'A dream': Korda wins coveted U.S. Women's Open

ESPN News Services

Jun 7, 2026, 08:12 PM ET

LOS ANGELES -- Nelly Korda won the 81st U.S. Women's Open on Sunday for her second consecutive major victory, holding off Charley Hull and Gaby Lopez by one shot when her final 2 1/2-foot par putt curled perilously around the cup and finally dropped in.

Korda's first U.S. Open win is the fourth major victory of her career, and she claimed it with a steady 2-under 69 in the final round -- but only after her second putt on the 18th green caught the left edge and toured half the circumference of the hole before dropping.

The top-ranked Korda put her hand over her open mouth in disbelief before finally laughing at her last shot. She finished at 8-under 269 after sharing the lead with multiple competitors throughout the windy finale of the first Women's Open ever held at 100-year-old Riviera.

"I feel like I'm in a dream," Korda told NBC. "I can't even explain how much this means to me."

Korda made a 9-foot birdie putt on the 17th to break out of a four-way tie for the lead with Lopez, the hard-charging Hull and three-time major champion In Gee Chun. Korda calmly two-putted for par on the 18th, claiming the $2.5 million winner's share of this Open's record $12.5 million purse.

The 27-year-old Korda won The Chevron Championship in April, and she had three victories and three second-place finishes in her first seven starts of a spectacular season after going winless in 2025. After a rough opening-round 73 at Riviera, she put together back-to-back 67s to take a share of the lead into the final round.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.