As is expected at a major championship, many story lines developed throughout the day at Riviera Country Club. There were amateurs in the mix. There were young and old professionals without major wins, seeking an initial one. There were major winners seeking another on the way to hall of fame status. As for the golf course, there was concern that the competition committee might lose control over green speeds and rough heights (they didn’t) and that they might eliminate cool features like the backstops on the first and sixth greensites (they didn’t.) Riviera was a spectacular success for the USGA, at a time when it needed one. Riviera will host two men’s major competitions over the next half decade (the 2028 Olympic tournament and the 2031 men’s U.S. Open) and the blueprint has been laid down for how to set the course.

The lead was passed around throughout the day like a trip photo album. Riviera gave up a few low scores, with 67 from Charley Hull and Pajaree Anannarukarn leading the pack. Makes sense, since today is 6/7. What Riviera did not do, was offer up a 64 or 65 that would have allowed a distant chaser into contention. The old dame of the Palisades made it clear that you would earn the open by consistent play throughout the week, not with one dazzling effort over 18 holes.

As mentioned, so many story lines. We’ll hold ourselves to just four as we conclude Open week and say goodbye to Pacific Palisades and her barrancas and kikuyu. Here’s what we learned on day four of the U.S. Women’s Open.

Storyline One: The Amateurs

Four amateurs finished inside the top twenty-five players at this year’s celebration. Kiara Romero was not one of the three mentioned yesterday, but she was the class of the crew on Sunday. Romero closed with two birdies and a par, to finish on three shots under par. That was enought to edge Maria Jose Marin for the gold medal. Marin also made birdie at 16 and 17, but she slipped to bogey on 18 to finish T8, just behind Romero’s T6. Also representing the non-working class with distinction were Aphrodite Deng  at T17 and Asterisk Talley at T22.

Storyline Two: Charley comes close again

I’m not counting, but Charley Hull has a dozen, top-ten finished in major titles. She began competing full-time in these prestigious events in 2014, which works out to one close call a year. On Sunday, Hull played magnificently through the first eleven holes. She had five birdies and one bogey through eleven holes, and reached eight-under par. Perhaps aware that she had assumed the lead, Hull gave two shots back over the next three holes., and slipped to minus-six. One final birdie at 17 brought her agonizingly close to another major title. Hull underclubbed on her approach at twelve, then took three putts from distance. On fourteen, she once again came up short, this time in a bunker, but came out briliantly to three feet. Whether it was a misread or an open face is left to the mists. What is known is that she missed for a second bogey in three holes.

Some who have not felt the sharp blade of competition will carelessly toos comments like she just can’t putt or he putting lets her down to give plausible explanation for why Charley Hull did not win. Check out the two-putts that she made at 15 and 16. Over 100 feet of putts combined, and she got the ball in the hole in four strokes. If I had to guess, it would come down to adrenaline and the ability to manage it, but only on certain holes. Truth is, no one played better than Hull on Sunday. Her 26 putts were tied for 6th on the day. On the three holes where she made bogey, she had a putt for birdie.  In the end, it was rotten luck that Hull didn’t raise the trophy.

Storyline Three: Lopez almost gets it done for the kitchen staff

Politics and culture rarely take any stage during a major golf event. Once in a blue moon, Payne Stewart discusses race relations or Scottie Scheffler gets arrested, but nearly always, the golf occupies 100% of the media production. That’s why it was so heartwarming to hear Gaby Lopez discuss the pride she felt all week, when greeting the kitchen staff at Riviera. Lopez is Mexican, and she acknowledged that all of the kitchen staff at Riviera is Hispanic, mostly Mexican. Lopez beamed with pride when she revealed how supported she felt, and how she longed to win the title for them and for her home country. She nearly made the dream a reality.

Lopez made nine consecutive pars on Sunday, which did nothing to label her a contender. If you check the USGA highlights for the co-runner up, you’ll see only a putt on ten and eleven, and an approach and putt on thirteen. Let me fill in the spaces: Lopez had five feet and in for birdie on all three holes. Like Hull at 16, Lopez played beyond the hole, then took three putts from distance. Lopez could not get up and down for birdie from the penultimate hole’s right greenside bunker, but she did drop a twenty-feet putt for birdie at the last.

Storyline Four: Nelly Korda has the first two legs of the Grand Slam

Nelly Korda was the picture of consistency on Sunday. She had one boegy on her card, courtesy of a three-putt green. No one completely mastered the George Thomas greens in the valley. Hogan’s Alley, though, became Nelly’s Valley, as the Floridian won her second major title of 2026, and created a buzz for the Women’s PGA, to be held next month in Minnesota.

Like the other challengers, Korda hit around 10 greens and 10 fairways in regulation. The massive putting surfaces place a premium on proximity to the hole. Every element of Korda’s game was better than the field, save for putting. Off the tee, from the fairway, around the green, Nelly was nasty. As for the putting, all that she needed was one putt fewer than the rest, and she got it, but just barely. Her open-faced tug from two feet caught the left edge and fell. It was about the worst putt, at about the worst time, as one might imagine, but it was good enough.

