World No. 1 Nelly Korda secured a dramatic victory at the U.S. Women’s Open to claim her second consecutive major title, holding off England’s Charley Hull, who fell one shot short of a maiden major.
An opening 73 on Thursday briefly left Korda near the cutline at T56, but back-to-back 67s in rounds 2 and 3 propelled her into contention. Starting the final round at Riviera Country Club, the 27-year-old and her playing partner Sei Young Kim held a one-shot advantage over the chasing pack. Among those in pursuit, Hull made a blistering start, sinking a 12-foot eagle putt at the 1st before adding a birdie at the 3rd to briefly move into a share of the lead. However, Korda and Kim both opened with birdies of their own to retain their one shot buffers. And yet Hull never let up, almost sinking a hole-in-one at the 6th, before tapping in for a birdie.
Korda and Kim continued to match each other shot for shot as they both went on to birdie the same hole and then drop the next with bogeys at the 7th. Their paths only diverged after the turn when Kim bogeyed the 10th and dropped below Hull who rolled two straight birdies at holes 10 and 11 to briefly hold the lead at 8 under. But bogeys at the 12th and 14th erased much of Hull’s advantage, while Korda steadied herself with a string of pars to remain in front. Meanwhile, Mexico’s Gaby López, having made it through the front nine without a bogey, surged into contention to join Hull just one shot behind Korda.
Hull birdied the penultimate hole and parred the last to card a 7-under 67, then could only wait to see if it would be enough to force a play-off. López matched her total with a birdie at the 18th, but Korda’s birdie at the 17th moved her to 8-under and set up a tense finish on the final hole. The American’s 2½-foot putt to win had spectators holding their breath as the ball tracked around half the circumference of the hole before tumbling in, prompting a roar from the crowd as the Floridian secured her fourth major title.
“I feel like I’m in a dream,” Korda said afterwards. “Gosh, I just can’t even explain how much this means to me.”
“It’s even sweeter, especially with that ice cream swirl on the last hole.”
Victory means Korda took home the season’s second major and its $2.5m first prize. She is now the first American to win both the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open in the same season since Betsy King in 1990. At 27, she also became the youngest American to win four majors since Mickey Wright in 1960, and is the sixth American player to win a third major championship before the age of 28, joining Patty Berg, Louise Suggs, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, and Amy Alcott.
Her win moves the world No. 1 within one of the career Grand Slam, needing only either the Amundi Evian Championship or the AIG Women’s British Open.
Reflecting on her triumph, Korda said in her winning press conference: “That 14-year-old girl who stepped on the range at Sebonack in 2013, her dream has just come true, sitting next to this trophy right now. It’s really hard to put into words. This week was definitely a grind. I don’t even feel like I had my B game. I was just grinding out there. And that’s what I guess major championships are all about, right?
“It doesn’t matter if you have your B or C game. You have to be there mentally. And I have a great support system off the golf course, on the golf course, and I literally would not be standing here without millions of pep talks I just got on the golf course from (Jason McDede, her caddie).”
For Hull, her second place finish is her fifth at a major so far in her career.
“It’s just frustrating,” Hull admitted. “Another second place. I think that’s five second-place finishes I’ve had in majors now, so it’s pretty annoying.
“I played really well the last day. Obviously missed a couple of putts on the back nine, but it was quite windy and I hit the ball fantastic, so fair play to Nelly Korda for back-to-back wins.”
López shared second with Hull, while South Korea’s In Gee Chun finished in fourth at 6 under. Kim settled for fifth just a shot back at 5 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is the Dow Championship taking place between 11-14 June at Midland Country Club, Midland, MI in the U.S.