U.S. Women's Open 2026: Nelly Korda 2 over after missed putts and shoe change in opening round

· Yahoo Sports

World No. 1 Nelly Korda has put herself in a hole after her opening round at Riviera Country Club, carding a 2-over 73.

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.

Keep reading for a recap of Korda's rollercoaster day at Riviera.

Korda with gritty saves to escape the back nine only 1 over

Korda was scrambling for saves early in her round.

Starting on the par-4 10th, she saved par before her first birdie on the par-5 11th. 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 out of a bunker onto the green 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.

The rest of Korda's back nine was relatively uneventful. She carded five pars; 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 an almost 13-footer to save par.

Korda drops another shot on front nine

The front nine was a similar story to the back for Korda. She started strong with a birdie on the par-5 first and followed that up with a par save on the par-4 second, chipping just off the green to within 5 feet.

Korda seemed unhappy with her driver on Nos. 2 and 3, with both pulling right. On the par-4 third, she couldn't make up for the mistake. As was the story on the back nine, she missed her par putt left and had to drop a shot. After the round, Korda said she has been feeling "really stuck" in her swing and not able to release it.

"I was sending it out right in Cincinnati, too," Korda said, dating her driver struggles back to the Queen City Championship in mid-May. "I put in a lot of hours on the range, and I can't seem to really figure it out."

U.S. Women’s Open - Round 2The second round of the U.S. Women’s Open is underway at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Birdie opportunities presented themselves at Nos. 5 and 6, but she missed both putts just right of the hole. The par-4 seventh seemed like a repeat of No. 3, also resulting in a bogey.

Korda brought it home at even-par, including a par save on the par-4 ninth despite her second shot taking a high bounce off the green and into the bunker. She was able to get up and down from there to close her round and stop the bleeding at 2 over on the day.

"Honestly, just hit it really poorly off the tee," Korda said when talking through her round. "Found myself in a lot of trouble on the wrong sides of a lot of these pins. I just felt like I was kind of just grinding to make safe pars.

"It wasn't a great day. I hit it really good Monday through Wednesday, so I have honestly no idea where this came from. So I'm going to go to the range."

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