Nelly Korda drained a birdie putt on No. 17 and curled in a par putt at No. 18 on Sunday to win the U.S. Women’s Open for the first time in her career at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
Korda carded a 2-under 69 and finally was the last golfer standing in her 12th attempt to win the U.S. Women’s Open, finishing at 8-under 276. England’s Charley Hull (67) and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (68) finished one behind and were part of a late four-golfer battle that also included South Korea’s In Gee Chun.
Korda instantly knew her tiebreaking birdie putt on No. 17 on Sunday was a huge make as it placed her on the verge of a major career breakthrough.
A short time later, the 27-year-old lined up a 34-inch par putt on No. 18 to clinch the win, but once the ball left the club, Korda didn’t like what she saw.
With Hull and Lopez watching from the clubhouse to see if they would sneak into a playoff, Korda’s putt went left. But the ball hit the left side of the cup and circled around the back lip before falling in on the right side to give Korda a memorable victory.
“I knew that I didn’t want to miss it right, so I like maybe had aimed a little bit too far left and pulled it,” Korda said. “I mean, your heart rate is going.”
Korda now has four major titles, including both played so far in 2026. She was victorious at the Chevron Championship in April.
“Just a dream to win here,” Korda said of Riviera, located just blocks away from where the devastating fire roared through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in early 2025. “You know, the golf course holds so much history, and to have my name alongside so many great champions is a dream come true.”
Lopez had roared into contention with four birdies on the back nine.
Chun (70) finished fourth at 6 under and fellow South Korean Sei Young Kim (72) was fifth at 5 under. Chun earlier needed a birdie at the final hole to catch Korda but missed an 8-foot par putt to finish with her third bogey over the last seven holes. She also had four birdies.
Kim, who shared the third-round lead with Korda, had four birdies and five bogeys.
Hull knocked in a 7-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to move to 7 under and tie Korda and Chun for the lead. Just before Hull’s putt, Lopez missed a 4-foot par putt at the par-3 16th for her first bogey of the day and fell one shot off the pace.
Hull sank a 9-foot, 7-inch par putt at the 18th to remain tied for the lead. A short time later, Lopez made it a four-way tie at the top by making a 15-foot birdie putt to end her round.
Korda then took the solo lead by sinking the 9-footer for birdie at No. 17. It was one of her three birdies on the day against one bogey.
“I knew that I needed to make it,” Korda said. “I knew it was going to be a really fast putt so I needed to put decent pace on it with how much I was playing it left-to-right.
“I don’t really throw out fist pumps too often, but I did this weekend. I threw out a couple fist pumps here and there and I threw out a double-fist pump on that hole because I knew what it meant.”
Hull got off to a sensational start, shooting 4 under over the first six holes with an eagle on the par-5 No. 1 and birdies on Nos. 3 and 6. She bogeyed No. 9 but steadied herself with birdies on 10 and 11.
She later bogeyed Nos. 12 and 14. Hull had five birdies and three bogeys in addition to the eagle.
Hull, 30, continued her close calls at majors. She has never won one and this marks her fourth tie for second. She also has a solo second and a tie for third.
“It’s just frustrating,” Hull said. “Another second place. I think that’s five second-place finishes I’ve had in majors now. So, yeah, it’s pretty annoying, but I played really well the last day. Obviously missed a couple putts on the back nine, but it was quite windy and I hit the ball fantastic.”
Lopez, 32, was experiencing a much different set of emotions after her best showing at a major.
“I feel amazing, honestly. I mean I’m not disappointed at all,” Lopez said. “I am so happy. I realize that I can win a major championship. I realize that I can put myself in a position (and) that down the stretch on the back nine of a major championship I can still deliver. There’s not one thing that I regret.”
Kiara Romero, a collegiate star at Oregon, fired a 68 to take low amateur honors and finish in a tie for sixth with Japan’s Nasa Hataoka (72) at 3-under 281. Romero had five birdies and two bogeys while Hataoka registered three birdies and four bogeys.
Defending champion Maja Stark of Sweden shot 71 to finish in a sixth-way tie for eighth at 2-under 282. Colombian amateur Maria Jose Marin (71), who plays at Arkansas, also was at 2 under.
The others at 2 under were Allisen Corpuz (71), China’s Ruoning Yin (73), Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn (67) and Jennifer Kupcho (74), who was tied for third entering the day.
Kupcho fell out of the race with three bogeys in the first seven holes. She had five overall to go with two birdies.
–Field Level Media
