PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — The putt circled the rim of the cup, defied logic for one agonizing revolution, and then fell. That was the moment Nelly Korda became a U.S. Women’s Open champion.
Korda’s 2½-foot putt to win on the 18th green at Riviera Country Club caught the left edge, touring half the circumference of the hole while the gallery watched in near silence. When it finally dropped to a burst of gasps and roars, she raised a hand over her open mouth before dissolving into laughter — the involuntary, bewildered laughter of someone who cannot quite believe her sport had done that to her.
“It’s even sweeter, especially with that ice cream swirl on the last hole,” the world’s top-ranked player said.
Korda claimed a one-shot victory at Riviera Country Club, posting a final-round two-under 69 to finish at eight under par, holding off a congested leaderboard that remained unsettled deep into the afternoon. It was her fourth career major title and her first U.S. Women’s Open.
The win carried a weight that statistics alone cannot measure. “I feel like I’m in a dream,” a teary-eyed Korda said on the 18th green after receiving the trophy. “Gosh, I just can’t even explain how much this means to me.” Later, in the press room, she reached further back. “That 14-year-old girl that stepped on the range at Sebonack in 2013, her dream has just come true sitting next to this trophy right now,” she said. “It’s really hard to put into words.”
An Unlikely Rescue
The week had not begun auspiciously. Even as Korda plotted her approach around Riviera with swing coach Jamie Mulligan — a local who had seen countless L.A. Opens at the venue — Thursday blindsided her. Her swing had suddenly abandoned her, with shots leaking right on the way to a disappointing opening-round 73 that left her tied for 52nd.
“I just kept hitting these drives out right, out right, and out right,” Korda said. “I can’t compete on this golf course if I’m not in the fairway. You cannot stop it on these greens.”
It was her sister, Jessica, who sat down beside her at the driving range Thursday evening and offered the advice that would ultimately define the week: tighten the grip. Korda called it the hardest adjustment a golfer can make mid-tournament. “I think it’s the hardest thing in the game of golf is to change your grip because you’re always like, I was fiddling with it so much,” she said.
“I just couldn’t believe she trusted it,” Jessica Korda said. “I was very nervous. I didn’t sleep very much Thursday night. I don’t know how coaches do it.”
The grip change held. Korda rallied from seven shots off the lead after the first round, carding back-to-back 67s to play her way into the final group.
Sunday’s Crucible
The finale at Riviera was as tightly contested as any major in recent memory. Seven players began the final round within two strokes of the lead. Korda birdied the first and sixth holes, leading by one after the latter. She dropped only one shot, at the seventh, before stringing together nine consecutive pars on the back nine.
The decisive moment came at the par-five 17th. Korda made a nine-foot birdie to take sole possession of the lead, then drove the 18th 288 yards uphill, hit her second from 149 yards to 35 feet, and lagged to within arm’s reach. What followed was theater of the most exquisite and unnerving kind.
Korda fended off excellent final rounds from England’s Charley Hull and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, both of whom narrowly missed claiming their first major titles. Hull finished in a tie for second for the fifth time in a major championship.
The victory made Korda the first woman to win the opening two majors of a season since Inbee Park accomplished the feat in 2013. She is now one major away from completing the career grand slam.
Legacy, Deferred and Now Claimed
The U.S. Women’s Open had been Korda’s most conspicuous absence. At Erin Hills in 2025, she finished tied for second. In 2024, she missed the cut entirely. The trophy that meant most kept slipping away.
This year, she arrived at Riviera armed with a new mental approach — writing affirmations on Post-it notes and adhering them to her bathroom mirror each morning. Her aggregate of 73-67-67-69 — a total of 281 — was enough to prevail at the 81st edition of the championship.
“I didn’t feel my best on the back nine. I had a lot of emotions kind of swirling in my stomach,” Korda admitted. “I would say it’s just a dream come true. I have dreamt about this moment since I was a little girl. I watched my sister compete in the Women’s Open from a really young age.”
“I’ve never really thought about the legacy of my career, if I’m being completely honest,” she said. “I just really love competing and being in this position — sometimes having a big lead going into Sunday, or being tied for the lead and having to absolutely grind it out.”
On Sunday evening at Riviera, Nelly Korda did both. She ground it out. And it fell in.
