Lydia Ko, Lottie Woad take control ahead of freezing forecast for LPGA

For the second consecutive day, a Lake Nona member has topped the leaderboard at the LPGA's season-opener. Lydia Ko, who won the 2024 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, currently holds a share of the lead with Lottie Woad at 8-under 136 on the last of the great weather days in central Florida.

"It was important to gets off to a really good start and I feel like I put myself in that kind of position," said Ko "... it doesn't matter if you're from Chicago or Edmonton in Canada, the next couple days are going to be cold regardless."

Earlier in the week, Ko had on a pair of puffy pants she said looked like a comforter. Those will come in handy over the weekend when temperatures plummet and the wind kicks up.

A freeze watch is in effect for the Orlando area from 7 p.m. ET Saturday until 1 p.m. ET Sunday. Overnight temperatures will dip down to 24 degrees Sunday morning with a high of 47 and winds gusting up to 25 mph.

With final-round tee times scheduled to be pushed back considerably, Sunday’s field will be cut to 60 total participants (10 fewer groups, 30 fewer players). The 39 LPGA players won’t be impacted, but the celebrity field will be reduced to 21 after the third round. In addition, none of the amateurs in the field will play on Sunday.

Overnight leader Nasa Hataoka, who joined Nona in 2019, sits in a share of third with another Orlando resident, Amy Yang, who plays out of Bay Hill.

Ko moved inside the gates at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club around Christmas of 2019. Her mom got the place fixed up while she competed in the Asian swing that year. It turned out to be a great time to move as the world shut down not long after Ko set up shop in the tony community and never left.

“It was great that I could be inside the gates and I remember not being in a car for like three months,” Ko once said of the 2020 pandemic. “I stayed in here, drove the cart around, and that's it."

Woad moved to Tallahassee, Florida, from England to play college golf at Florida State and said the time here in the Sunshine State has made her a bit soft when it comes to the cold. That being said, she rises the occasion in poor weather, particularly wind, as demonstrated at a gusty Women's British Open two years ago at St. Andrews when she tied for 10th as an amateur. Of course, Ko happened to win that one.

"It'll be a challenge," said Woad of the brutal weekend conditions, "but it'll be fun as well."

Woad, a first-timer at the TOC, told the media on Thursday that she had to close her eyes on the greens a few times to not see some of action from the celebrities playing in her group.

On Friday, the 22-year-old was paired with two strong players in former tennis player Mardy Fish, a past celebrity champion, and MLB player Aaron Hicks, who shot 66 to a take a two-point advantage in the Modified Stableford scoring format.

Former Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks carded a 66 today in the celebrity division of the TOC to lead by two. Hicks’ average clubhead speed is 129, and his average ball speed is 192.

Hicks is married to former LPGA player Cheyenne Woods. pic.twitter.com/h0dSEy75d6

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) January 30, 2026

With a ball speed of 192 and clubhead speed of 129, Hicks overpowered some of the holes at Nona, starting the round with four straight birdies and adding an eagle on the 11th.

"I had to make sure I wasn't trying to copy the lines he was going off," said Woad, "because I couldn't carry any of that."

Woad shares the same management company as Ko in Excel and begins her first full season on the LPGA after putting together a summer to remember in 2025, earning her card and winning her first start as an LPGA member. The former top-ranked amateur recently signed a new sponsorship deal with KPMG and passed her driving test in the U.S. She plans to buy a new car next week.

Would a winner's check of $315,000 change what she buys?

"No, probably not," said the practical Woad. "I don't need something too big. Just a normal sized car will be good."

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Lydia Ko, Lottie Woad co-lead LPGA Tournament of Champions