One-hundred and fifty six players are slated to play in the 81st U.S.
Women’s Open this week at Riviera Country Club — the second major of the season.
Opens are notoriously tricky, but there is a clear No.
In fact, she’s the No.
1 player in the world right now: Nelly Korda.
Korda won The Chevron Championship — the first major of the season — back in April.
It was her second Chevron title and third major overall.
Just a week after her win at Memorial Park, Korda won again at the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba.
Her only other start since then was at the Kroger Queen City Championship in mid-May, where she finished T-8.
Prior to that T-8, Korda hadn’t finished lower than second all season, through six starts.
Missing from Korda’s resume is this tournament, with her best finish at the U.S.
Women’s Open being T-2 in 2025.
Despite the season-low finish at Queen City, Korda is still the overwhelming favorite here.
She is undeniably the best women’s player in the world right now.
Here’s my full ranking of the 2026 U.S.
Women’s Open field: 1.
Nelly Korda: Korda really needs no introduction (although she got a lengthy one above).
1 in the world.
Won the first major of the year.
On an absolute tear this season.
Easy favorite.
Jeeno Thitikul: The current world No.
2 was passed by Korda after the latter won the Chevron, but make no mistake: Thitikul is still playing stellar golf — and on the hunt for her first major title.
She won the Mizuho Americas Open in May and the Honda LPGA Thailand in February.
Ruoning Yin: Yin is winless this season, but after missing the cut at the JM Eagle LA in mid-April, the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA champion has been playing her best golf of the season, including a T-2 at the Chevron, second at Mizuho and fourth at Queen City.
Hyo-joo Kim: The world No.
3 won back-to-back titles at the Fortinet Founders Cup and Ford Championship in March but hasn’t played on tour since finishing sixth at the Chevron in late April.
She’s going on a 12-year major drought, with her one and only being the 2014 Evian.
Hannah Green: Green has also won two tournaments this season, cementing herself as one of the hottest players in the game right now.
She won the HSBC and JM Eagle LA and finished T-7 at the Chevron.
She last played at Mizuho, finishing T-14.
Lydia Ko: The world No.
10 is winless this season, but Ko knows how to win majors.
That being said, the U.S.
Women’s Open has eluded her.
A win here would earn Ko what the LPGA considers the career grand slam since she would have won four of the five majors.
She’s coming off a T-8 at Queen City.
Jin-young Ko: She hasn’t been her sharpest this season, but the 2019 Chevron champion is coming off a T-5 at Queen City.
Yuka Saso: This is a wild card, seeing as Saso has missed the cut in six of her 11 starts this season, but Saso knows how to win U.S.
Opens — she has two (2021, 2024) to back that up.
Opens are notoriously tricky, so I’m not counting out anyone who has two to their name.
Celine Boutier: Boutier is peaking at the right time, being the most recent winner on tour after winning the ShopRite LPGA last weekend.
The 2023 Evian champion jumped almost 10 spots to No.....