Despite Colin Jost being so over the expression That was not on my bingo card, so much of what happened on Saturday at Riviera was precisely defined by that 2026 catch-phrase. Seasoned professionals faltered while young amateurs soared. Leaders posted par rounds while afterthoughts amassed birdie after day-three birdie. What transpired set up the potential for the best duels in USWO history. In the mixing bowl are the world’s number one, former champions, former contenders, and a host of the game’s top names.

Over the first three days, Riviera has played more like a golden-age gem than it ever has in modern times. Players are using greenside slopes and fairway cambres to propel the ball into proper position. Green speeds are manageable, yet daunting from the absolute worst place (read: above) in relation to the hole location. Nothing is unfair (fingers crossed for the same in two weeks on Long Island) and everything is earned.

Could it be Nelly, or Charley, or Sei Young or In-gee? How about Gaby or Jennifer, Nasa or Ruoning? All have contended before in the U.S. Women’s Open, but only In-gee Chun has raised the Semple trophy in triumph. A Hollywood sound stage is set for a dramatic finish, but prior to the conclusion, let’s revisit the five things that we learned on Saturday at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Saturday Thing One: Nelly Korda is tied at the top

If it were anyone else, after consecutive rounds of 67, the dam would break. That’s not the case with Korda. If anything, we expect that she might go lower on Sunday, to the tune of 65, and walk off with her first U.S. Women’s Open title.

We know that ruling bodies and host clubs adore name champions. They salute all victors, but the success of a current top golfer, a media darling, or a proven veteran serves to legitimate and venerate the event and the venue. The USGA and Riviera would be thrilled to have Nelly Korda as a champion.

What will propel the three-time major titleist to a fourth grand slam victory? Another 67, for starters. Reaching double-digits under par would place the Floridian in a marvelous space. It would require Sei Young to keep pace, and would demand that all the trailers post 66 or better.

Saturday Thing Two: How about those amateurs?

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Those are the holes that Maria Jose Marin (68), Aphrodite Deng (68), and Asterisk Talley (66) birdied on Saturday. That’s a minus-ten ringer score for the trio. As we sleep one more sleep before the final round, consider that Marin and Deng are four strokes back of the leaders, while Talley is five shots behind. To have three amateur golfers within striking distance of the top ladder rung is heady stuff. Can Talley possibly follow up her minus-five with another one on Sunday? Even that might not be enough. How about Marin and Deng. Can they drop a mid-60s scorecard on the professionals, and throw a scare into them? Our intuition suggests no on both counts, but the potential for a top-five amateur finish is certainly in the cards.

Saturday Thing Three: the Korean Kontingent

Sei Young Kim and In-gee Chun would win any partner event this week, given their current form. Kim will tee off with Nelly Korda in the last game, and she will have a front-row seat to Chun’s performance, as In-gee will play in the game just ahead. Of the two, Sei Young appeared to have less control over her shots, as a substantial number of spproach shots turned inordinately left.. Time and again, her short game bailed her out of the bogeytown prison, although she did miss a fair number of short putts. Dumbo (aka Chun) seemed more in control from tee to green, but will need to channel her early-2020s self to insert herself into the narrative.

Saturday Thing Four: Kupcho’s Komeback

It’s not like she went very far away, but Jennifer Kupcho’s 69 on day three had to be gratifying. The Colorado native and Wake Forest alumna was in fine Friday position to make a statement and expand her lead. She had posted 66 on Thursday, but fell off form on day two with 73. There were 67s and 68s at Riviera  that day, but Kupcho’s birdie production fell from seven to two, as her bogey line increased from two to four. She reduced the bogey output on Saturday, and redoubled birdies to four. She finds herself precisely one shot off the lead, in a tie with In-gee Chun, her Sunday walkabout mate.

What will Kupcho need on day four, to provide an opportunity for victory? Fairways and greens always help, but that electric, day-one start of birdies on holes one, two, and three will be massive. Stay on the proper side of the green-center bunker on six, and survive the dautning holes. Kupcho has made bogey on 13 and 15 twice in three days. Should she come to the final stretch in a place of power or hope, those two holes will test her worth and mettle. Kupcho has also played the closing triumvirate of holes in par or better, each of the three days. That sort of clutch-time performance will stand her well on day four.

Saturday Thing Five: How will it all transpire?

No one expects that both of the top two will struggle on Sunday. One of them will shoot 68, to reach nine-under par. That means that the trailers will have to light up the western sky with fireworks, to keep pace. There is a golfer with nine, top-ten finishes in major championships, who has never won a major. That golfer is Nasa Hataoka, and she is poised to break through and make a victory out of her tenth, top ten finish at a major. Hataoka finished T2 and T4 in this event in, respectively, 2021 and 2023. A missed cut in 2025 was a shock to the system, but the Japanese golfer will bounce back in style and claim the title.

Dumbo flies again! There is certainly a half-generation of golf fans without the slightest idea of how well In-gee Chun, aka Dumbo, can golf her ball. The Korean was the It Girl from 2015 to 2018. She won three LPGA events, with two being major championships. She returned to Korea to cure her homesickness, but made the occasional foray back to the Americas. In 2022, she captured a fourth LPGA title and, guess what? It was a third, unique major title.

