Nelly Korda withdraws from Mizuho Classic, injury timetable leaves questions

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

After missing the cut at the Cognizant Founders Cup, eight-time LPGA winner, Nelly Korda will not play in the Mizuho Classic.

Eight-time LPGA winner Nelly Korda will not play in the Mizuho Classic as she chose to withdraw because of back soreness. She took to social media to explain why she won’t be at the event and that a treatment plan is in the works.

“Never fun or easy news to share but I have made the decision to withdraw from next week’s tournament at the advice of my medical team to address pain in my back. We are working on a treatment plan to ensure I’m back to 100% soon for the remainder of the exciting season ahead. Thank you everyone for support,” she posted.

Korda initially injured her back in 2020 during the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. That injury forced her to withdraw also. So, taking precautions here is probably the smart thing to do. That injury put her out until December of that year. The last few years have been tough for Korda. Last year she missed time from March to June because of a blood clot in her arm.

Jin Young Ko passed Korda for the No. 1 spot and was already not in the field for the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play event occurring this week in Las Vegas.

She decided early on to miss the Mizuho America’s Open, one of the tour’s new events hosted by Michelle Wie West at Liberty National in New Jersey. That decision should tell the public that she is likely being very cautious.

Her last event was the Cognizant Founder’s Cup, where she missed the cut. That MC broke her streak of top-10 finishes in eight of her last nine starts. The next event Korda could play in is the Meijer LPGA Classic on June 15-18, but she could even wait longer and play the following week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, giving her at least a month of rest.