The Putt That Wouldn't Fall — Until It Did: Nelly Korda's U.S. Women's Open Victory Cements a Historic Season

On the 72nd hole of the 81st U.S. Women's Open, Nelly Korda stood over a par putt from two feet and ten inches. What happened next will be replayed for decades: the ball caught the left edge of the cup, toured nearly the entire circumference of the hole, and — after what felt like a geological epoch — dropped in [1][2]. Korda's mouth fell open. Her caddie, Jason McDede, stood frozen, staring at her before the two finally embraced [3]. The world's No. 1 female golfer had won her first U.S. Women's Open, her fourth career major, and her second consecutive major title of the 2026 season.

"Don't make me relive that," Korda told NBC's Cara Banks during the trophy presentation when asked about the final putt [1]. Then, still processing the moment: "I feel like I'm in a dream. I can't even explain how much this means to me" [4].

The Numbers: 8-Under and a One-Shot Margin

Korda finished at 8-under 276 (73-67-67-69), one stroke ahead of England's Charley Hull and Mexico's Gaby Lopez, who both finished tied for second at 7-under [4][5]. In Gee Chun of South Korea finished fourth at 6-under, while Sei Young Kim — Korda's co-leader entering the final round — faded to 5-under after a difficult closing 72 [5][6].

The win was built on a remarkable comeback. Korda opened with a 2-over 73 on Thursday, leaving her seven shots off the first-round lead. She then fired back-to-back 67s on Friday and Saturday to claim a share of the 54-hole lead alongside Kim [4][7]. Her final-round 69 featured a pivotal 9-foot birdie on the par-5 17th that gave her the outright lead heading to the last [4].

That seven-shot first-round deficit matched the largest comeback in U.S. Women's Open history [4]. Few players in championship golf history have demonstrated the kind of composure required to erase that kind of gap at a major, and Korda did it at Riviera — one of American golf's most demanding venues.

The Final Putt: Two Feet, Ten Inches, and an Eternity

The 18th hole at Riviera is a 460-yard par-4, one of the most difficult closing holes in championship golf. Korda launched a 288-yard drive, then hit her approach to approximately 35 feet from the pin [4]. Her lag putt left her with what appeared to be a routine two-foot, ten-inch par putt to win the championship.

It was anything but routine. The ball caught the left lip, slid along the edge, and appeared destined to stay out. Television cameras captured the ball traveling nearly 360 degrees around the rim before gravity finally pulled it down [2][3]. Korda staggered back in disbelief. McDede, her caddie, simply stood and stared before the magnitude of the moment registered.

On the 17th hole, Korda had played aggressively — reaching the par-5 in two and rolling in a 9-foot birdie putt to grab the lead. "Whatever happens, happens. Just give it 100%," Korda said of her mindset on those final holes [4].

The Runners-Up: Hull's Heartbreak and Lopez's Charge

Charley Hull authored one of the weekend's great performances. After a relatively quiet first two rounds, the Englishwoman fired a 65 on Saturday — tied for the lowest round of the championship — and followed it with a 67 on Sunday [5][8]. Her final-round charge began with an eagle on the par-5 first and a birdie at the third, and she briefly held a share of the lead after driving the 271-yard, par-4 10th and making birdie [8].

But bogeys at 12 and 14 knocked Hull back, and she could only watch from the clubhouse after holing a 10-foot par putt on 18 to post 7-under [5][8]. It was Hull's fifth runner-up finish at a major championship without a victory — a record that underscores both her quality and her misfortune at the biggest moments [5].

"F--- it" was reportedly Hull's internal mantra entering the weekend, a decision to play freely that produced the lowest final-36-hole total in U.S. Women's Open history [9].

Gaby Lopez took a different path to 7-under. The Mexican star parred her entire front nine on Sunday before catching fire with birdies at 10, 11, and 13 [8]. A bogey at the par-3 16th threatened to derail her, but she responded with a dramatic 15-foot birdie putt on 18 to match Hull's total [4][8]. For Lopez, the runner-up finish represented the best major result of her career.

Amateur Kiara Romero earned low amateur honors at 3-under par [7].

Four Majors by 27: Where Korda Stands in History

With four major titles — the 2021 Women's PGA Championship, the 2024 and 2026 Chevron Championships, and now the 2026 U.S. Women's Open — Korda became the youngest American since Mickey Wright to reach that milestone [6][10]. She joins an exclusive list: only 20 players in LPGA history have won four or more majors [10].

Source: LPGA

Data as of Jun 8, 2026CSV

The all-time leaders remain distant targets. Patty Berg won 15, Mickey Wright 13, Louise Suggs 11, and Annika Sorenstam and Babe Zaharias 10 each [10]. Among players with seven or more: Betsy Rawls (8), Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb, and Inbee Park (7 each) [10]. Among currently active players, Korda now stands alone at the top with four, pulling ahead of Lydia Ko, Jin Young Lee, and Anna Nordqvist, who each have three [10].

