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New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Nelly Korda and the weight — and wait — of the U.S. Open
ERIN, Wisc. — She was 9, her sister sneaking her into the U.S. Open locker room to show her the world that would soon be hers. She was 14, playing in her first U.S. Open, walking practice rounds with Michelle Wie West and hitting balls on the range next to Lydia Ko and Inbee Park. This was the dream. It was that week Nelly Korda truly decided this was what she wanted to do with her life, to chase major championships. Advertisement She was 25, on top of the world, a two-time major winner, winning her sixth tournament in seven starts, and one of the first things she said was how badly she wanted to win the big one, this one. 'There has definitely been some heartbreaking times where I just haven't competed well in the U.S. Women's Open, where I feel like I put a little bit more pressure on myself, because I do love the event, and I feel like out of all the events that's, like, the event for me.' Three holes in, the air was sucked out of the balloon that day. She shot a 10 — ten — on Lancaster Country Club's 12th hole at the 2024 U.S. Open to eject with an 80. Korda is the No. 1 player in the world, and she really, really wants to win the U.S. Open. Yet in 10 tries, she's missed three of her last five cuts and finished better than 39th just twice. Often, she is out of it within 18 holes. But Thursday at Erin Hills, she is still in this thing. And she's done it with patience. Nelly Korda didn't have a single birdie on her card… until her last hole! She's 4 off the lead.@Ally — U.S. Women's Open (@uswomensopen) May 29, 2025 On a day when nobody came in lower than 68 and where half the field is at least 2-over par, Korda is right where she needs to be. If anything, she should be higher up the leaderboard, struggling to get much out of a strong round from tee to green. Sixteen pars in a round can sting. 'I was striking it pretty well out there,' she said with a sigh Thursday night, 'just under-read some putts and burned a couple edges too. I think I'm happy with it. Obviously, I wish the ball found the bottom of the cup a little bit more. Overall, I can't complain. 'First day of the U.S. Open, it's all about patience.' She found nearly every one of Erin Hills' tricky, slopey fairways, with one of her only misses rolling from the center of the fairway and down a hill just two yards into the first cut. She consistently found greens, but she missed birdie putts of 11, 10, 17, 18, 14, 13, 13 again, 13 again, 19 and six feet. She had one bogey all day, and that came from a three-putt on the green, too. Advertisement 'I was hitting my putts really good,' Korda said. 'Wherever I was kind of looking, rolling it over my intermediate target, that's where I was hitting it. I have no complaints.' At U.S. Opens, golfers accept those missed opportunities. When you have Korda's track record, you go home thrilled with playing so well off the tee and in approach. U.S. Opens cannot be won on Thursdays, but, my goodness, can they be lost. And Korda still has the fifth-best odds at sportsbooks. You cannot treat these as normal tournaments, neither the golfers nor the audience. These are tricky mental tests where each par is a little victory. They're about course management and discipline, and fairly or not, some critics have questioned whether Korda can win the grind-it-out type tournaments that separate the greats. But more than the test itself, Korda would be the first to admit it's about the pedestal stars put this tournament on. Three-time major winner Lydia Ko, who hasn't won the U.S. Open and admits her next goal is the career grand slam, said on Tuesday: 'I think this would be the one that I'd say, 'Oh, I wish I was a U.S. Women's Open champion.'' And Korda shot that Thursday 80 last year at the absolute apex of her hype and belief. The entire sport rallied around her as its biggest star in a decade. Six wins in seven starts. Two major championships at 25. That was going to be the one, and seemingly every women's golf fan tuned in for her featured group to see if she could maintain history. In minutes, it was over. But it's more than that. Korda shot an 80 on Sunday the year before at Pebble Beach to finish 64th. She had an impressive T8 in 2022, but even that was 11 shots off the lead. Two missed cuts the years before that. The unfortunate reality was Korda might have played herself out of U.S. Opens before they started. Advertisement 'Oh, yeah, lots of ups and downs,' she said earlier this week with a laugh. 'I mean, it's the biggest test in the game of golf — definitely has tested me a lot. I love it. 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. Not even just our games, our mental, as well.' No, it's not Rory McIlroy at the Masters. Not even close. It would take many more years of torment and attention to reach that sort of level, the kind nobody wishes on a golfer. But it's a cousin of it. Because the thing Korda's 80s and missed cuts do is add a little more tension each year. A little more scar tissue. A little more time in press conferences dedicated to the hurdle. But this is not about whether Korda will win the U.S. Open. It's Thursday. It's early. Golf probabilities say she won't. It's a story about the fact that Korda entered this week carrying all those hopes and dreams, and she kept herself in it. Sure, she says, she started to get frustrated toward the end with all the missed putts, the missed opportunities to get off to a fast start. But before Korda could get too angry, her caddie, Jason McDede, reminded her of something. 'It's all about patience.'
