It’s a bad year for the World No. 1s.

High off of seven wins (including one major triumph) in 2024, Nelly Korda and Scottie Scheffler were supposed to carry the same momentum forward. As the latter still made a comeback with a season-first victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson with an impressive eight-shot lead, Korda’s fate has largely escaped a celebration. While there’s nothing that could’ve been done for her title defense at the Chevron Championship, the T-Mobile Match Play, or the Ford Championship, looks like not all of it was Norda’s fault.

We’re talking about FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship—an event slated for March 20-23 at the Palos Verdes Golf Club—that was canceled in January this year. As per an official press release by the LPGA, the cancellation “was unavoidable due to the event underwriter failing to fulfill any portion of its payment obligations to the LPGA Tour for the 2024 and 2025 events”. To get into more detail: JTBC, the tour’s official South Korean media rights partner, reportedly missed five payments accounting for media rights, 10 sponsorships, and three LPGA tournaments.

An official complaint filed in the Southern District Court of New York revealed that the LPGA had reportedly made “repeated and good faith efforts” to recover the money, but received “sparse and uninformative responses” from the broadcasters. The LPGA Tour also lost somewhat close to $2 million due to the cancellation. But the main losing party? The players, and specifically defending champ Korda, who didn’t mince words when subtly let her feelings be known.

Playing at the Liberty National Golf Club currently, Korda sat down for a press conference at the 2025 Mizuho Americas Open, when one reporter asked, “Obviously, a new commissioner is set to be named. Wondering, is there anything perhaps under the new leadership you would be looking forward to or want to see implemented?” The Bradenton local mentioned, “I think just capitalizing on the growth of women’s sports. You know, a lot of people are really eager to invest, and finding the right partners that are long-lasting partners that really love the Tour, love the product, and want to grow with us is really important. That’s for the commissioner to find, and also for us players to play and give that commissioner a great product.”

USA Today via Reuters

Nelly Korda’s frustration is understandable, as she has failed to deliver results this season. Losing the opportunity to retain one of the titles only added more fuel to her frustration. Having said that, she still has two more shots at defending the championships she won in 2024.

Nelly Korda is eager to prove her doubters wrong

As mentioned, Nelly Korda hasn’t had the season everyone was hoping she would have after her 2024 domination. She has failed to capture a single victory so far. By this time last year, the 2024 Rolex Player of the Year already had five championships to her name. Korda has failed to impress in all of those events this year. In fact, the 15-time LPGA Tour winner has finished outside the top 10 in the three events where she went in as the defending champion in 2025.

At present, Korda is competing to retain the 2025 Mizuho Championship. Playing in the New Jersey-based tournament, the superstar of the LPGA Tour is sitting at T14 after finishing the first round with a 4-under par 68. She is four strokes away from the top of the table, which is led by in-form Thai golfer, Jeeno Thitikul. If Korda fails to defend this title as well, then her last opportunity will be in the 2025 Annika driven by Gainbridge at the Pelican, which will be played from November 13 – 16.