Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Nelly Korda won the US Women’s Open on Sunday, holing a clutch birdie putt at 17 and sealing a one-shot triumph at Riviera Country Club with a heart-stopping short putt at the last. The world number one edged England’s Charley Hull and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez for her long-coveted first US Open victory, giving her a fourth major title and her second of the year after she won the Chevron Championship in April.
Korda carded a two-under par 69 for an eight-under total of 276, keeping her nerve as Hull, Lopez and South Korea’s Chun In-Gee challenged on the Pacific Palisades course that will host golf at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. After rolling in the nine-foot birdie at the penultimate hole to seize a slender lead, Korda had one more tense moment as her par putt from just inside three feet at 18 circled the cup before dropping in.
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“I feel like I’m in a dream. I just can’t even explain how much this means to me,” a tearful Korda said at the trophy presentation. Minutes earlier she had covered her face and let out a laugh after watching her final putt make its tortuous way into the cup. “I mean, your heart rate is going,” said Korda, who called it “a nice ice cream swirl to cap off the day”.
Korda, 27, has had what she called a “complicated” relationship with her national Open, her three missed cuts her most in any major. She agonizingly came up short at Erin Hills last year and was under the gun on Thursday after an opening two-over 73. Tied for the lead to start the day, she was under fire often on a windy Sunday afternoon. She finally appeared to be on her way when she broke out of a four-way tie for the lead with her late birdie, her third of the day but her first since the sixth hole.
“This week was definitely a grind,” she said. “I don’t even feel like I had my B game. I was just grinding out there. And that’s what I guess major championships are all about, right? It doesn’t matter if you have your B or C game, you have to be there mentally. I think I just did a really good job of staying patient and making those up and downs and then knowing that when I had that little window I was going to be aggressive.”
England’s Hull, who had thrust herself into contention with an impressive third-round 65, fired a four-under 67 for a seven-under total of 277, and Lopez signed for a three-under 68. Hull also birdied 17 and rattled in a par-saving nine-foot putt at 18 to keep her bid alive, but she ultimately had to settle for her fifth runner-up finish in a major. “It’s just frustrating,” said Hull, who launched her round with an 11-foot eagle at the first and rolled in a 16-foot birdie at the third. She had a one-shot lead on eight-under after birdies at 10 and 11, but bogeyed 12 and 14. “It’s pretty annoying, but I played really well the last day,” she said.
Lopez had seized a share of the clubhouse lead with her fourth birdie of the day at 18, but didn’t get a chance to test herself in a playoff. Chun, who won the first of her three major titles at the 2015 US Women’s Open, had a two-shot lead after back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11, but she bogeyed 12 and 13 before missing an eight-foot par putt at 18. Her one-under 70 left her alone in fourth on six-under 278. She was one stroke in front of compatriot Kim Sei-young, who started the day tied with Korda for the lead but closed with a one-over 72.
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