Japan Times
5 days ago
- General
- Japan Times
Yuka Saso chasing third U.S. Women's Open title at Erin Hills
Yuka Saso was only 19 years old when she won her first U.S. Women's Open back in 2021, a moment that changed her life. Saso was asked Tuesday what winning the major for the second time did for her. "It was also life-changing," Saso said with a laugh. The Philippines-born Japanese golfer is gearing up for the U.S. Women's Open this week at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, and she'll do so as the defending champion after pulling out a three-stroke victory last year at Pennsylvania's Lancaster Country Club. "I could call myself a two-time major champion, and better than that, two-time U.S. Women's Open champion," Saso said of her 2024 victory. "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." Both of Saso's major victories made history. In 2021, she was the first Filipino (man or woman) to win a golf major, and she matched Korean legend Inbee Park as the youngest winner in U.S. Women's Open history. Three years later, this time playing under the Japanese flag, she became the first representative of Japan to win the U.S. Women's Open and, at just 22, the youngest two-time champion in its history. She joined a list with names like Park, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and JoAnne Carner; a third win would put her on par with Annika Sorenstam and Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Saso reflected on the challenges she faced after winning the 2021 major. "I mean, everything was great. Everybody was calling me 'champ.' I'm a winner of the U.S. Women's Open," Saso said. "But also the challenges after that. I moved here to America where I'm far away from home. I needed to get used to life here in America. That was one of the challenging parts of the first one." The curious thing about Saso's resume is that her U.S. Women's Opens are her only two career victories stateside, major or otherwise. She's won twice on the LPGA of Japan Tour, but she has yet to build upon her major success. This season alone, Saso has missed four cuts — including each of her last three starts — and has finished no better than T17. "Well, there was for sure frustration, but I think I understand well that golf is not a perfect game. I can't be perfect with it," Saso said. "I think the grinding part is what I enjoy the most. Everything was not going well, but I think I know where I want my game to be or I know what I needed to do. So I was not happy but also having fun at the same time, which is kind of weird." Saso feels she has become a better putter after putting in extra work with her coach and caddie. Now it's all about remaining confident that she has the tools to beat the best in the world once again. "Yeah, the results were not where I wanted to be, but I think not playing well makes me grow a bit more to be more patient and just to trust myself and try to build that momentum," Saso said. "But that doesn't — how do you call it? That doesn't make me feel like, 'Oh, I can't play golf anymore.' I don't feel that way."
Reuters
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Yuka Saso chasing third U.S. Women's Open title at Erin Hills
May 27 - Yuka Saso was only 19 years old when she won her first U.S. Women's Open back in 2021, a moment that changed her life. Saso was asked Tuesday what winning the major for the second time did for her. "It was also life-changing," Saso said with a laugh. The Philippines-born Japanese golfer is gearing up for the U.S. Women's Open this week at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, and she'll do so as the defending champion after pulling out a three-stroke victory last year at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club. "I could call myself a two-time major champion, and better than that, two-time U.S. Women's Open champion," Saso said of her 2024 victory. "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." Both of Saso's major victories made history. In 2021, she was the first Filipino (man or woman) to win a golf major, and she matched Korean legend Inbee Park as the youngest winner in U.S. Women's Open history. Three years later, this time playing under the Japanese flag, she became the first representative of Japan to win the U.S. Women's Open and, at just 22, the youngest two-time champion in its history. She joined a list with names like Park, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and JoAnne Carner; a third win would put her on par with Annika Sorenstam and Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Saso reflected on the challenges she faced after winning the 2021 major. "I mean, everything was great. Everybody was calling me 'champ.' I'm a winner of the U.S. Women's Open," Saso said. "But also the challenges after that. I moved here to America where I'm far away from home. I needed to get used to life here in America. That was one of the challenging parts of the first one." The curious thing about Saso's resume is that her U.S. Women's Opens are her only two career victories stateside, major or otherwise. She's won twice on the LPGA of Japan Tour, but she has yet to build upon her major success. This season alone, Saso has missed four cuts -- including each of her last three starts -- and has finished no better than T17. "Well, there was for sure frustration, but I think I understand well that golf is not a perfect game. I can't be perfect with it," Saso said. "I think the grinding part is what I enjoy the most. Everything was not going well, but I think I know where I want my game to be or I know what I needed to do. So I was not happy but also having fun at the same time, which is kind of weird." Saso feels she has become a better putter after putting in extra work with her coach and caddie. Now it's all about remaining confident that she has the tools to beat the best in the world once again. "Yeah, the results were not where I wanted to be, but I think not playing well makes me grow a bit more to be more patient and just to trust myself and try to build that momentum," Saso said. "But that doesn't -- how do you call it? That doesn't make me feel like, 'Oh, I can't play golf anymore.' I don't feel that way." --Field Level Media
