WTGL to Launch in 2026 Without Nelly Korda: Five Teams and 25 Players Confirmed

The WTGL is heading into its inaugural season with a full field of participants. On Monday, August 31, 2026, the new Women’s Team Golf League announced the rosters for its five founding teams. A total of 25 players have been confirmed for the first season. Play is scheduled to begin in November at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; the inaugural season is set to run through December.

The field features big names from different generations. LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko, major champions Brooke Henderson, Lexi Thompson, Minjee Lee, and Yuka Saso, as well as former U.S. Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie West, are part of the lineup, alongside up-and-coming players such as Lottie Woad, Rose Zhang, Kiara Romero, and Yana Wilson. One of the most significant figures, however, is not on the roster: Nelly Korda, the current world No. 1, will not compete in the WTGL’s debut.

The 2026 Solheim Cup: The highlight ahead of the WTGL’s debut.

An Overview of the Five WTGL Teams

Each franchise will field five players for the inaugural season. The complete rosters are as follows:

According to the league, its players have combined for 112 LPGA Tours victories, 48 Solheim Cup nominations, 15 major titles, and 28 Olympic appearances. The players represent 13 countries, plus one player with no country affiliation. With this lineup, the WTGL is banking on a mix of athletic experience, international diversity, and up-and-coming talent.

Atlanta: Two U.S. Women’s Open Champions on the Roster

Atlanta Drive GC boasts an internationally experienced roster. Minjee Lee has 11 LPGA Tour victories and three major titles to her credit, while Yuka Saso has already won the U.S. Women’s Open twice. Charley Hull also brings three LPGA Tour victories to the team. Andrea Lee and Nataliya Guseva round out the team, representing the perspectives of two players who have made their way to the top of the sport via different paths.

Boston: Experience Meets the Next Generation

Boston Common Golf is banking on a combination of established LPGA players and young talent. Céline Boutier won the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship and has seven LPGA Tour victories to her name. Megan Khang is a four-time Solheim Cup player. The roster also includes Lottie Woad and Ina Yoon, two players who represent the next generation. In addition to her own LPGA success, Chizzy Iwai brings a special connection to Los Angeles: her twin sister Aki plays for the WTGL team there.

Los Angeles: A Comeback and a New Rising Star

The Los Angeles Golf Club brings together a well-known returnee, established players, and a young professional. Michelle Wie West won the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and is returning to competitive golf for the WTGL. Kiara Romero turned pro in 2026 after making a name for herself during her college years at the University of Oregon and winning the title of top amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open. Gaby López, Aki Iwai, and Alison Lee round out a roster with experience spanning multiple continents.

Motor City: A New Team with a Star-Studded Roster

Motor City Golf Club is the new Detroit franchise in the WTGL field. The roster is led by Brooke Henderson, Canada’s most successful female golfer with 14 LPGA Tour victories and two major titles. Jeeno Thitikul finished the 2025 season as the world No. 1 and as Rolex Player of the Year. Lexi Thompson has 11 LPGA Tour wins and has competed in the Solheim Cup six times. The team also includes Ruoning “Ronni” Yin and Albane Valenzuela—a major champion and a player who has represented Switzerland multiple times at the Olympics.

New York: Lydia Ko Faces the Next Generation

The New York Golf Club features Lydia Ko, the most experienced player in the field. The New Zealander is a member of the LPGA Hall of Fame, has won 23 times on the LPGA Tour, claimed three major titles, and won three Olympic medals. Danielle Kang also brings a major victory and six LPGA titles to the tournament. Linn Grant, Rose Zhang, and Yana Wilson represent the younger generation: Grant made history in 2022 as the first woman to win a DP World Tour event, Zhang won on her LPGA debut, and Wilson celebrated her first Tour victory in 2026.

How the WTGL Works

The WTGL was launched by TMRW Sports in partnership with the LPGA. The company is building on the legacy of the TGL, which was founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Mike McCarley. Unlike traditional LPGA tournaments, the players compete in short team matches in an indoor arena. The venue is the specially designed SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, which is also home to the TGL.

Three players from each five-player roster will compete in each match. The regular season will be played in a round-robin format, with each team facing the other teams. This will be followed by knockout semifinals and a final consisting of up to three matches. Each match is expected to last approximately two hours.

The concept includes several elements designed to make the game faster and more accessible to the audience. These include a shot clock, tactical risk-taking decisions, the so-called “Hammer” option, real-time data, and the ability to hear the players’ communication directly through microphones. The league also plans to calibrate driving distances and fairways based on performance data from women’s golf.

Nelly Korda Will Miss the Inaugural Event

The most notable absence from the field is Nelly Korda. The world No. 1 and four-time major champion is not on any of the five rosters. According to Golfweek, Korda’s team stated that the WTGL did not fit into her schedule. The league itself did not cite any additional reason for her absence in its roster announcement.

Korda had already commented on the planned women’s league back in January. Her stance was explicitly ambivalent. “If I’m being completely honest, I have mixed feelings about it,” she told Golfweek. Her criticism was directed primarily at the decision not to have women and men compete in a joint league initially.

“I think it’s a huge and almost incomprehensible oversight that we’re not playing alongside the men. There’s probably no better way to grow the sport, and it would have been revolutionary. I think it would have been the first time that men and women played on the same course for exactly the same prize money.”

– Nelly Korda to Golfweek, January 2026.

At the same time, Korda made it clear that she does not fundamentally oppose the WTGL. “I don’t see any downside to it. I just think it would have been even bigger to bring the two together,” she said. At that time, she also pointed to the potential time commitment and unresolved organizational issues. Therefore, her non-participation should not be broadly characterized as a boycott of the separate format. Rather, the evidence shows that Korda publicly criticized the concept, while her team cites scheduling conflicts as the current reason for her absence.

Mike McCarley also left the door open, in principle, to the possibility of a joint format at a later date. “I think this is interesting for us, for the LPGA, and for many players we speak with,” the TMRW Sports co-founder told Golfweek. For now, however, the focus is on giving the women’s tour its own stage and showcasing the players and their personalities.

Launch in November—key details still to be determined

With the rosters now announced, the competitive foundation for the inaugural season has been laid. However, the exact match dates, prize money, and broadcast partner have not yet been announced. Information on tickets and specific media coverage plans will also follow at a later date.

The WTGL will thus launch with an international field that closely blends experience and up-and-coming talent. Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson, Jeeno Thitikul, and Michelle Wie West bring familiar faces to the league. At the same time, players like Lottie Woad, Rose Zhang, Kiara Romero, and Yana Wilson offer a glimpse into a new generation of team golf. The first tee shot at the SoFi Center, however, will take place without Nelly Korda—and thus without the player who has most clearly shaped the debate over the WTGL’s format to date.