The comparison to Sorenstam — who won 72 LPGA events and 10 majors between 1995 and 2008 — provides context for what "all-time great" means in women's golf. Korda has 19 LPGA victories and four majors at age 27 [4][11]. At the same age, Sorenstam had six majors and over 40 wins. The gap is substantial, but Korda's trajectory — particularly her 2024 streak of five consecutive wins and her dominant 2026 season — suggests the comparison is at least plausible over a full career.

The Case For and Against "Dominance"

Korda's 2026 season has been extraordinary by any measure. She has not finished worse than second except for one tied-for-eighth result [11]. She won the Chevron Championship in April, recaptured the world No. 1 ranking from Jeeno Thitikul [12], and now added the U.S. Women's Open — making her the first player since Inbee Park in 2013 to win the opening two majors of an LPGA season [5][6].

She has accumulated 25 LPGA Hall of Fame points, just two short of the 27 required for eligibility [4]. A career Grand Slam is now within reach; she needs only the Evian Championship (July 9-12) and AIG Women's Open (July 30-August 2) to complete it [6].

Skeptics can point to context. Women's golf remains more fragmented than the men's game, with fewer full-field events drawing the world's top 50 simultaneously. Korda's win rate against complete fields — while impressive — operates in a different competitive ecosystem than, say, Sorenstam's peak years, when the Swede routinely won against stacked international fields on the LPGA and European circuits. Korda also went through a significant slump in the second half of 2024 and into early 2025, including missed cuts at the U.S. Women's Open and a stretch where she fell from No. 1 in the world rankings [11].

But those critiques may be overstated. Korda's ability to bounce back — from the 2024 slump, from a 2-over first round at this very championship — speaks to a resilience that separates generational talents from merely excellent ones. Four majors by age 27 is a fact; the historical ledger is open.

The Money: $12.5 Million and the Equity Question

Korda collected $2.5 million for the victory, from a record-breaking $12.5 million total purse [13][14]. The financial trajectory of the U.S. Women's Open has been steep: the purse sat at $5 million in 2017 and $5.5 million from 2019 through 2021 before the USGA nearly doubled it to $10 million in 2022 [13][14]. Since then, incremental increases have brought it to its current level.

Source: USGA / Golf Channel

Data as of Jun 8, 2026CSV

The gap with the men's U.S. Open remains significant. The men's 2025 purse was $21.5 million, and the PGA Championship recently joined the Masters and U.S. Open above $20 million [15]. The women's $12.5 million represents roughly 58% of the men's equivalent — a gap, but a narrowing one. In 2017, the women's $5 million purse was closer to 42% of the men's $12 million.

USGA Chief Championships Officer John Bodenhamer has framed the organization's approach in terms of parity of treatment, if not yet parity of dollars. "What we do at the U.S. Open, we'll do at the U.S. Women's Open. That's really important," Bodenhamer said [14]. The USGA has increased the women's purse by 150% since 2017, outpacing the men's percentage growth over the same period.

Other 2026 women's majors have followed a similar upward path: the Chevron Championship is at $9 million (up $1 million), the Amundi Evian at $9.1 million (up $1.1 million), and the AIG Women's Open at $10 million [14].

Riviera's Test: Kikuyu, Barrancas, and the USGA's Philosophy

Riviera Country Club — a George Thomas design that typically hosts the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational each February — presented a different challenge in June conditions. The course's Kikuyu grass rough, which can look deceptively thin but traps the ball severely, drew attention throughout the week [16].

"When a ball gets in the rough 200 yards out, you can't get a fairway wood out of there," one course expert noted, comparing the Kikuyu to fescue rough [16]. The course also features deep barrancas (ravines), small poa annua greens, and strategic bunkering that rewards precision over length [17].

The USGA's approach prioritized shot variety over extreme scoring difficulty. "It's not about any score," Bodenhamer said. "It's about the players getting every club in their bag dirty" [17]. Shannon Rouillard, the USGA's Senior Director of Championships, emphasized that Thomas's design inherently demands both left-to-right and right-to-left shot shaping, with the par-3s serving as the course's centerpiece challenges [17].

The winning score of 8-under suggests Riviera was firm but fair. By comparison, recent U.S. Women's Opens have produced winning scores ranging from 3-under (2023 at Pebble Beach) to 13-under (2022 at Pine Needles). The USGA's stated goal of "keeping the hard holes hard but providing birdie opportunities" appeared to have been met: the par-4s at holes 2, 15, and 18 played as the most difficult, while the par-5 bookends offered scoring chances [17].

No significant player criticism of the course setup emerged during the week — a departure from some past U.S. Women's Opens where USGA setup decisions drew pushback. The consensus among competitors appeared to be that Riviera provided a legitimate and varied test of championship golf.

What Comes Next

Korda now turns her attention to the remaining three majors of 2026, starting with the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and then the Evian and AIG Women's Open. A sweep of all five majors in a single season has never been accomplished in women's professional golf. Winning even one more would give Korda five career majors and further cement her position atop the active leaderboard.

She has also already qualified for the 2026 Solheim Cup, where she will represent the United States against Europe [18].

For now, the image that lingers is that putt on 18 — a ball seemingly destined to lip out, circling the cup in slow motion, and finally surrendering to gravity. Championship golf is often decided by margins measured in millimeters. On Sunday at Riviera, those millimeters fell Nelly Korda's way.