(Photo credit score: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images)
Nelly Korda and Haeran Ryu mixed to win the primary 4 majors of the season.
It’s solely becoming they’re paired collectively, together with LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko of New Zealand, for the primary two rounds of the AIG Women’s Open. The closing main of the season begins Thursday at Royal Lytham & St Annes in Lytham St Annes, England.
Either Korda or Ryu might turn into the primary lady since South Korea’s Inbee Park in 2013 to win three majors in a single yr. Korda collected the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open for a superb begin to 2026, and Park’s countrywoman Ryu prevailed on the Women’s PGA Championship and the Evian Championship.
‘I’ve quite a lot of confidence,’ Ryu stated. ‘I acquired quite a lot of confidence after two main champion, after which however that is one other golf course and one other golf, so I simply preserve working arduous with my workforce.’
Ryu gained the Evian earlier this month in France by capturing a file 60 within the third spherical and happening to defeat Canada’s Brooke M. Henderson in a playoff the following day. The 60 was the bottom spherical ever shot at a serious, males’s or girls’s.
Ryu, who took day off afterward and didn’t play the Women’s Scottish Open, referred to as herself ‘nonetheless (a) rookie’ on hyperlinks programs, which is precisely the take a look at Royal Lytham & St Annes presents. It is a par-71 format measuring 6,601 yards this week.
World No. 1 Korda completed 2 over par on the Scottish two weeks after her first missed lower of the yr on the Evian.
‘Evian is only a funky golf course. I did not play that unhealthy truly, if I’m being trustworthy,’ Korda stated. ‘You know, it is golf. You’re going to — simply since you’re enjoying nicely does not imply you are invincible and you are going to make each lower and be within the prime 10 each single week.
‘I really feel like I’ve performed this lengthy sufficient the place I’ve missed sufficient cuts that it is simply in regards to the bounce-back.’
On the subject of hyperlinks play, Korda stated her method is about controlling the controllables.
‘Sometimes with hyperlinks golf you’ll be able to form of get fairly agitated with the bounces that you just get,’ she stated. ‘You hit a great shot, get a nasty bounce, find yourself in a pot bunker, need to pitch out sadly and save par.’
The defending champion is Japan’s Miyu Yamashita, who prevailed by two photographs at Royal Porthcawl final yr as a rookie.
At simply 24, Yamashita has collected 16 wins worldwide, primarily on the LPGA of Japan Tour. She’ll attempt to be the primary back-to-back winner on the Women’s Open since Taiwan’s Yani Tseng in 2010-11.
‘Yani Tseng successful in 2011 was in fact a tremendous achievement,’ Yamashita stated. ‘To be right here once more, to have the possibility to be the defending champion, is one thing I actually sit up for, and simply acquired to deal with the golf and my efficiency this week.’
Royal Lytham & St Annes final hosted this main in 2018, marking the newest time an English participant gained the title. Georgia Hall earned her first and solely main trophy that week and is now in a really completely different stage of life: She’s returning to Lytham for her first aggressive spherical since giving delivery to her first youngster, Conor, 5 months in the past.
‘I first picked up a membership … six weeks after giving delivery,’ Hall stated. ‘I used to be in Ireland and went to a neighborhood driving vary. I used to be actually excited as a result of I did not know the way I used to be going to hit it and thought I’d prime it or one thing, however I truly hit it fairly good, however my rotation, like there is no such thing as a rotation in any respect.
‘Yeah, I went there for an hour and I used to be pleasantly shocked. I used to be leaving that considering, ‘OK, let’s have a look at if I can get again to Lytham.’ Yeah, it was good. I loved the progress coming again.’
–Field Level Media