Nelly Korda celebrates with the winner's trophy. [AFP]
Nelly Korda celebrates with the winner's trophy. [AFP]

World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States claimed the 81st US Women's Open, her second major title of the season. South Korean contenders Chun In-gee and Kim Sei-young both faded down the stretch, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

In the final round Sunday at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California (par 71, 6,699 yards), Korda carded a 2-under-par 69 — three birdies against one bogey — to finish at 8-under 276, edging joint runners-up Gaby Lopez of Mexico and Charley Hull of England by one stroke.

The victory gave Korda back-to-back major wins after her Chevron Championship title in April, and her fourth tour victory of the season. After dominating the tour with seven wins in 2024, Korda went winless last year but has reasserted her dominance this season, cementing her status as the world's best player. The win brought her career tour total to 19 victories. The winner's purse was $2.5 million (approximately 3.8 billion won).

"Last year at this event I wanted to win so badly that my body tensed up and I was nervous," Korda said in her post-round interview. "This time I tried to stay patient until the very end. The 2.7-meter birdie putt I made on the 17th hole was the turning point. I still can't believe I'm holding the US Women's Open trophy."

The tournament turned on the par-5 17th hole, where Korda was tied for the lead with Chun and Hull. Rather than going for the green in two, Korda played conservatively, laying up with an iron for her second shot. She reached the green in three and drained a 2.7-meter birdie putt to take a one-stroke lead.

Korda protected that one-shot advantage through the final hole. At the 18th, she launched a 288-yard drive and set up a birdie chance from 6 meters, but her putt stopped 1 meter short. The par putt that followed looked routine, but tension ran high — the ball circled the cup before dropping in. Korda covered her mouth with her hand, unable to hide her surprise.

Chun, meanwhile, went for the green in two on the 17th but found the right-side bunker. Her bunker shot ran 8 meters past the hole and she settled for par. On the par-4 18th, her approach fell short of the green and she missed a downhill 3-meter par putt. Chun, who had briefly held the outright lead at the midpoint of the round, ultimately finished at 6-under 278 in sole fourth place.

Chun, who had been chasing her first US Women's Open title in 11 years, said she tried to stay composed when she moved to the top of the leaderboard but could not maintain precision under the stiffening wind and pressure on the back nine, leading to costly bogeys. "Still, I've been working on a new swing since before the season began, and this major showed me I can compete again — that's a clear positive to take away," she said.

Kim Sei-young, who had entered the final round tied for the lead with Korda, dropped one stroke on the day with four birdies and five bogeys, finishing at 5-under 279 in sole fifth place. Kim birdied the par-5 17th to pull within two of Korda, but at the 18th her approach fell short of the green and her chip ran well past the hole, resulting in a bogey.

"It's been a while since I was in contention at a major, and my putting stroke and mental control wavered a bit after the midpoint," Kim said after her round. "I don't think I had quite enough patience to grind through Riviera's tricky kikuyu grass and rough all the way to the end. The result is disappointing, but I'll use the experience from this tournament to sharpen my game for the rest of the season."


sports@heraldcorp.com