“People May Not Agree”: Nelly Korda Opens Up on What Forced Her to Take an Eight-Week Break

Taking a break is not always easy, especially when you are the best player in the world. Nelly Korda learned this the hard way in October 2024. A neck injury during practice forced her to miss the LPGA events in Korea and Malaysia. She returned a month later and won at Pelican, but the experience taught her an important lesson. This time, she decided not to wait for another injury.

Korda explained why she chose to step away for eight weeks and give her body the rest it needed.

“I wanted to give my body a little bit of a break. It wasn’t feeling too great. Last time I put myself into that position I ended up injuring myself and was out longer, so I would say that as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to listen to my body. Sometimes I just have to take that break. A lot of people may not agree with it. I have to really listen to myself and know what’s best for myself,” Korda said at Pelican Golf Club on Wednesday.

The World No. 1 was willing to miss four LPGA events rather than gamble on another injury. That is a bold stance in a sport that rewards availability, and it makes this break worth a closer look.

Her last regular event was August’s FM Championship. Then came the Solheim Cup, where she went 2-1-1 in a loss for the Americans. Afterwards, she said, “Right after Solheim, I was burnt out.”

Constant travel and practice wear a player down. “There is only so many hours you can go out and practice and beat balls,” she said, and eventually “you just get a little tired, a little worn out, body gets a little drained.”

Rest still has a shelf life. “It was nice, but by the kind of middle of it was ready to get going.” The reset was the point, because “you’re very motivated to come back and play against the best players in the world and test yourself.” She is not the only Korda feeling it, either. Her sister Jessica has raised concerns about the LPGA’s hectic schedule causing player burnout.

Korda missed all four events on the LPGA’s autumn Asian swing. Her decision also drew criticism. Fried Egg Golf contributor Matthew Galloway felt that the absence of the world’s best player was a problem for the tour. He pointed out that these events are held in countries with some of the LPGA’s biggest sponsors and fan bases.

“But having your best player and biggest star sitting out for nearly a quarter of your schedule — held in places where some of the tour’s biggest sponsors and, more importantly, fans reside — is a big problem that shouldn’t be overlooked,” he wrote.

The criticism came at a time when LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler had compared Nelly Korda to Tiger Woods. Fans and sponsors in Asia also want to see the tour’s biggest stars compete at their events. But Korda had a different priority. She wanted to protect her health.

Her injury history helps explain why. In 2022, a blood clot in a vein near her collarbone required surgery and forced her to miss the Chevron Championship. In October 2024, a neck injury kept her out of the LPGA’s Asian events. She also dealt with a neck spasm during the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June 2025. Then, in October 2025, she withdrew from the International Crown.

Read against that, her own explanation of her approach hits harder: “If I’m starting to feel that pain a little bit, and I know that could recur, I have to prioritize my body and say that, OK, I need to step back, take some time off.”

Late last year, Korda said 18 to 20 events is her ideal number, and she wouldn’t play more than three in a row. “I will not do four in a row,” she said. The eight weeks fit that philosophy. She is managing her workload, not just reacting to pain.

So far, the approach is paying off. After a winless 2025 plagued by neck injuries, she has won four times this year, including the Chevron Championship and U.S. Women’s Open.

The proof arrived Thursday at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, her first start since the Solheim Cup. Korda opened with a bogey-free 7-under 65, hitting 17 of 18 greens, which left her solo fourth, two shots behind Hye-Jin Choi and Minami Katsu.

She won here in 2021, 2022 and 2024. A victory this week or at next week’s CME Group Tour Championship would give her the 27th point needed for the LPGA Hall of Fame. She downplays it: “Is the Hall of Fame something I’m really looking at? Not at all.”

The points-race worry also faded. Korda clinched her second Rolex Player of the Year on Nov. 3 with three events left, after Jeeno Thitikul and Miyu Yamashita did not enter the Pelican field.

Top players are asked to be athletes, ambassadors, and attractions every week, and Korda’s break shows how thin the margin gets when the calendar is crowded. Tours need their stars on the course, yet stars need their bodies intact, and that tension is not going away.

For Nelly Korda, health outranks outside expectations, and her results have backed her up so far. The question is whether the tour will accept that. Her own answer is already clear: “I have to really listen to myself and know what’s best for myself.”

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