Nelly Korda picks up historic U.S. Women’s Open win by mere inches at Riviera to further bolster legacy

LOS ANGELES — Standing over her final putt on the 18th green on Sunday afternoon, knowing what was just moments ahead, Nelly Korda wasn’t happy with herself.

“Why did I leave myself such a long putt?” she thought.

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Thankfully, it was just barely close enough. But only by about an inch.

Korda snuck in a wild putt from less than 3 feet away through the back door on the final hole at Riviera Country Club to save her par, and the win, at the U.S. Women’s Open. Her face, jaw completely wide open, said it all.

“I wish I had my WHOOP like [showing] my heart rate, because it was definitely high,” she said.

Nelly Korda’s historic win

Korda’s week didn’t start off well at all. After having to change shoes early on in the opening round, Korda posted a 2-over 73 and looked out of it. Her swing wasn’t going well almost out of nowhere, so she decided to do the unthinkable on Thursday night with her sister by her side on the range.

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She changed her grip in the middle of a major championship.

“The worst. It was honestly the worst. … My sister was like, ‘I barely could sleep. I literally told you to change your grip during a major championship,'” Korda said.

“It is so uncomfortable. I think it’s the hardest thing in the game of golf is to change your grip because you’re always like, I was fiddling with it so much.”

Remarkably, that worked. Korda carded back-to-back 67s over the next two days to play her way into the final group. She then rattled off nine straight pars on Sunday before finally ending the streak and breaking away from the rest of the pack with a huge up-and-down birdie on the 17th. That, Korda said, was one of the best putts of her career and “is the reason why I’m here.”

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Then came the final putt at the 18th, and the rest was history.

“I had a lot of emotions kind of swirling in my stomach,” Korda said. “I would say it’s just a dream come true. I have dreamt about this moment since I was a little girl.”

The win was Korda’s second major championship victory of the season, and the fourth of her career. The 27-year-old is now the youngest American to win four major titles since Mickey Wright did so in 1960, and the first American to do it at all since Meg Mallon did in 2004. Korda has won 19 times now in total in her LPGA Tour career, four of which have come already this season. In the four events she didn’t win, Korda finished in second in three of them. Her worst start was only a T8 finish. It’s been nothing short of dominant, similar to runs that Tiger Woods or Scottie Scheffler have pulled out on the PGA Tour.

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With her win earlier this season at The Chevron Championship, Korda is now the first to win the opening two majors of a season since Inbee Park in 2013. Korda is also just a win away from securing the career grand slam. With both the Evian Championship and the Women’s British Open still ahead, Korda has two chances to pull that off before the end of the season. If she can win them both, she’d be just the second golfer in LPGA Tour history to complete the Super Career Grand Slam, as there are five majors in women’s golf. With one of those, and Korda would be the first since Park to win four of the five.

Now, it is still a little early to be talking legacy wins for Korda, especially just moments after what is perhaps the biggest victory of her career. But with that now behind her, what happens the rest of the season doesn’t matter much on that front, nor is it something Korda is focused on. She’s just happy to be in the mix, and to finally have the U.S. Open win in hand.

“I’ve never really thought about the legacy of my career, if I’m being completely honest,” Korda said. “I just really love competing and being in this position of sometimes having a big lead going into Sunday or being tied for the lead and having to absolutely grind it out … It’s honestly just a dream come true sitting next to this trophy.”