Can England end wait for US Women’s Open win and who can stop Korda?

Sky Sports looks at the major storylines to follow ahead of the US Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club…

Can Korda win back-to-back majors?

Nelly Korda is certainly showing shades of her 2024 self, a year in which she won seven times and dominated the LPGA Tour schedule – including major success at the Chevron Championship.

The world No 1 has followed a fallow year in 2025 by this starting this campaign with a bang, winning the season-opening Tournament of Champions and then finishing runner-up in her next three events.

She added a second Chevron Championship in three years and then won the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba a week later, with Korda finishing no worse than tied-eighth in 10 of her last 11 worldwide starts.

The 27-year-old’s game is trending in the right direction and it’s hard to pick a winner outside of the American when she’s in this type of form. She’ll no doubt be keen to go one better than last year’s US Women’s Open, where she finished tied runner-up to Maja Stark.

Korda is ranked seventh for driving distance on the LPGA Tour this season, with this week’s venue – Riviera Country Club – having rewarded big hitters in the past.

Will we have an English winner?

Alison Nicholas was the last Englishwoman to win the US Women’s Open back in 1997, a decade on from Dame Laura Davies becoming the first to achieve the feat. England hasn’t produced a female major champion since Georgia Hall won the AIG Women’s Open in 2018.

There are five Englishwomen in this week’s field, with Lottie Woad and Charley Hull among those looking to break that duck, while Mimi Rhodes, Bronte Law and amateur Nellie Ong complete the English contingent.

Woad won her last LPGA Tour start at the Kroger Queen City Championship and enjoyed good form at the majors, contending at the Evian Championship while still an amateur and finishing no worse than tied eighth in her next two majors.

Hull finished runner-up at this event in 2023, one of 11 career top 10s in majors without winning, although hasn’t ended better than 10th in her six worldwide starts since winning the PIF Saudi Ladies International in February.

Rhodes was a three-time winner on the Ladies European Tour but comes into the major with four missed cuts in her last six starts, as Law returns to the event for the first time since 2023 after progressing through Final Qualifying.

Can Europeans find major form ahead of Solheim Cup?

Anna Nordqvist’s European Solheim Cup Team will be announced after the AIG Women’s Open in August, with the top two players on the LET Solheim Cup points table and the top six players available on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings securing automatic spots.

The remaining four spots will be filled with captain’s picks, with this week’s major offering a chance to earn much-needed qualification points to bolster hopes of featuring for Team Europe in the Netherlands this September.

Hull and Chiara Tamburlini hold the two LET spots as things stand, while Celine Boutier all-but cemented her place via the world rankings with her victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Sunday.

Woad, Stark, Boutier, Carlota Ciganda, Linn Grant and Esther Henseleit current sit in the automatic spots via their world ranking, with Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen and England’s Rhodes the closest challengers.

There will be plenty of changes to those automatic spots over the coming months, with a strong performance in California this week doing no harm putting a player in Solheim Cup contention.

Who else could challenge for major victory?

With two wins this year on the LPGA Tour and two further top-10 finishes, Jeeno Thitikul is likely to challenge for a maiden major and put pressure on Korda’s reign back at the top of the world rankings.

She posted top four finishes in two of the five majors last year and her excellent ball-striking could make her a contender once again, while Hannah Green is another set to challenge having already won four times worldwide – two on the LPGA Tour and two on the Ladies European Tour – in 2026.

Hyojoo Kim outlasted Korda to win March’s Ford Championship, her second LPGA Tour title this year. She proved she has the ability and composure to duel with the best in high-pressure situations.

World No 3 Hyo Joo Kim claimed back-to-back wins on the LPGA Tour earlier this year and won her last start on the KLPGA Tour, with past major winners Minjee Lee and Lydia Ko among the others vying for victory.

What test will the US Women’s Open venue offer?

Tiger Woods is synonymous with this year’s US Women’s Open, with Riviera Country Club where he made his PGA Tour debut as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992.

The course has been the home of the Genesis Invitational – hosted by Woods’ foundation – since, with the iconic California layout also previously hosting a men’s US Open and two PGA Championships.

Riviera boasts some tricky green complexes and the par-three sixth hole also features a bunker in the heart of the green, a unique design posing a huge challenge to the world’s best over the years.

This year marks the first time the course will host a women’s major, while the player holding the Harton S Semple Trophy at the end of the week will likely be the one who putts best.

How can I watch the US Women’s Open on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports will show extended live coverage from the second women’s major of the year, with eight hours of live action from each of the first two days and five hours on both Saturday and Sunday.

Coverage begins at 7pm on Thursday and Friday on Sky Sports Mix, before getting under way at 10pm on Saturday and 8pm for Sunday’s final round. Coverage will also be live from 11pm each day on Sky Sports Golf.

The US Women’s Open is part of a triple-header of live golf on Sky Sports this week, with the DP World Tour’s KLM Open and the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament also live from Thursday.

Who will win the US Women’s Open? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports, starting on Thursday from 7pm on Sky Sports Mix. Get Sky Sports or stream golf with no contract

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com