U.S. Women's Open 2026: Riviera, Korda and a piece of history

When the first tee shot drops this Thursday, the 2026 U.S. Women's Open will already be making history - even before a single Putter is sunk. For the first time ever, the legendary Riviera Country Club will host the most important major tournament in women's golf. That alone would be reason enough for special anticipation. But what the field has assembled in Pacific Palisades goes far beyond a historic venue: there is a dominator who is set for the history books. A defending champion who has regained her composure after a difficult season. And mothers - at least six of them - who are not just fighting for points on the court, but for something bigger.

US Women's Open venue: Riviera as a worthy setting

The Riviera Country Club is one of the most venerable golf courses in the United States. Since its opening in 1926 - designed by George C. Thomas Jr. and William Bell - the course in Pacific Palisades has challenged and fascinated numerous generations of top players. In men's golf, Riviera is best known as the venue for the Genesis Invitational. For women's golf, however, this Thursday is a first.

The course design at this U.S. Women's Open demands precision above all else. Par 71 over 6,699 yards sounds manageable on paper - on the course it quickly becomes clear that sheer length won't win any trophies here. Three holes in particular are likely to be in the spotlight this week:

• Hole 10 - A short Par 4 of around 279 yards. If you play aggressively, you risk uncomfortable lies around the green. If you are too cautious, you give away a chance. This is strategic golf in its purest form.
• Hole 17 - A Par 5 that offers the longest players in the field a Birdie or even Eagle chance. This hole could decide tournaments at the weekend.
• Hole 18 - An uphill Par 4 with a natural grandstand atmosphere. A green like a stage - and that's exactly what it will be on Sunday.

Here you can find the US Women's Open 2026 leaderboard.

The favorites of the US Women's Open

Nelly Korda: A season for the ages

Few players in the history of the LPGA Tour have dominated a season like Nelly Korda in 2026. Three wins in seven starts - including the Chevron Championship, the first major of the year, which she won by five shots. No result worse than T8. Every start either a win or top spot.

The world number one from the USA is starting with a handicap that no other player in the field has: she is the clear favorite, listed at +400 on BetMGM. And yet this tournament is still missing from her collection. Her best result at the U.S. Women's Open was a T2 last year in Erin Hills.

What would make a win at Riviera so special is that it would be Korda's fourth major title - and would put her on the brink of the Career Grand Slam. Only seven players in history have ever achieved this status, most recently Inbee Park in 2015. Karrie Webb is the only player to date to have won all five majors in her career - the so-called Super Career Grand Slam.

What is remarkable about Korda is that she explains her success in the most unspectacular way possible. No over-analyzing, no reinventing her own game after an unusually winless 2025 season. "Athletes who have had a difficult year try to reinvent the wheel. I tell myself: this is working. I give it my all every day and I know it will pay off eventually."

In Rounds 1 and 2, Korda will play alongside Hyo Joo Kim and Hannah Green - two of the hottest players of the season. A flight that is a small tournament in itself.

The slayers: Who can challenge Korda?

The field in Riviera is one of the strongest the U.S. Women's Open has ever seen. Several players have a realistic chance of threatening Korda:

Jeeno Thitikul (world number two) is the only one reasonably close to Korda in the betting markets (+850). The Thai has already won two tournaments in 2026 and is looking for her first Major title. Her consistency off the Tee and on the greens makes her particularly dangerous on a precision course like Riviera.

Ruoning Yin is still without a win this season, but has shown steadily improving form since making the cut at the JM Eagle LA: T2 at the Chevron, second place at the Mizuho Americas Open, fourth place in Cincinnati. The Chinese player knows how to win majors - she is the reigning KPMG winner.

Hyo Joo Kim won two tournaments in a row in March and is playing alongside Korda in Round 1. Her only major win was twelve years ago (Evian 2014) - Riviera could be the stage for a return to the very top tier.

Hannah Green also has two wins to her name this season, including the JM Eagle LA Championship - a tournament played less than 25 kilometers from Riviera. Home advantage, at least in geographical terms.

Lydia Ko is just one win away from the Career Grand Slam at the U.S. Women's Open. Celine Boutier, the fresh tournament winner from the previous week, comes to Riviera with the tailwind of the moment.

Maja Stark: defending champion with renewed confidence

Last year, Maja Stark wrote one of the best Major stories in recent LPGA history at Erin Hills. The Swede won her first major title at the 2025 U.S. Women's Open - and then experienced a phase that she herself openly describes as the most difficult of her life.

In the months following her triumph, she missed five out of seven cuts. A slump that received a lot of public attention and which Stark did not hide, but actively tackled: she set up an extended support team, worked with a therapist, a sports psychologist and a mental coach. "It was just really nice to realize that I wasn't crazy. Everyone told me: You can do it. You'll come back. And then at some point it really happened."

