Pacific Palisades, California – Hollywood knows how to provide a feel-good ending, and we had one Sunday in La La Land. World no.1 Nelly Korda made history on Sunday, with her own true-life Hollywood ending, winning the 81st U.S. Women’s Open with a clutch finish at the famed Riviera Country Club. Her final round 69 was good for -8 (276 total), and a narrow one-stroke victory over Gaby Lopez and Charley Hull.
Korda opened the championship slowly with a 2 over par 73, but she bounced back with rounds of 67 in both the second and third rounds to take the 54 hole lead at 6 under par. On Sunday, Korda was steady on a day when the winds picked up in the afternoon, making the tough stretch of holes 12 thru 15 even tougher than usual. The contenders were hanging on, as Riviera was showing her teeth.
As contenders Gaby Lopez and Charley Hull made clutch putts on the 72nd hole to each grab a share of the clubhouse lead at 7 under par, Korda stayed the course, making solid pars for nine straight holes (8 thru 16), before holing the much-needed 9ft birdie putt on the par 5 – 17th to grab a one-shot lead heading into the last.
Korda seemed unfazed by the pressure of trying to capture her first U.S. Open, impressive, considering she was about to face one of the toughest finishing holes in championship golf. She flushed her drive up the last, leaving a short iron approach into the iconic amphitheater that sits below the majestic clubhouse on the hill. She proceeded to play the proper approach that landed in the center of the green, leaving approximately 30 ft to two-putt for the championship. Her lag putt finished 2ft 10 inches from the cup. A mere formality, right? Well, if you’ve ever played Riviera, you’d know that the last green has a devilish amount of break all around that hole location. Nelly borrowed a bit more than needed on the left edge of the cup, and as it neared the hole, the ball appeared it might just miss on the high side… but it caught the edge and took a 360° twirl around the rim of the hole before it sank to the bottom… it was over. Nelly Korda had captured her first U.S. Open title, and fourth major of her career.
After finishing 2nd last year at Erin Hills, Korda has now won the first two majors of 2026, and grabbed the one she wanted the most… the U.S. Open.
“I think last year I really, really wanted it, and the more you want it sometimes the more you stiffen up and you get a little bit more nervous,” said Korda, who went winless in 2025, including that share of second at Erin Hills. “I play my best golf when I’m happy, free Nelly, and I’m kind of joking around out there. That’s kind of the attitude that I need to play my best.”
On the final putt: “Don’t make me relive that,” Korda said. “I’m sure I’ll see a lot of videos of that, but a nice ice cream swirl to cap off the day.”
The world’s number-one ranked amateur Kiara Romero, an All-American at the University of Oregon (and member of the 2026 USA Curtis Cup Team) that will compete next week at nearby Bel-Air Country Club, was the low amateur by one stroke over 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Maria Jose Marin.
Scores: https://www.uswomensopen.com/2026/scoring.html
