florida native will compete next. The Cognizant Founders Cup takes place May 9-12 in New Jersey, and the next major is the U.S. Women’s Open in Pennsylvania to be held May 30-June 2.