This season, the upward trend has materialized. Stark has made seven of eight cuts, her best finish of the year so far was a T16 - and a new Putter has given her added confidence along the way. On U.S. Open greens, of all places, which are known for their speed. This week in Riviera there is a symbolic cut for Stark: she has to give back the trophy she held aloft a year ago at Erin Hills. A metaphorical end - and the start of something new.

The moms: When the diaper timer meets the start time

Riviera is gathering a special group of players this year: Mothers who have found their way back onto the pitch - some after a short break, others after a career break of several years. And one who is expecting her first child in a few weeks.

Madelene Sagstrom: Almost seven months pregnant in the Bunker

When Madelene Sagstrom tees off from hole 1 at 10:29 a.m. ET on Thursday morning, she is, in a way, carrying two people to the tee. The 33-year-old Swede is eight months pregnant and was spotted practicing bunker shots in the practice area before the start of the tournament - her left hand on her stomach.

Sagstrom, a two-time LPGA winner, says she will play as long as it feels good. After the U.S. Women's Open, she plans to finish the season before the LPGA moves overseas in July. Her participation in Riviera is a statement: motherhood and competitive sport are not mutually exclusive.

Ally Ewing, Xiyu Janet Lin, Alison Lee, Brittany Lang

Several more moms have found their way to Pacific Palisades in different ways.

Ally Ewing is competing in a tournament for the first time since the 2024 CME Group Tour Championship. Son Tate celebrated his first birthday in May and will of course be there. On the bag as caddie: Ewing's husband Charlie, full-time head coach of the Mississippi State University golf team. A family business in every sense of the word.

Xiyu Janet Lin from China will be competing in her first competition after the birth of her son Barney in October 2025. The Olympic bronze medal winner from Paris 2024 shows that a top international career and motherhood are also compatible.

Alison Lee has traveled with her one-year-old son Levi - and is sleeping with her parents in Valencia, California, who are helping her with childcare this week. Lee is known for how openly she talks about the challenges of everyday life with a child and a touring career.

"I try to take it day by day. It's really hard to juggle everything. Sometimes I feel like I'm sinking underwater - but luckily I have great people around me."

Brittany Lang, the 2016 U.S. Women's Open winner, is competing in the tournament for the first time as a mother of two. Son Krew was born in June 2025.

What unites all of these players is also a historical classification: the last mother to win on the LPGA Tour was Stacy Lewis in 2020. The last mother to win the U.S. Women's Open was Juli Inkster - in 2002.

Michelle Wie West: The return that means more than golf

Michelle Wie West is this week's most emotional story. The five-time LPGA winner and 2014 U.S. Open champion ended her career in Pebble Beach in 2023 - and is now returning for one last time thanks to a maternity exemption. To Riviera, of all places, the heart of her husband Jonnie West's family: father-in-law Jerry West, basketball legend and long-time tournament director at Riviera Country Club, passed away in 2024. Like West, she is wearing specially designed Nike shoes in his honor this week.

For her, the focus is not on the score, but on the memory - especially that of her almost six-year-old daughter Makenna, who is watching from the side of the Fairway. When asked what this week means, Wie West answers simply: "It's everything."

She formulates her own aspirations in the same way as she tells Makenna before every tournament: a good attitude and the will to do your best - that's all it takes. Like West, she will start from lane 1 on Thursday at 4:36 p.m. ET - together with Hinako Shibuno and Yani Tseng.

The start times: Who plays when in Round 1?

Round 1 of the 2026 U.S. Women's Open begins on Thursday, June 4, starting at 9:45 a.m. local time (3:45 p.m. CEST) with simultaneous tee times on hole 1 and hole 10. 156 players in total will be competing.

Highlight flights to make a note of:

• 10:29 a.m. ET, lane 10: Nelly Korda, Hyo Joo Kim, Hannah Green - the tournament's trio of favorites
• 10:29 a.m. ET, lane 1: Madelene Sagstrom, Yan Liu, Jiwon Ko
• 10:07 a.m. ET, lane 10: Maja Stark, Megha Ganne, Miyu Yamashita
• 16:36 ET, lane 1: Michelle Wie West, Hinako Shibuno, Yani Tseng

Conclusion: More than just a tournament

Riviera is a worthy setting. But what begins this Thursday in Pacific Palisades is more than a golf tournament. It's the story of a dominator about to enter the history books. The story of a defending champion who has fought her way back step by step. And the story of women who show that sporting excellence and motherhood are not mutually exclusive.

Will Nelly Korda make history this week? Who surprises on a course that doesn't forgive mistakes? And what does this week mean for Michelle Wie West and her family as her daughter watches from the edge of the Fairway? The US Women's Open will provide the answers from Thursday.