Nelly Korda wins her first U.S. Women’s Open crown in a thriller
Nelly Korda watched someone else lift the trophy at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open.
This time, it was Korda — the 2025 runner-up — who did the heavy lifting.
The world’s No. 1 women’s golfer won for the fourth time in 2026 on Sunday and checked off the biggest item on her to-do list.
“To be hoisting this trophy, to hold it high and at such an iconic venue, is just a dream come true,” said Korda, the first American to win back-to-back majors since Juli Inkster in 1999.
Korda claimed her first U.S. Open title, pulling ahead on the back nine at Riviera Country Club, which was playing host to the major championship for the first time.
It was anything but a wire-to-wire win for Korda, who struggled on the tee and limped through the opening round at two over par. But she shot a pair of 67s on Friday and Saturday, then closed out the victory Sunday with a 69 on a postcard afternoon.
Korda’s scrambling was masterful. No one in the last 20 years won a U.S. Women’s Open hitting fewer greens, yet she got up and down for par 24 times out of 30.
The final putt — two feet, 10 inches — was appropriately dramatic, teetering along the left edge before curling back into the cup. With the victory comes a $2.5-million prize.
Korda gasped, covered her mouth, waved to the crowd and wiped away tears. She made her way to her family on the fringe of the green, was showered by champagne and took a swig.
She was locked in a four-way tie for first — Charley Hull of England, Gaby Lopez of Mexico and In Gee Chun of South Korea also at seven under — and broke free with a long birdie putt on No. 17.
There would be no playoff, not with Korda closing the deal with a par on No. 18. It was her fourth win in eight tournaments this year.
Hull and Lopez tied for second, one shot back.
Nelly Korda holds the Harton S. Semple trophy after winning the 81st U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club on Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Korda, 27, is the youngest American player to win four majors since Mickey Wright in 1960.
What’s more, Korda is only the second American in the past 10 years to win the Open, joining former USC standout Allisen Corpuz, who won at Pebble Beach in 2023.
Korda has a championship pedigree. Her older sister, Jessica, was a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour, and brother, Sebastian, is a professional tennis player. Their father, Petr Korda, won the 1998 Australian Open in singles tennis. Their mother, Regina Rajchrtová, is a former professional tennis player who competed for Czechoslovakia in the 1988 Summer Olympics.
When the tournament started, the focus was on Korda’s feet. She was gifted a pair of Nike Victory Pro 4 golf shoes from LeBron James but changed out of them after six holes because they felt too roomy. It was a bad day for her as she was spraying her tee shots.
The focus then shifted to her head. She has worked on her mentality this year after going winless in 2025.
“I’ve tried to have a mindset shift,” she told reporters Saturday. “I’ve tried to have the attitude of instead of saying, `I’m screwed in this position. Oh, here we go again,’ I’m just going to embrace the challenges, and I’m not going to walk off the golf course. I’m just going to figure it out.”
Korda, who had the fewest bogeys of anyone in the field (seven), was typically steady Sunday, saving pars when she needed to despite crosswinds that picked up in the afternoon and made putting trickier.
There were plenty of compelling story lines taking shape as the sun began to dip on the legendary course.
Lopez, who made a great birdie putt on 18 to claim a share of the lead, was looking to become the first Mexican woman to win the Open and the second to win a major behind her mentor, Lorena Ochoa, who won the Chevron in 2008.
After making par on each of the first nine holes, Lopez made her move on the back with four birdies.
“I’ll say that at the beginning of the day I felt way more nervous than at the end,” Lopez said. “At the beginning it’s all the energy, you’re trying to get a run, but the U.S. Open it’s about waiting and waiting and waiting, and once you get your chance you kind of ride the wave.”
Hull, a runner-up in a major for the fifth time, was looking to become the third English woman to win the Open, matching Laura Davies (1987) and Alison Nicholas (1997).
Amazingly, Hull nearly missed the cut after over-par rounds of 73 and 72 on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, she shot a 65 — the lowest round of anyone in the field on any day — and followed with a 67 on Sunday.
Gaby Lopez sinks a birdie putt on No. 18 to briefly move into a share of the lead during the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open on Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Hull matched the U.S. Women’s Open record for the lowest 36-hole score in the final two rounds (132), set by Meg Mallon when she won in 2004.
“It’s frustrating,” Hull said. “Another second place.”
She added: “I love the feel of being under the gun, under pressure. It’s not like a life-and-death situation, but you know that adrenaline that you get…”
Chun had a chance to win her fourth major and bookend Open victories, as she won this tournament in 2015. That would have been the second-biggest gap between Open victories.
