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WTGL: LPGA Tour star Nelly Korda laments missed opportunity to create mixed-gender event in indoor competition | Golf News
LPGA Tour star Nelly Korda has accused TGL organisers of making an “unbelievable miss” by choosing not to create a mixed-gender event for the indoor golf competition after announcing a separate women’s edition to run alongside the already established men’s version.
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods were part of the group that formed TGL, which debuted in 2025 with some of the biggest stars of the game taking each other on using a simulator for longer shots and moveable green for putting.
It was announced earlier in January that a first women’s edition of the league would be launched at the end of 2026, before last week the first raft of players for the competition were confirmed.
World No 2 Korda has not yet committed to the event and insists a better approach would have been to add female players to the already established event.
Korda told Golfweek: “I have mixed feelings on it if I’m being very honest, and I’m surprised no other girls have, or no one’s really spoken out about it. I think it’s a huge and unbelievable miss that we’re not playing alongside the men.
“There’s no greater way to grow the game, and it would have been revolutionary. It would have been the first time, I think, that men and women are on the same playing field, playing for the same exact amount of money. But I also think it’s great that we are getting this opportunity, so that’s my mixed feelings.”
Korda is preparing to play in the opening event of the LPGA Tour season, Tournament of Champions, which is live on Sky Sports from Thursday.
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On why she hasn’t committed to the WTGL, she added: “I’m just still weighing out the time commitment. I just haven’t really thought about it too much, because I’ve been really focused on trying to get ready for this season. I think logistically, they’re still trying to figure some stuff out, so I will just weigh out my options in the near future.”
Hull ‘just grateful’ for WTGL opportunity
Europe’s top-ranked player, Charley Hull, who has committed to play in the inaugural women’s event, said she was “just grateful” that women were being given the opportunity to feature.
“I’m just grateful for them giving us an opportunity, no matter what really,” the world No 6 said ahead of playing alongside Korda in Florida.
“Could be something they build in the future, you never know. I feel like them giving us an opportunity to go out there on the same stage as the guys, even though it’s not at the same time, fair play to them.
Charley Hull is excited to play in the WTGL
“Like I really respect that. Like thank you. You never know, in a couple of years’ time they could do something like that. But like having an LPGA Tour and the PGA Tour and now we have the Grant Thornton, you never know. That’s something they can probably build on.”
Hull was enthused after attending the latest TGL event earlier this week, which saw McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf claim an emphatic win.
“It’s super cool,” she added. “I went there on Monday evening, and it was like – I watched and I was like, wow, this is pretty unbelievable.
“We need one of them in the UK actually when it’s cold. I thought it was so impressive the way that green moved round, how the ball reacted on the green when I chipped on it, how it putted, the screen.
“Honestly, I was so impressed by it. They’ve done a great job.”
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