Six names recently joined the WTGL roster, bumping up the number of committed world’s best golfers to 14. The list also includes some of Nelly Korda’s biggest rivals. However, the three-time major champion herself is not it.

On May 4, during the LPGA Tour’s Mizuho Americas Open, TMRW Sports announced at a reception the commitments of Minjee Lee (No. 7, three-time major champion), Celine Boutier (major champion), Danielle Kang (six-time LPGA Tour winner), Andrea Lee (No. 24), Megan Khang, and Albane Valenzuela.

The 14-player roster spans eight countries and carries 92 LPGA Tour titles and 12 major championships between them. Five of the top 10 players in the world are already in for the inaugural season at SoFi Center later this year.

And the last two seasons of the TGL have proved that the format works. It was fast-paced, simulator-based, and personality-heavy, and it attracted a fan base that traditional golf rarely even touches. Earlier this year, Lexi Thompson, already signed to the WTGL, put it simply, “Fans really get involved more and see the personalities of the guys and now the women.”

That growing momentum, though, has not convinced Korda yet. She has a specific problem with the league’s setup. In January, she told the media, “I think it’s a huge and unbelievable miss that we’re not playing alongside the men. There’s no greater way to grow the game, and it would have been revolutionary. It would have been the first time that men and women are on the same playing field, playing for the same exact amount of money. But I also think it’s great that we are getting this opportunity, so that’s my mixed feelings.”

The TGL launched with a $21 million purse, paying roughly $2.25 million per player on the winning team. The LPGA’s entire 2026 season offers $132 million across 33 events. Korda’s point about equal pay was not abstract. The numbers back her up.

Well, not everyone shares that frustration. Charley Hull, who recently visited the SoFi Center for the first time, took a more optimistic view. “I’m just grateful for them giving us an opportunity no matter what.” Hull left room for the future, though, suggesting a mixed format could be something the league builds toward.

What makes Korda’s continued absence stand out is the personal layer to it. She and Tiger Woods are both Team TaylorMade athletes who have worked together on the course. At the 2021 PNC Championship, playing near Woods for the first time after his car crash recovery, Korda said, “He’s done so much for the game of golf. We wouldn’t be where we are nowadays without him.” And while looking back at those moments, she admitted she turns red every time she watches the video of her walking up to him.

That respect goes both ways. When Korda faced a brutal wave of online criticism during a tough stretch in 2025, Woods publicly defended her. Back then, the 50-year-old said, “What people are doing to Korda is nothing less than an insult to the entire golf community.”

And yet, her name is not on that list. Some of Korda’s closest rivals on tour, including Brooke Henderson, Charley Hull, Lydia Ko, Jeeno Thitikul, and Lexi Thompson, have all signed up. The WTGL’s roster has plenty of star power. But the world’s best women’s golfer sitting it out is a storyline that will follow the league all season long.

Notably, her absence is more glaring when you consider what she has been doing in the course.

Nelly Korda is breaking records while the WTGL waits for her answer

Korda won the Riviera Maya Open by four shots, even after bogeying her final hole. It was her third win of the 2026 season. Korda is now the second player since 1980 to open a season with six straight top-2 finishes. Annika Sorenstam in 2001 was the first.

That win also made her the youngest American to reach 18 LPGA victories in 46 years, since Nancy Lopez in 1980. She sits at 23 HOF points, four short of induction. The WTGL is trying to establish its credibility with the best possible women’s field, and the best woman golfer alive keeps adding to her resume without it.

At Mayakoba, she broke the tournament’s over a year-old 54-hole scoring record by seven shots. Eagle at five, then birdies in succession, and ten straight pars to finish. She drove in a bunker on nine but hit a wedge to eight feet and made the putt.

Recently, Korda has been playing exceptionally well on the course and dominating. The WTGL has some big-time champions, Olympians, and Solheim Cup veterans on board. It just doesn’t have that one player whose name alone changes the conversation around whatever event she enters.