World No. 2 Nelly Korda just won her first LPGA title of 2026 in freezing conditions after a winless 2025 plagued by neck injuries. Fans wasted no time celebrating her victory, but the excitement didn’t last long as another update emerged.

As per Brentley Romine on X, she won’t play again until the Fortinet Founders Cup in Menlo Park, California, from March 19 to 22. Now, this means that the 27-year-old is skipping Asia entirely again, as there are three Asian events scheduled for February and March 2026.

In all, there will be 33 LPGA events in 13 countries in 2026, and the prize pool will be a record $132 million. The Honda LPGA Thailand ($1.8M), the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore ($3M), and the Blue Bay LPGA in China ($2.6M) are all part of the early spring Asian swing. Then in the fall, there are the Buick LPGA Shanghai ($3.2M), the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea ($2.35M), the Maybank Championship in Malaysia ($3M), and the Toto Japan Classic ($2.1M).

Coming back, Korda has pulled out of the BMW Ladies Championship and the Maybank Championship in October 2024 because she hurt her neck while practicing. Further, she’s not played an LPGA tournament in Asia since the 2023 Maybank Championship, meaning she’s skipped the last 16 events in Asia, whether due to injury or another reason, including the 2025 International Crown. Now, add the current events, and that makes it nineteen straight tournaments!

However, Korda’s health history gives us some background.

She pulled out of the International Crown in October 2025, saying her body was “worn down” and she had injuries in the past that “kind of linger” and were “never really fully resolved.”

After 17 LPGA events in 2025, where she made every cut but couldn’t win, her selective approach makes sense from a medical POV. And if you look at the criticism that followed once the 2026 schedule was released in December last year, it adds up.

Within the first few days after the season begins, the stars will travel across the world from Florida, U.S.A., to Pattaya, Thailand. After the Asia swing, they will be back in California. At one point, they would also be bouncing from New Jersey to Ohio, then back to New Jersey. From there, they go to California before flying to Michigan, Minnesota, and then France.

If players competed in every event on the schedule, they would travel more than 79,634 miles, with an average distance of 2,746 miles between tournaments. Factor in international tournaments, time differences, and weather changes, among others, and it might get a bit too overwhelming for the stars. In fact, more than a year ago, Jessica Korda spoke about how exhausting it can get during her interview with Smylie Kaufman on The Smylie Show.

Golfers talk a lot about being burned out. However, Nelly Korda’s choice backs up those worries. But what do the fans have to say about this?

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Fans speak out on Nelly Korda, her momentum, and the Tour

One fan wrote: “This is a major issue for the LPGA. Impossible to build momentum stateside when the schedule quickly moves to Asia. Time difference impossible to watch on TV.”

When tournaments occur in Asia, they fall during U.S. sleeping hours, causing domestic TV ratings to drop. Nelly Korda’s absence from Asia preserves her American fan base but weakens the tour’s international sponsor relationships that depend on star power.

Another fan simply called her “entitled.”

Asian sponsors fund the tour through multi–million-dollar partnerships. Korda benefits from these Asian investments—the prize money, prestige, and tour stability all come from these markets. Yet she consistently skips the events that sponsors host. Taking the benefits while avoiding the obligations has struck some fans as hypocritical and damaging to the tour’s credibility with international partners.

The systemic problem extends beyond a single player, as another fan observed: “When your top American is choosing NOT to play for 7 weeks at the start of the season….one would think the LPGA would ask why and consider making some changes if possible.”

“That is so bad for the tour,” one user wrote.

Sponsors paid premium rates expecting Korda. Asian fans may have bought tickets to see her. TV broadcasters negotiated deals based on star appearances. Younger players depend on her presence to drive purses higher. When the tour’s top American consistently skips major markets, it weakens the entire business model.

But not everyone blames Nelly Korda.

One supporter argued: “She’s @nellycorda. She can do as she pleases. She’s earned it.”

With seven wins in 2024 and 16 career wins and 76 career top-10s, she’s proven herself. She’s dealt with neck injuries, a blood clot requiring surgery, and a winless 2025 season. Therefore, some may say that being selective after serious health issues isn’t entitlement; it’s a strategic choice.