World No. 1 Nelly Korda’s campaign at Riviera Country Club is underway as she looks to win her second major of the season.
The reigning Chevron champion teed off for Round 1 of the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday morning, paired with world No. 3 Hyo Joo Kim and No. 5 Hannah Green. The trio has combined for seven of 13 possible wins on the LPGA Tour this season (two wins each for Kim and Green, three for Korda).
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Korda had an interesting start to her round with a bit of a wardrobe change. Golf Channel’s Amy Rogers reported that she was gifted shoes by LeBron James that she wore to start her round, but those shoes were a little too loose for her liking. So Korda’s trainer went and grabbed her regular shoes from her locker.
Korda with gritty saves to escape the back nine only 1 over
Korda spent the start of her round making a lot of saves.
Starting on the par-4 10th, she saved par before her sole birdie on the par-11 fifth. Nos. 12 and 13 both resulted in bogeys, but things could have been worse. She made a 6-footer on the par-4 12th before really scrambling for the 5 on 13. There, she chipped onto the green out of a bunker but was still more than 72 feet from the hole. She then lagged it to within 8 feet and was able save bogey from there.
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The rest of Korda’s back nine was relatively uneventful. She carded five pars, but four were birdie opportunities. Korda’s putter seemed to be running a bit cold. She missed birdies on Nos. 14-17 — all by inches. But the putter was on when she needed it on the par-4 18th after nearly hitting her tee shot onto the cart path. She made a near-13-footer to save par.
Check back later for how Korda fares on the front nine.
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