The oldest major championship title and biggest wallet for women’s professional golf will be featured when the US women’s open tee opened on Thursday at Erin Hills Club in Erin, Wisconsin.
This is the first time Erin Hills has opened a women’s US, a course known for its swelling fairways and greens, created by glacial figures that provide one of the most challenging tests of glaciers centuries ago.
“We’re going to test every part of the game,” two-time leading champion Nelly Korda said Tuesday. “It’s very tough. It’s solid. It’s fast too. Even if you think you hit it well, you can exhale when you see it stop. I play a big role in the shot here, putt.”
Below are some of the big stories from the second major championship in the season.
Can Nelly go?
World No. 1 golfer Scotty Schaeffler took several months before winning twice on the PGA Tour this season, including his third major in the PGA Championship.
It was the same kind of season for the world’s No. 1 golfer Nelly Corda on the LPGA Tour. A year ago, Korda had already won six times before the second major of the season.
This year, she has not yet lifted the trophy with seven starts.
“Yeah, it’s been a very interesting year for me,” Korda said Tuesday. “It’s definitely a bit good and a bit bad. It’s kind of a mix of every event I’ve played. But patience is what I’ve learned and I think I’m going home and really working hard and practicing.”
It’s not that Korda is not playing well this season. She won the top 25 finish, except for one of her starts, including runner-up at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in the season opener. She tied her fifth in her final start at the Mizuho America Open.
Korda ranks second in the LPGA Tour on the Stroke: away from the total (2.40) and tee (1.03) and 9th in the green (1.59) from the tee. She is also ranked in the top 25 for her approach (0.65) and putting (0.86).
She is looking for better results at the US open. She missed three cuts, has her eighth tie and 64th tie in the last five starts. Last year, at the Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Corda scored 10 on the par 3 12th hole. She had a card of 10 over 80.
Korda rebounded to post an even 70 in the second round, but still missed the cut.
“Yeah, so many ups and downs,” Korda said. “I mean, it’s the biggest test in the game of golf. It definitely tested me a lot. I love it.”
Korda will play the first two rounds alongside England’s Charlie Hull and Lexi Thompson. They will be number one on Thursday at 2:25pm (2:25pm ET and 8:40am Friday).
“At the end of the day, this is why we do what we do: play these golf courses in these conditions and test the game in all respects,” Korda said. “It’s not just our game, it’s not just mental (strength), I’m enjoying it. I’m looking forward to seeing what this week brings.”
KO is aiming for a career grand slam
Lydia Ko could become the eighth golfer in LPGA history and complete a career grand slam if he wins the US Women’s Open on his 14th attempt. She had a top-10 finish pair in the tournament and missed out on her first cut from last year.
The only 27-year-old KO has already garnered three major championship victories at the 2015 Evian Championship, the 2016 Chevron Championship and the 2024 Women’s British Open.
KO plays by defending US women’s open champion Yukasaso and amateur Lianne Marixi in the first two rounds. They will be number one on Thursday at 8:40am (8:40am ET and 2:25pm Friday).
“I think it’s always good to have goals as long as I’m playing, so when I’m working on things, I’m not always trying to move forward and think, ‘Oh, I’ve done this, so who cares?” “So it’s not just about motivating yourself more. Hopefully, but even if you don’t win the openness of American women, I don’t think I’m going to wake up from sleep and say “I’ve never won.” ”
Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Julie Incster, Curry Webb, Anica Sorenstam and Inby Park have won four different majors in their careers. Webb is the only person to win a different major when completing a Super Career Grand Slam.
Sweden’s Anna Nord Qvist, who won the 2009 Women’s PGA Championship, the 2017 Evian Championship, and the 2021 Women’s British Open, can also complete a career grand slam this week.
Three attempts by Saso
Saso tries to become the seventh golfer to win the National Championship three times.
Betsy Rawls (1951, 1953, 1957, 1960) and Wright (1958, 1959, 1961, 1964) won four times at the US Women’s Open, and three times at Babe Didrickson Zaharias (1948, 1950, 1954), Susie Maxwell Burning (1968, 1972, 1998, 1998, 2006).
“I could call myself a two-time major champion. A better US women’s open champion,” Saso said of last year’s victory. “I think it’s a great tournament next to my name, and maybe it’s because I was dreaming of winning this and winning twice.”
Souso is already the only golfer to win the Hearton S. Semple Trophy while representing two different countries. She represented the birth Philippines when Saso defeated Saso in the third hole of the playoffs at the 2021 US Women’s Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Last year, Saso played in Japan, his father’s hometown. She defeated Japan’s Hyuga Reservoir with three strokes, earning a total of 4 under 276 with 72 holes.
Saso had double citizenship in both countries before waiving Philippine citizenship under the Japanese Nationality Act in 2022.
Erin Hills is a big course
Located approximately 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee, Erin Hills Golf Course is a par 72 course with 6,829 yards playing. This is the second longest course ever on the LPGA Tour this season.
Erin Hills hosted the 2017 US Open. This was when Brooks Koepka won with a total of 16 under 272 with 72 holes.
It’s not easy to play this week, especially when the wind blows. Thunderstorms can occur with winds of 10-20 mph on Friday. The forecast is that the weekend requires clear skies and 5-10 mph winds.
“It’s definitely a really big course,” said 2023 US Women’s Open champion Alisen Corpuz. “I hit a lot more hybrids and forests than I wanted to get into the green (during Monday’s practice round). I think the majority of ball strikes are always really important. There’s a lot of spills, especially in the green complex here.
Erin Hills doesn’t have one water hazard, but it has 132 sand bunkers and a 3½ inch festival craft that makes things tricky.
“We’re very demanding tees on every bunker,” Korda said. “The bunkers aren’t easy. Sometimes they’re so small that they don’t even have to stance on them. Then there’s a shot to the green and green, which is a good overall test of the whole game.”
The American Golf Association has an alternative tee if the wind is not blowing or the course is wet.
“We are also very careful about the stiffness and obvious speed, wet conditions and very windy conditions,” said Shannon Rouillard, senior director of the USGA Championship. “It’s really important that the tests remain relative and appropriate to the conditions we face, whether we’re wet or experiencing wind conditions.”
