Looks like Nelly Korda will have to wait a little more to make her foot in this season. As you see, not rookie players but unpredictable weather conditions have drowned her hope for a win. Play at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship has officially been suspended for the remainder of Round 2 after dangerous weather and an unplayable course forced the LPGA officials to take the stringent decision of shutting things down. The official account of the Tour confirmed with an update on X that Sunday’s resumption will be announced later in the day. This leaves Korda and others in the field scrambling for a win as their entire day was filled with frustrating weather events.

The day has started with promise. Round Two was originally scheduled to begin in the morning, but storms moved through the city, immediately throwing the entire schedule into disarray. The LPGA first announced a delay to the start of the play, which was soon followed by a thread of updates as the situation kept getting worse. After waiting for hours and multiple pushes, players finally got a chance to tee it off at 11:15 a.m. local time. But the weather had other things in mind.

Just over an hour later, at 12:01 p.m., the game was stopped yet again due to lightning and worsening weather. By late afternoon, with heavy rain leaving parts of the course unplayable and a flash flood warning in effect by the city authorities, officials made the harsh decision to call the day off.

If one looks at the weather, one sees the brutality. Saturday’s weather saw 100% precipitation, 93% humidity, and winds around 11km/h. Now there’s a flash flood warning in place, but this is something not new for the locals of Rogers, Arkansas. The area has seen such a situation before. The region has a humid subtropical climate, which has often brought volatile late-summer thunderstorms, including flooding or tornado damage. Just last year, a massive tornado tore through Rogers over Memorial Day weekend, and prior to that were the 2019 Arkansas River floods.

But that is all about the residents, who might scrape through if such a situation arises. On the other hand, things don’t exactly look too good for Nelly Korda. She entered this event with a lot of weight, having not scored a single victory this season. Her winless drought has become one of the biggest talking point in the LPGA circuit. As per the metrics, she is not lacking. She is now at No.2 in the world, losing her leadership to Jeeno Thitikul. But she has managed to make every cut this year with a scoring average of 69.89. All of this is in stark contrast with her last season’s performance, which included a historic five-win streak (seven titles overall), a major, and a Player of the Year campaign.

Even in this $ 3 million purse event, her score is currently 69, and she is placed at T45 on the points table. This is closer to the cut line than to the lead, which Korda is used to experiencing. Her last best performance was in the US Women’s Open, where she tied for the runner-up position.

If one looks at the context, they will get the weightage of the situation. The 2025 season has already produced 25 different winners, seven of them being rookies. This is a level of parity rarely seen on the LPGA Tour. This straight-up means that Korda’s consistency has been overshadowed by her lack of wins. A win at Arkansas, which looks out of hand at this point, will only help her claw back to the ground and secure some lead in the Race to the CME Globe.

Of course, the weather holds all the cards right now. Sunday’s forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms with a 35% chance of rain, 66% humidity, and slightly stronger winds. This gives the LPGA some hope, as talented players crowd the leaderboard.

The Arkansas leaderboard shines before the weather strikes

Before the nagging storms brought the play to a halt, the leaderboard had already seen its share of fireworks. Sarah Schmelzel produced the round of the day on Friday, carding four straight birdies and an eagle to close out an 8-under 63. That surge vaulted her from the middle of the pack into a share of the lead alongside Japan’s Minami Katsu, who posted a bogey-free 63 of her own.

Then there is Alison Lee, playing her third tournament after giving birth to her son in April. She also finished with a birdie-eagle flourish to join the tie at the top at 8-under. For Lee, who helped propel the USA to victory at last year’s Solheim Cup while being pregnant, the performance grades distinction came after she just missed the cut in Cincinnati last week at The Korger Queen Championship.

Other notable names include Danielle Kang, who stayed within striking distance at 6-under after an opening 65. She is currently tied for 10th place. Then playing her last tournament before retirement is Stacy Lewis, who shares the place with Korda at T45. She is sitting at 3-under overall after a first-round 68.

The conditions had been ripe for scoring at Pinnacle Country Club before the storms moved in, and early signs pointed to more movement on the leaderboard — until the weather chaos forced everyone back indoors.