LANCASTER, Pa. — The 79th playing of the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally is this week, held for the first time since 2015 at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pa. Per the usual, the field is stacked top to bottom with some of golf’s strongest talent, and with nine of the top 10 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings set to compete and $12 million on the line, this major championship is sure to produce plenty of drama coming down the stretch.
Take a look at just some of the featured groups this week at the U.S. Women’s Open:
Thursday, 8:13 a.m.* – Nelly Korda/Nasa Hataoka/Megan Khang
Nelly Korda has been the talk of the golf world this season after winning in five consecutive starts on the LPGA Tour from February to April and then picking up a sixth 2024 victory at the Mizuho Americas Open nearly two weeks ago at Liberty National Golf Club. The Rolex Rankings No. 1 has been unstoppable in 2024, becoming just the second player since the early 1950s to win six tournaments before June 1 and becoming the first player to win six or more times in a single season since Inbee Park last did so in 2013. Statistically, Korda’s game is by far the strongest of anyone teeing it up on the LPGA Tour at the moment. The 25-year-old leads the Tour in strokes gained total (+2.90) and strokes gained tee to green (+2.20), according to KPMG Performance Insights, and is also at the front of the pack in scoring average (69.26), rounds in the 60s (20), eagles (6) and greens in regulation (75.99%). Korda ranks second in both strokes gained driving (+0.81) and strokes gained around the green (+0.66), additionally ranking third in putts per green in regulation (1.74) and eighth in rounds under par (23). This is her 10th start in the U.S. Women’s Open, and in her nine previous appearances, Korda hasn’t finished better than a tie for eighth, something she’ll be looking to rectify this week. And considering the form that she’s in and the kind of elite ball striking this venue requires, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Korda seems primed to pick up her seventh 2024 victory at Lancaster Country Club, a result that would stun the golf world on Sunday in Pennsylvania.
Nasa Hataoka is making her seventh start in the U.S. Women’s Open this week, and the Japan native has had some close calls in this major championship in recent years. She tied for 10th in her tournament debut in 2018 and then finished runner-up to Yuka Saso at The Olympic Club in 2021. She had another near-miss last year at Pebble Beach Golf Links, ultimately tying for fourth at the iconic venue after leading the tournament through 54 holes. While she’s yet to find victory lane this season, Hataoka has been playing some consistent golf so far in 2024, earning six top-15 finishes in 11 total starts, the best of which was a tie for third at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, and she currently sits at 16th in the Race to the CME Globe based off those performances. The 25-year-old ranks second in rounds under par (27), seventh in rounds in the 60s (13), 10th in birdies (145) and 10th in sub-par holes (146) on the LPGA Tour this season. Hataoka is also 12th in strokes gained approach (+0.91) and 13th in strokes gained tee to green (+1.18), according to KPMG Performance Insights.
Megan Khang became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2023 CPKC Women’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, defeating Jin Young Ko in a playoff to collect her first Tour title since joining the organization in 2016. Since that life-changing moment in Canada, the 26-year-old Massachusetts native has earned seven top-15 finishes, the most notable of which was a solo third that came at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Bradenton Country Club earlier this season. On paper, Khang looks more than ready to contend for her first major title in Pennsylvania, ranking second in strokes gained tee to green, fifth in strokes gained approach and 15th in both strokes gained total (+1.06) and strokes gained around the green (+0.39), according to KPMG Performance Insights. Additionally, Khang has led the LPGA Tour in strokes gained ball striking in majors over the last two seasons, picking up +1.88 shots per round on the field with her long game. Her average proximity to the hole in majors over the last two years has been 31 feet 9 inches, also the best of anyone in those fields. This is her 12th start in the U.S. Women’s Open, and in her 11 previous appearances, Khang has finished in the top 10 on four separate occasions – tying for 10th in 2018, finishing fifth in 2020, tying for fourth in 2021 and tying for eighth in 2022.
Thursday, 1:58 p.m. – Lexi Thompson/Rose Zhang/Minjee Lee
Lexi Thompson announced on Tuesday in Lancaster, Pa., that she intends to step away from a full-time professional golf schedule at the end of the 2024 season, making this week’s event her 18th and final time playing in the U.S. Women’s Open. While it’s a bittersweet time for the 11-time LPGA Tour winner, the 29-year-old will be fighting tooth and nail at Lancaster Country Club for a chance to hoist the Harton S. Semple trophy, one that she’s come close to claiming more than a few times during her career. She has finished in the top 15 seven different times in this major championship, the best of which was a tie for second that came in 2019 at the Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina, and the most recent of which was in 2021, when Thompson took third at The Olympic Club. The 2024 season hasn’t been super kind to Thompson thus far as she’s been dealing with a lingering hand injury, but the LPGA Tour veteran has battled through and continued playing, earning two top-20 finishes after tying for 16th at the LPGA Drive On Championship and tying for third at the Ford Championship presented by KCC. This week marks her seventh start of the year.
