Nelly Korda watched someone else hoist the trophy at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open.
This time, it was Korda who did the heavy lifting.
The world’s No. 1 women’s golfer won for the fourth time in 2026 on Sunday and checked off the biggest item on her to-do list.
Korda claimed her first U.S. Open title, pulling ahead on the back nine at Riviera Country Club, which was playing host to the major championship for the first time.
It was anything but a wire-to-wire win for Korda, who struggled on the tee and limped through the opening round at two over par. But she shot a pair of 67s on Friday and Saturday, then closed out the victory Sunday with a 69 on a postcard afternoon.
She was locked in a four-way tie for first — Charley Hull of England, Gaby Lopez of Mexico and In Gee Chun of Korea also at seven under — and broke free with a long birdie putt on No. 17.
Korda, 27, is the youngest American player to win four majors since Mickey Wright in 1960.
There would be no playoff, not with Korda closing the deal with a par on No. 18. She made a two-foot, 10-inch putt that nearly missed as it curled into the hole.
As the crowd chanted “NEL-LY, NEL-LY,” Korda raised her arms in celebration before waving to the gallery and wiping away her tears. She then hugged her family and friends standing on the side of the green.
Korda has a championship pedigree. Her older sister, Jessica, was a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour. Their father, Petr Korda, won the 1998 Australian Open in singles tennis. Nelly’s brother, Sebastian, is also a professional tennis player.
When the tournament started, the focus was on Korda’s feet. She was gifted a pair of Nike Victory Pro 4 golf shoes from LeBron James but changed out of them after six holes because they felt too roomy. It was a bad day for her as she was spraying her tee shots.
The focus then shifted to her head. She has worked on her mentality this year after going winless in 2025.
“I’ve tried to have a mindset shift,” she told reporters Saturday. “I’ve tried to have the attitude of instead of saying, `I’m screwed in this position. Oh, here we go again,’ I’m just going to embrace the challenges, and I’m not going to walk off the golf course. I’m just going to figure it out.”
Korda, who had the fewest bogeys of anyone in the field (seven), was typically steady Sunday, saving pars when she needed to despite crosswinds that picked up in the afternoon and made putting trickier.
There were plenty of compelling story lines taking shape as the sun began to dip on the legendary course.
Lopez, who made a great birdie putt on 18 to briefly claim a share of the lead, was looking to become the first Mexican woman to win the Open and the second to win a major behind her mentor, Lorena Ochoa, who won the Chevron in 2008.
After making par on each of the first nine holes, Lopez made her move on the back with four birdies.
Hull, a runner-up in a major for the fifth time, was looking to become the third English woman to win the Open, matching Laura Davies (1987) and Alison Nicholas (1997).
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