Korda seeks revenge at the US Women’s Open: Will she shine at Erin Hills?

The oldest championship and the largest purse in women’s professional golf are at stake. The 80th U.S. Women’s Open will tee off on Thursday at Erin Hills Club in Erin, Wisconsin.

This is the first time Erin Hills is hosting the U.S. Women’s Open. The course, known for its undulating fairways and greens created by a glacier centuries ago, promises to be one of the most difficult tests of the season for the world’s best female golfers.

It tests every part of your game. It’s very demanding. It’s firm. It’s also fast. Even if you think you’ve hit it well, you can exhale when you see it stop. I would say that even the weather plays a big role with the shots here, with the putts.

Nelly Korda, two-time major champion

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Will Nelly Korda be able to find her best game?

World number one Scottie Scheffler needed a few months to start winning on the PGA Tour this season, including his third major at the PGA Championship. The situation is similar for Nelly Korda, world number one on the LPGA Tour.

Last year, Korda had already won six times before the second major of the season. However, this year, she hasn’t lifted a trophy in seven appearances yet.

Yes, it’s been a very interesting year for me. I’ve definitely had a little bit of good and a little bit of bad. Kind of a mix in every event that I’ve played. I would say patience is what I’ve learned and, in a way, going back home and really focusing and practicing hard.

Nelly Korda

Korda has had a solid performance this season, with a top 25 in almost all of her participations, including a second place at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. In her last participation, at the Mizuho Americas Open, she tied for fifth place. Korda ranks second on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained: total (2.40) and off the tee (1.03), and ninth in tee to green (1.59). She is also among the top 25 in approach (0.65) and putting (0.86). At the U.S. Open, she will be looking for a better result, as in her last five appearances she has had three missed cuts, a tie for eighth place, and a tie for 64th place. Last year, at the Lancaster Country Club, Korda had a 10 on the 12th hole, her third hole in the first round, and finished with an 80 (+10). Korda will play the first two rounds with Charley Hull and Lexi Thompson. They will tee off on the 1st hole at 2:25 p.m. ET on Thursday and on the 10th hole at 8:40 a.m. on Friday.

At the end of the day, this is the reason why we do what we do, to play on these golf courses in these conditions, to test our games in every aspect. Not even just our games, also our mental strength. I enjoy it and I’m excited to see what this week will bring.

Nelly Korda

Lydia Ko in search of the Grand Slam

Lydia Ko could become the eighth golfer in LPGA history to complete the Grand Slam if she wins the U.S. Women’s Open in her fourteenth appearance. She already has two top 10 finishes in the tournament and missed her first cut last year. At just 27 years old, Ko already has three major victories: the 2015 Evian Championship, the 2016 Chevron Championship, and the 2024 Women’s British Open. Ko will play the first two rounds with the current U.S. Women’s Open champion, Yuka Saso, and amateur Rianne Malixi. They will start on the tee of hole 1 at 8:40 a.m. ET on Thursday and on hole 10 at 2:25 p.m. on Friday.

I think as long as I’m playing, it’s always good to have a goal, so that when I’m working on things, I’m always moving forward and not trying to think, ‘Oh, did I do this, who cares?’ So it’s more to keep me more motivated. Hopefully not, but even if I never win a U.S. Women’s Open, I don’t think I’ll wake up from the dream and say, ‘I never won.’

Lydia Ko

Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb, Annika Sorenstam, and Inbee Park won four different majors in their careers. Webb is the only one who won different majors by completing the super Grand Slam. Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, winner of the 2009 Women’s PGA Championship, the 2017 Evian Championship, and the 2021 Women’s British Open, can also complete the Grand Slam this week. Saso will seek his third title Saso will try to become the seventh golfer to win the national championship three times. Betsy Rawls (1951, 1953, 1957, 1960) and Wright (1958, 1959, 1961, 1964) finished first in the U.S. Women’s Open four times, while Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1948, 1950, 1954), Susie Maxwell Berning (1968, 1972, 1973), Hollis Stacy (1977, 1978, 1984) and Sorenstam (1995, 1996, 2006) won three times.

I could call myself a two-time major champion, and better than that, a two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion. I think it’s a great tournament to have next to my name, and, I don’t know, maybe because I dreamed of winning this, and winning twice is much better.

Yuka Saso

Saso is now the only golfer to have captured the Harton S. Semple Trophy representing two different countries. When Saso defeated Nasa Hataoka on the third hole of a playoff at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, she was representing the Philippines, where she was born.

Last year, Saso played for Japan, her father’s homeland, when she beat Japan’s Hinako Shibuno by three strokes with a total of 4-under 276 in 72 holes.

Saso held dual citizenship in both countries before having to renounce her Philippine citizenship in 2022 according to Japanese nationality law, which she had to do before turning 22.

Erin Hills is a demanding course

Erin Hills Golf Course, located about 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee, is a par-72 course that will play 6,829 yards. It is the second-longest course on the LPGA Tour so far this season.

Erin Hills hosted the 2017 U.S. Open, which Brooks Koepka won with a total of 16 under par 272 in 72 holes.

It doesn’t look like it’s going to be that easy this week, especially if the wind blows. There is a possibility of thunderstorms on Friday with winds of 10 to 20 mph. Forecasts indicate sunny skies and winds of 5 to 10 mph over the weekend.

It’s definitely a big golf course. I hit a lot more hybrids and woods than I would have liked on the greens [during Monday’s practice round]. I think in any major, ball-striking is always very important. I think especially with the green complexes here [and] a lot of undulations, just some narrow fairways that will definitely be key here.

Allisen Corpuz, 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champion

Erin Hills doesn’t have a single water hazard, but there are 132 sand bunkers and 3½-inch fescue rough, which will make things difficult.

It’s very demanding off the tee with all the bunkers. The bunkers are not easy. Sometimes you don’t even have a stance in them because they are so small. Then the shots to the greens and also the greens. Just a good overall test of your whole game.

Nelly Korda

The United States Golf Association has alternative tees available if the wind doesn’t blow or if the course gets wet.

We also keep a very close eye on firmness and, obviously, speed, wet conditions, windy conditions. It’s really important that the test remains relative and appropriate for the conditions we’re going to face, whether they’re wet or we’re going to experience some stronger wind conditions.

Shannon Rouillard, Senior Director of Championships for the USGA