By Mark Schlabach
The 80th U.S. Women`s Open, golf`s oldest major championship for women and featuring its largest purse, is set to begin Thursday at Erin Hills Club in Erin, Wisconsin. The title of the oldest major and the biggest prize in women`s professional golf are at stake.
Erin Hills is hosting the Women`s U.S. Open for the first time. The course is renowned for its undulating fairways and greens, shaped by ancient glaciers, and is expected to present one of the season`s most challenging tests for the world`s top golfers.
Two-time major champion Nelly Korda commented on the course conditions, stating Tuesday, “It tests every part of your game. It`s very demanding. It`s firm. It`s fast, as well. Even if you think you`ve hit it good, you can exhale when you see it stop. I would say even the weather plays a big role with the shots out here, with the putts.”
Here are some of the key storylines heading into the second major championship of the season:
Can Nelly get Going?
Just as world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler took a few months to find his winning form on the PGA Tour this season, including securing his third major at the PGA Championship, world No. 1 Nelly Korda has had a similar start to her LPGA Tour season. A year ago, Korda had already won six titles before the second major event. This year, however, she is yet to claim a victory in her seven starts.
“Yeah, it`s been a very interesting year for me,” Korda said on Tuesday. “Definitely have had a bit of good and a bit of bad. Kind of a mix in kind of every event that I`ve played in. I would say just patience is what I`ve learned and kind of going back home and really locking in and practicing hard.”
Despite not winning, Korda`s performance this season has been strong. She has achieved a top-25 finish in all but one start, including a runner-up position at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions early in the season and tying for fifth place in her most recent event, the Mizuho Americas Open.
Korda ranks second on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained: total (2.40) and off the tee (1.03), and is ninth in strokes gained: tee to green (1.59). She also ranks within the top 25 for strokes gained: approach (0.65) and putting (0.86).
She is looking for an improved outcome at the U.S. Open this year. In her last five appearances, she has missed the cut three times, tied for eighth once, and tied for 64th once. Last year at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania, Korda struggled on the par-3 12th hole in the first round, carding a 10. She finished the round with a 10-over 80.
Korda recovered in the second round with an even-par 70 but still missed the cut.
“Oh, yeah, lots of ups and downs,” Korda reflected. “I mean, it`s the biggest test in the game of golf. Definitely has tested me a lot. I love it.”
Korda will play the first two rounds alongside England`s Charley Hull and Lexi Thompson. Their first round tee time is 2:25 p.m. ET on Thursday from No. 1, followed by an 8:40 a.m. ET tee time on Friday from No. 10.
“At the end of the day, this is why we do what we do is to play these golf courses in these conditions, to test our games in every aspect,” Korda stated. “Not even just our games, our mental [strength], as well. I enjoy it, and I`m excited to see what this week is going to bring.”
Ko Eyeing Career Grand Slam
Lydia Ko has the opportunity to become the eighth golfer in LPGA history to complete the career Grand Slam if she wins the U.S. Women`s Open this week. This is her 14th attempt at the championship, where she has previously recorded two top-10 finishes but missed the cut last year.
Despite being only 27, Ko has already secured three major championship victories: the 2015 Evian Championship, the 2016 Chevron Championship, and the 2024 Women`s British Open.
Ko is paired with defending U.S. Women`s Open champion Yuka Saso and amateur Rianne Malixi for the first two rounds. They will tee off from the No. 1 tee at 8:40 a.m. ET on Thursday and from No. 10 at 2:25 p.m. ET on Friday.
Reflecting on the potential achievement, Ko said, “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 going forward and not trying to think, `Oh, did I this, so who cares?` So it`s just more to just keep myself more motivated. Hopefully not, but even if I never win a U.S. Women`s Open, I don`t think I`m going to wake up from my sleep and go, `I never won.`”
Golfers who have won four different majors in their careers include Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb, Annika Sorenstam, and Inbee Park. Karrie Webb holds the unique distinction of completing the super career Grand Slam by winning different majors multiple times. Sweden`s Anna Nordqvist, who has won the 2009 Women`s PGA Championship, the 2017 Evian Championship, and the 2021 Women`s British Open, also has the chance to complete her career Grand Slam this week.
Saso`s Three-Time Try
Yuka Saso will attempt to become only the seventh golfer in history to win the national championship three times. Betsy Rawls and Mickey Wright lead with four wins each, while Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Susie Maxwell Berning, Hollis Stacy, and Annika Sorenstam have each won three times.
Reflecting on her past wins, Saso stated, “I could call myself a two-time major champion, and better than that, two-time U.S. Women`s Open champion. I think it`s a great tournament to have beside my name, and, I don`t know, maybe because I dreamed of winning this, and winning it twice is much better.”
Saso is already the only golfer to claim the Harton S. Semple Trophy while representing two different countries. When Saso defeated Nasa Hataoka in a playoff at the 2021 U.S. Women`s Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, she represented the Philippines, her birthplace. Last year, Saso played for Japan, her father`s homeland, where she beat Hinako Shibuno by three strokes with a 72-hole total of 4-under 276.
Saso held dual citizenship before being required to renounce her Filipino citizenship in 2022 under Japanese nationality law, a requirement before turning 22.
Erin Hills is a Big Course
Erin Hills Golf Course, located approximately 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee, is a par-72 course stretching 6,829 yards. This makes it the second-longest course featured on the LPGA Tour this season. The course previously hosted the 2017 U.S. Open, won by Brooks Koepka with a score of 16-under 272.
The course is not expected to play as easily this week, particularly if wind becomes a factor. The forecast includes a chance of thunderstorms and winds up to 10-20 mph on Friday, with sunny skies and lighter winds (5-10 mph) anticipated over the weekend.
Allisen Corpuz, the 2023 U.S. Women`s Open champion, noted the course`s scale: “It`s definitely a really big course. I hit a lot more hybrids and woods than I would have wanted to into greens [during Monday`s practice round]. I think just any major, ball-striking is always really important. I think especially with the green complexes here [and] a lot of run-offs, just a few tight fairways that will definitely be key here.”
While Erin Hills lacks water hazards, it features 132 sand bunkers and challenging 3½-inch fescue rough, which will complicate play. Korda described the difficulty: “It`s very demanding off the tee with all the bunkers. The bunkers are not easy. Sometimes you just don`t even have a stance in them because they`re so small. Then the shots into the greens and also the greens. Just an overall good test of your entire game.”
The United States Golf Association has alternate tees available and is monitoring conditions closely. Shannon Rouillard, the USGA`s senior director of championships, said, “We also keep a very close eye on firmness, and obviously speed, wet conditions, very windy conditions. It`s really important that the test remains relative and appropriate to the conditions that we`re going to face, whether they`re wet or whether we`re going to experience some greater wind conditions.”
Wesley Dunham