The halfway cut line was set at four over par. Those at plus-five and beyond had their stay in Tinseltown cut short, at least when it comes to working rounds of golf. Among the 87 who fell on the high side of the cut line, Lydia Ko stood out as the biggest name. Others given a two-day furlough were Lilia Vu, Megha Ganne, Chizzy Iwai, and Leona Maguire. Making the cut on the number are Lottie Woad, Celine Boutier, Mao Saigo, and amateur Asterisk Talley. If you follow world football, imagine the feeling of relegation on a weekly basis. That’s the 36-hole cut in professional golf.

We learned five things on Friday at Riviera Country Club, and we’d love to share them with you. Find a comfy place and brighten the screen on your device. It’s time for Five Things We Learned on day two at the US Women’s Open.

Part One: the biggest movers

A golfer’s feel appears or slips away overnight. Although Saturday is known collectively as Moving Day, it doesn’t come with as sudden and final a feeling as Friday. Move the wrong way on Friday and you’re down the road. Improve in the proper direction and you save your week. Both Mao Saigo and Rio Takeda opened with plus-five rounds of 76, then signed for 70 on day two, and made the cut on the number.

Moving the other way were Stephanie Kyriacou (70-78) and Ina Yoon (68-79). Their respective eight- and eleven-shot declines propelled them from title contention to tournament departure. Minjee Lee and Minji Kang (seven shots higher) along with Rose Zhang (five shots) made the cut, but saw their opportunity for victory take a serious body shot.

Part Two: the leaders

Allison Lee and Ruoning Yin took the conservative path to the 36-hole medal. Lee posted four birdies and a bogey for a total of 68 on day two. Yin had two birdies and sixteen pars for her second consecutive card of 69. Their 138 places them one shot clear of the aforementioned Dumbo Chun, who followed an opening 71 with 68. First-round leader Jennifer Kupcho added seven shots to her total, from an opening-day 66 to a follow-up 73, yet remained within the inner circle of leaders at -3, tied with Chun and four others. Four more golfers sit at minus-two, two shots behind the top duo. An even dozen of golfers sits within two shots of the lead.

The day’s biggest move of gravitas came from Nelly Korda. After a disappointing 73 on Thursday, the world number one improved six shots, thanks to a five-birdie round of 67. Korda slid inside the top ten with her recovery, and certainly reclaimed her place as most frightening chaser at Riviera. No one is likely to shoot in the low 60s at Riviera, but Korda just might post a mid-sixties score on Saturday, to seize the lead on Sunday morning.

Part Three: Ams verse Champs

Five current amateur golfers were among the 68 golfers to reach the weekend. Kiara Romero posted the best non-pro score on Friday, a one-under 70, to move from plus-two to plus-one figures. She is joined there by Aphrodite Deng, who reversed those numbers for her two rounds. Maria Jose Marin (143), Farah O’Keefe (145), and Asteriks Talley (146) joined the #WeDidIt brigade to earn a spot for the final two rounds.

Six former US Open champions, led by In-gee Chun(2015), also punched a ticket for round three. Allison Corpuz (2023), Maja Stark (2025), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018), A Lim Kim (2020), and Minjee Lee (2022) preserved their dream of a second US Open trophy for the mantle. Nineteen amateurs failed to earn a post for the final 36-holes, while five former champions joined them on the sidelines. Yuka Saso, twice a winner in this event in the past half-decade, missed the cut by five shots. 24 amateurs against eleven former titleists suggests that it is easier for the young to qualify, but harder for them to find success.

Part Four: the golf course

Scoring went up by .6 shots per player, from round one to round two. Statistically speaking, it became harder to make the cut as the day wore on. Birdies dropped by 50, while pars remained constant. Both bogeys and doubles increased markedly. The first and the sixth holes played under par on the front nine, while the second and ninth were nearly tied for most difficult traces on the road to the turn.

Coming home, holes ten, twelve, fifteen, and eighteen played as an impregnable quadrilateral. Odds are, you gave a shot back on each of them. Despite number seventeen’s accessibility for birdie, no one got out of the back nine alive. If conditions continue toward the extreme, Riviera will extract a pound of flesh from the contenders over the weekend.

Part Five: what to expect

From my vantage point, the tee times to watch are the 4:55 EST and the 5:05 slots. Nelly Korda pegs her ball in the sixth-last pairing with Sora Kamiya. The little-known Kamiya will get an up close and personal look at the crowds that follow the best in the world. Korda will need to ignore Kamiya’s expected struggles and golf her own ball. Ten minutes later, Lauren Coughlin begins play with Casandra Alexander at her side. It’s a similar situation, with the experienced Coughlin alongside an unseasoned partner.

Both Sei Yong Kim and Gaby Lopez have turned in strong performances, and their 5:15 pairing might produce some explosive numbers. From back in the pack, the tasty duo of Brooke Henderson and Jeeno Thitikul at 4:20, might see double digits in birdies. The unexpected at unknown Riviera is likely, so your guess is as good as mine.