The top American on the LPGA announced Monday that she is going to be cautious the next few weeks because of an injury. Nelly Korda took to her Instagram story to explain that she withdrew from next week’s Mizuho America’s Open because of back pain. The new LPGA event this season, with tournament host Michelle Wie West, is at Liberty National in New Jersey.
“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,” Korda posted. “We are working on a treatment plan to ensure I’m back to 100% for the remainder of the exciting season ahead. Thank you everyone for the support.”
It’s another year with an injury for the 24-year-old. Korda missed time early last year from March to June due to a blood clot in her arm. She injured her back in October 2020 when Korda tried to crack it on the 13th hole during the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She withdrew from the event and returned to play at the U.S. Women’s Open in December.
The No. 2 player in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings—after Jin Young Ko passed her Monday—already was not in the field for this week’s Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play event in Las Vegas. According to the LPGA’s website, the next event Korda is playing in is at the Meijer LPGA Classic June 15-18, the week before the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Should she return then, it will have been a month since Korda played at the Cognizant Founder’s Cup, which ran from May 11-14. She missed the cut, which broke a streak of top-10 finishes in eight of Korda’s previous nine starts, including her most recent victory at the Pelican Women’s Championship last November.