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Reuters
28-05-2025
- General
- Reuters
Nelly Korda chasing first win of '25, U.S. Women's Open breakthrough
May 28 - Nelly Korda ranks No. 1 in the world despite being without a win on the LPGA Tour halfway through the season but insists there's no added pressure for a breakthrough at the Women's U.S. Open at Erin Hills Golf Club in Wisconsin this week. "I don't try and think about it," said Korda, who had seven wins in 16 events and claimed a major championship at the Chevron Championship in 2024. "Definitely when you're a higher-ranked player or you're more popular there is more pressure on you just from outside perspective when it comes to media, fans coming out to watch you play. "If you want to feel it, you will feel it, but I think what's really important is just kind of sticking to your game plan and being really focused on what you're doing present time, and that's really helped me." Korda was propelled to the Rolex Player of the Year honor by a streak of five wins in a row in 2024. She is chasing her first Women's U.S. Open title on the heels of her second top-5 finish this season at the Mizuho Americas Open. As the world rankings underscore, Korda's results can hardly be classified as struggling. She's finished no worse than 22nd with three top-10 finishes in six events. She said the season to date has been "interesting" but insisted she feels grateful and embraces the position this week at an event known for trying patience. "It's big," said Korda, 26, who is staying 20 minutes from the course at a rented lake house with her parents. "Some weeks it's so much easier to be patient than others. It just depends on kind of the mindset and how you're feeling mentally. But it plays a really big role. Sometimes you can get ahead of yourself, and as I've said in the past, staying in the moment is really, really important for me." Contrast the present to her surging 2024 momentum meter entering the U.S. Women's Open -- she missed the cut at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania with a season-worst opening round of 80 -- and Korda is comfortable with her real-time game. At Erin Hills, there are challenges ahead on a course known for whipping wind and tight, challenging traps. And Korda hasn't posted many memorable rounds in the event of late. Two of her past three U.S. Women's Open rounds resulted in scores of 80. She wrapped the 2023 event at Pebble Beach by going 8-over on her final 18 and finished tied for 64th. "I think the more you're put in under-pressure moments and the more you're in contention, you learn more about yourself and how to handle those situations," Korda said. "Every year something has tested me, and every year I learn a little bit more about myself and how to handle myself in some situations. So yeah, I think it's all about putting yourself into that position. ... At the end of the day, you're the one that put yourself there, and you have to be grateful that you are in that spot, and you kind of have to just enjoy even the pressure." Korda entered the 2022 U.S. Open off a four-month hiatus and finished tied for eighth at 2-under for the tournament at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. On Thursday Korda is paired with Charley Hull and Lexi Thompson (2:25 p.m. ET). She's looking dead ahead this week and focusing on what she can control in her 10th career U.S. Open start. "I mean, it's the biggest test in golf," Korda said. "It 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." --Field Level Media --Field Level Media
ABC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Australia's Minjee Lee back in form for US Women's Open and seeking third major title
Birthday girl Minjee Lee is pinning her hopes on a "pistol-grip" putter and trusty caddy as she shoots for redemption and the biggest payday in women's golf. Lee and world number eight Hannah Green will spearhead a seven-strong Australian challenge at the 80th Women's US Open starting on Thursday night (AEST) at the famed and formidable Erin Hills near Milwaukee. Results since 2021 (most recent last) US Women's Open begins on Thursday night AEST The winner will pocket a cheque for $US2.4 million ($3.73 million) from the overall $US12 million purse. But money cannot buy Lee the feeling of getting her hands on the trophy like she did three years ago. "I've seen so many US Opens on TV and all the highlights so that it became the one that I've always wanted to win and it was just a dream come true, 2022. That win was very special to me," Lee said ahead of the season's second major championship. The one-time world number two, who has slipped to 22nd in the rankings after enduring the longest winning drought of her pro career, last year relinquished a three-shot final-round lead in pursuit of a second US Open crown. Revered as the world's premier iron player, Lee has switched to a broomstick putter in a bid to solve her ongoing putting woes. While the 29-year-old is yet to snap a 20-month winless run, the move to a long wand has already been telling. After finishing tied for 127th, 154th, equal 141st and 157th on the LPGA Tour for strokes gained in putting for the past four years, Lee is joint-ninth on the greens in 2025. The transition has not been straightforward but Lee says she is back "in a good space" with her game after coming to grips, literally, with a new putter. "I was just trying to get the grip comfortable with my right hand, so I tried a couple of different ones," Lee revealed on Wednesday before heading off with Green for birthday celebrations. First round Aussie tee times (AEST) * - Starting on the 10th tee "And I just ended up being comfortable with the one I'm using right now, which is just like a pistol grip. "So, yeah, I was just trying to experiment on what I felt most comfortable in and most confident in." The renewed comfort has yielded second, fourth and seventh-place finishes among six top-15 finishes from eight starts in a super consistent, no-missed-cuts start to the season. With her full game back in order, Lee will back her new, esteemed bagman Mikey Paterson, a former caddy for legend Karrie Webb, to help complete the puzzle this week and claim a third career major. "He plays a huge part in my preparation and also my course management and that's the biggest thing at the US Open," Lee said. "You have a lot of blind tee shots or the wind might swirl or be quite aggressive at times, so I really trust that he's done all his work on the course. "I'll really lean on him to tell me where the start lines are, and even on the greens [tell me about] some of the undulations and where I need to hit it to be in a good spot to make par or birdies. "You've got to be in the right spots and sometimes it's not where you make your pars or your birdies, it's where you make your bogeys so you're not having doubles or especially those larger scores. "US Women's Opens are renowned for arguably being the hardest championship out there to win. The course set-ups are renowned for being difficult and designed to challenge you. "So it will come into play a lot this week to have a great partnership with your caddy." AAP
