Nelly Korda Delivers Magic Moment with 2026 U.S. Women's Open Win

After an all-time Sunday at Riviera Country Club, the dream is finally a reality: Nelly Korda is a U.S. Women’s Open champion. It was a day of twists and turns, none more shocking than Korda’s short putt for par at the 18th that somehow, some way stayed inside the cup. Call it good fortune, call it karma, call it whatever you want, the ball dropped, and the one-shot win was hers.

Any worries of a Sunday letdown after a wildly entertaining Saturday went out the window well before Korda started her round. Charley Hull flew up the leaderboard with an eagle at the first and a birdie at the third. The rest of the contenders followed suit, taking advantage of the easier front nine. In Gee Chun briefly took the lead to 9 under before the course bared its teeth right as she and the final groups entered Riviera’s hardest stretch, Nos. 12-15. The ocean breeze showed up for the first time all week, bringing the first page of the leaderboard back into the mix.

It looked like the championship was bound for a playoff when Hull made a gutsy par at the 18th to take the clubhouse lead at 7 under. Gaby Lopez joined her a few minutes later with an unlikely birdie at the 72nd hole, one of only three all day. Korda still had the par-5 17th in front of her, though, a hole she had birdied twice already earlier in the week.

She gave herself another look, this one from a little over nine feet. A birdie and she’d come to the 18th with a one-shot lead. A par and she’d have no margin for error on the third hardest hole of the day.

The championship hung in the balance.

Most weeks, Korda’s putting wouldn’t instill much confidence in a putt of that much magnitude. This week was different. When the best part of her game, her ball-striking, didn’t show up on Thursday, her short game and putting bailed her out. When she made a change to her grip strength — a switch Korda admitted is the worst you can make in the middle of a tournament, and found a little more accuracy — her putting stayed strong and helped her claw back from a seven-shot deficit. On Sunday, when she still didn’t have her A-game, the putter was there when she needed it most.

The left-to-right breaker hit the center of the cup. Fist pump. 8 under.

“That putt is the reason why I'm here,” Korda admitted after the trophy was hers following a par on the 72nd hole.

After the lip-in that defied physics, after the split second of shock left her face, the reality of what just happened began to set in. Tears flowed as she celebrated with her family and during the trophy ceremony on the 18th green. It’s rare to see that much emotion from Korda. It was the evidence of what this week meant.

“I always felt like I emphasize the Women's Open so much like that's where my dream started of playing on the LPGA,” Korda explained after her round, “I have dreamt about this moment since I was a little girl.”

For someone who admits she doesn’t think about her legacy, Korda is building up a resume that stacks up against some of the best to ever play. She is the youngest American to win four majors since Mickey Wright in 1960. She is the first American to win four majors since Meg Mallon in 2004. She is the first player to win the first two majors of a season since Inbee Park in 2013. Her seven-shot first-round deficit matches the largest ever comeback to win the U.S. Women’s Open. She is now just two points away from a Hall of Fame berth.

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Sunday will live on as one of the greatest days ever in women’s golf. It’s the biggest moment in a U.S. Women’s Open since Michelle Wie won at Pinehurst in 2014. This week was billed as one loaded with potential. A primetime finish on network television at an iconic course. Nelly Korda somehow playing even better golf than she was during her record-breaking 2024 season. More often than not, and especially so in the women’s game, this is a recipe for disappointment. The pieces of the puzzle never quite fit together.

That all changed this week. The course, the leaderboard, the setup, the finish. It all clicked. Fans of women’s golf get the short end of the stick more often than not. Underwhelming broadcasts, bad TV windows, and tons of parity make following the sport a tough ask. This week was everything but that. It was the best week women’s golf has had in a long, long time.

And it was a blast.