Korda claims fourth Major and second in a row
Nelly Korda plays her shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2026 U.S. Women's Open Presented by Ally at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. on Sunday, June 7, 2026. (Jason E. Miczek/USGA)
Nelly Korda horseshoed in a par putt from just under three feet to claim the 81st US Women's Open at storied Riviera Country Club and claim her second Major win in a row.
"A nice ice cream swirl to cap off the day," Korda said after a dramatic final day in Los Angeles. "Why did I leave myself such a long putt?"
She closed with a two-under 69 to win on eight-under 276 — the same total that gave Ben Hogan the US Open at the same venue in 1948 in his comeback from a near-fatal car crash — to edge out England's Charley Hull and Mexico's Gaby Lopez by one stroke.
A year after tying for second at Erin Hills, 27-year-old Hull took the outright lead for the first time when she knocked in a nine-foot birdie on the par-five 17th before going on to hole out from two feet 10 inches for her 19th LPGA win, the first two majors of 2026 and her fourth Major victory.
It was a thrilling end to a dramatic final day that saw Hull follow a Saturday 65 with a 67 to set the target before Lopez birdied the last from 15 feet to shoot 68 and join the English star at seven under.
In the end, Hull had to settle for her fifth Major Championship runner-up finish.
In Gee Chun, the 2015 champion, got to nine under through 11 holes before back-to-back bogeys on the 12th and 13th derailed her bid for a fourth major, and she finished solo fourth on six under.
"When I entered the back nine, all [caddie Jason McDede] and I were talking about was one shot at a time," said Korda, who was tied for 56th after a first-round 73.
"Not getting too ahead of myself. Not looking at the leaderboard, seeing what other people were doing. It was just a shot at a time."
Korda's driving improved dramatically over the weekend thanks to a grip change suggested by her sister Jessica. But it was her short game that won her the title.
"My most stressful part of the golf course [was] on Thursday," Korda said. "I just kept hitting these drives out right, out right, and out right, and I kept telling J, I can't compete on this golf course if I'm not in the fairway.
"Like you cannot stop it on these greens. Am I just going to continuously just depend on my short game? Which I did throughout the whole week"? I did depend on my short game."
Her birdie at the 17th, where he fist pumped after making her nine-footer for birdie, left her needing par at the 18th to win.
She hit a brilliant drive and found the green, but left her 35-footer far shorter than she wanted.
"I wish that putt was closer," Korda joked. "It makes it really cool to walk up to see the iconic golf, the clubhouse and everyone sitting around cheering me on.
"I had to, honestly, a couple of times, tell myself, okay, stay in the moment, stay in the moment, because I was dreaming, I was dreaming of hoisting the trophy a little too early. And I kept reverting back, I'm like the job's not done, the job's not done, yeah."
