The 2025 Kroger Queen City Championship seems to be cursed. The event features a packed field with some of the biggest LPGA Tour stars. Jeeno Thitikul, Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, & Co. are all at TPC River’s Bend trying to win the prize from the $2 million purse. While they continue the battle into the second round, they might also be aware of watching their peers quitting the event.

For instance, before the tournament began, LPGA Media tweeted that Lauren Morris had withdrawn due to a mysterious injury. Now, prior to the second round, two more names have been added to the list as Fiona Xu and Karis Davidson have also pulled out of the tournament. Apparently, Davidson withdrew due to a mysterious illness. However, as far as Xu’s exit goes, she shot 17-over in the first round. Hence, it would have been impossible for her to make a comeback and play the weekend.

However, Fiona’s actions might ring alarm bells in the LPGA Tour headquarters. Even though her reasoning to quit might be valid, she may end up influencing others to call it quits early. Especially if they are at risk of not making the cut in the tournament. Lauren Hartlage is also in a similar situation after the end of the first round. She shot 6-over in the first round and is in a challenging position to recover and make the cut for the weekend.

Moreover, Karis Davidson’s case might be concerning for her fans considering she recently came back from a hiatus. She stepped away to enroll in a TAFE course in Aged Care and Disability Services in Australia. Since returning, Davidson has posted career-best finishes. For isntance, she tied for 7th at the Meijer LPGA Classic & showed improved form across multiple events. So, hopefully its nothing major that might push her for a break or rest again.

Regardless, it is interesting to note that this is not the first time the LPGA Tour has seen many players withdraw midway through because they thought their efforts were pointless. Let’s look at a few other instances where a tournament had many withdrawals.

The curious case of withdrawals from LPGA Tour events

Nearly every LPGA Tour event sees a few stars withdraw during the first 36 holes. Most of them decide it if they did not have a good start to the tournament. However, just like the 2025 Kroger Queen City Championship, one other event a year ago saw many back-to-back withdrawals that may have been a cause of concern for the LPGA Tour officials.

During the 2024 Mizuho Americas Open, many big names exited the tournament as it was being played. It all began with Olivia Cowan and Jenny Shin, who quit during the second round. Then Sei Young Kim withdrew from the tournament due to illness. One of the biggest names to drop out was Rose Zhang, as she also sustained a back injury during the event. Then Ruoning Yin, Paula Creamer, Minami Katsu, Jiwon Jeon, Haeran Ryu, A Lim Kim, Maja Stark, and Caroline Masson were added to the list of withdrawals. The FM Championship last season had also seen quite a few exits that sparked a lot of negative reactions.