Rose Zhang collected her second LPGA Tour victory a couple of weeks ago at the Cognizant Founders Cup, defeating Madelene Sagstrom by two shots at Upper Montclair Country Club to pick up her second win just 343 days after capturing the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open in her professional debut. Outside of her win, Zhang has been playing some consistent golf this season, even after taking a brief hiatus to continue her studies at Stanford University, and has recorded three top-25 finishes, including a tie for seventh at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and a tie for fifth at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards. The recently turned 21-year-old’s recent form is even more evidenced by her ranking in several statistical categories on the LPGA Tour. According to KPMG Performance Insights, Zhang is second in both strokes gained total (+2.21) and strokes gained approach (+1.50), also ranking third in strokes gained tee to green (+1.60). She is also fourth in scoring average (70.13) and fifth in greens in regulation (72.22%). This is Zhang’s sixth U.S. Women’s Open and just her second as a professional, as the amateur standout made her professional debut in the major championship last year at Pebble Beach Golf Links, ultimately finishing in a tie for ninth.
Minjee Lee knows what it’s like to win the U.S. Women’s Open, having done so in 2022 at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C., and will be looking to rekindle that magic this week at Lancaster Country Club. This is her 11th time teeing it up in this major championship, and in addition to her win, the Australian has recorded three other top-15 finishes, the most recent of which came last year at Pebble Beach Golf Links, where Lee finished in a tie for 13th. This is her ninth start of the 2024 season, and she has earned four top-25 results so far this year, the best of which was a tie for fourth that came at the Blue Bay LPGA in the People’s Republic of China in March. According to KPMG Performance Insights, Lee ranks first in strokes gained approach (+1.69) and fifth in strokes gained tee to green (+1.48), two statistics that should be assets this week in Lancaster, Pa.
Thursday, 2:09 p.m. – Brooke Henderson/Yuka Saso/Hannah Green
Brooke Henderson is making her 12th U.S. Women’s Open start at Lancaster Country Club, and in her 11 prior appearances in this major championship, she has never missed the cut, only withdrawing in 2018 at Shoal Creek. She has earned an impressive six top-15 results, the best of which was a tie for fifth that came in 2015 when the U.S. Women’s Open was last held at this venue. So far this season, Henderson has been the picture of consistency, missing no cuts, earning three T3 or better results and recording two additional top-10 finishes. The 13-time LPGA Tour winner ranks in the top 15 in three strokes gained categories, including strokes gained total (+1.58), strokes gained driving (+0.57) and strokes gained tee to green (+1.17), and is third in rounds under par (26), fourth in birdies (153), fifth in sub-par holes (155) and fifth in rounds in the 60s (13). Henderson is a two-time major champion, winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2016 and The Amundi Evian Championship in 2022, and will be looking to add to her major trophy collection this week at a place that holds plenty of positive memories for the 26-year-old.
Yuka Saso won the U.S. Women’s Open as a non-member in 2021 at The Olympic Club, accepting the immediate LPGA Tour membership offered as part of her non-member victory and becoming a 2021 LPGA Tour rookie. Since that historic win, the 22-year-old has earned 15 other top-10 results, one of which came earlier this year at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards, where she finished in a tie for ninth. Besides that top 10, Saso has collected three other top-20 results in 2024, tying for 16th at the Honda LPGA Thailand, tying for 17th at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and tying for 13th Ford Championship presented by KCC. Statistically, Saso ranks 12th in strokes gained total (+1.27), 13th in strokes gained putting (+0.75) and 16th in strokes gained driving (+0.49). She’s also 10th in rounds in the 60s on the LPGA Tour.
Hannah Green is the only other multiple-time winner on the LPGA Tour this season alongside Nelly Korda. She earned her fourth Tour victory at the HSBC Women’s World Championship earlier this season in Singapore and then successfully defended her title at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles. The Australian nearly won again at the Mizuho Americas Open, ultimately losing to Nelly Korda on the last hole after making a closing bogey at Liberty National Golf Club. This is Green’s sixth U.S. Women’s Open start, and she will be working to improve upon a career-best finish of T13 this week at Lancaster Country Club. According to KPMG Performance Insights, Green is sixth on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained total (+1.58) and is 11th in strokes gained approach (+0.93). Additionally, she ranks first in putts per green in regulation (1.73), second in scoring average (69.89) and fourth in greens in regulation (73.21%). Green is currently second in both Rolex Player of the Year points and Race to the CME Globe.
*Off No. 10
For a full list of tee times, please click here.
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