Karis Davidson rebounds from mid 3rd round struggles

Karis Davidson – in action early in today’s third round – image USGA Logan Whitton 

Karis Davidson moved within three of the lead midway through her third round of the US Women’s Open at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles with birdies at the 1st and 10th holes, but agonising double bogeys at her 12th and 15th holes before a birdie at the 16th and another at the last, saw her eventually finish with a round of 71 and at even par for her opening 54 holes.

While perhaps now out of contention for a very high finish, it has nonetheless been a spirited US Women’s Open debut for the 27-year-old Queenslander. who is six shots behind the joint leaders, Nelly Korda and Sei Young Kim and in a share of 18th place.

Appearing to be cruising with two birdies and nine pars when she reached the 12th fairway, Davidson found herself just 104 yards from the hole after a powerful drive of over 280 yards. She hit a poor approach into the right-hand bunker, took two to get out, and the resultant double bogey saw her slip back in the field.

Another double at the 15th after finding the left rough from the tee and coming up short with her approach saw her slip further back before a rebound birdie from 20 feet at the 16th and another from 15 feet at the last.

Given the disappointment in the middle of her back nine, it was a great comeback for Davidson and leaves her not without the chance of what a week ago might have seemed a dream performance.

Without even a start in the event until the final spot became available, thanks to her alternate standing amongst the qualifiers, Davidson has gone steadily about her business on the demanding layout.

Davidson, who played her first couple of years as a professional on the Japan LPGA Tour before heading to the US in 2022, earned her status via the Q School in late 2001.

She played both the LPGA and Epson Tours in 2022, but has made steady progress since, to the point she has now made all nine cuts this season.

Tomorrow, she has a good opportunity to add considerably to the US$241,000 in LPGA earnings she has to her name already in 2026.

Of the other Australians, Minjee Lee is the next best after a 3rd round of 71 to be at 3 over and tied for 34th, Grace Kim at 4 over and Hannah Green, perhaps surprisingly, after a round of 75 in a share of 46th.

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Karis Davidson impresses at US Women’s US Open


Karis Davidson – in action on Friday at Riviera Country Club – image USGA

A week ago, Queensland’s Karis Davidson wasn’t even in the US Women’s Open field. Today, she finds herself inside the top twenty as the event heads into the weekend at the Riviera Country Club following rounds of 69 and 73.

At even par, Davidson is just four shots off the halfway lead in the most significant event in women’s golf, and the 27-year-old heads the seven-strong Australasian contingent with 36 holes to play.

Hannah Green at 1 over, Grace Kim at 2 over and Minjee Lee at 3 over are the next best of the down under brigade, Lee, perhaps disappointing with a round of 75, but given the leaders are at just 4 under, all three, along with Davidson  retain outside hopes of possibly contending over the final 36 holes.

Davidson was asked what it means to have made the cut, given the circumstances of her late inclusion in the field.

“Yeah, it’s really awesome to be honest,” she said. “I obviously came over not knowing I was going to get in, and, yeah, it means a lot for sure.

“It really firmed up today, so it was really hard to hit the ball close to the hole, and obviously, the wind made this more difficult as well.

“I think I’m just going to stick to my game plan over the weekend. You know, around here, you’ve just got to hit really good shots and get it on the green and try and make a two-putt.

“So, I’m just going to stick to my strategy and hopefully the weekend is really good.”

Green, at 1 over, is just five off the lead after her round of 73.

Lydia Ko missed the cut by one, two late birdies leaving her just short, as did Stephanie Kyriacou, following her round of 78, and Queensland amateur Sarah Hammett, better for the experience when she improved with a second round of 77 but finished well back.

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Daniel Hillier well placed in Amsterdam


Daniel Hillier – file image courtesy of New Zealand Open / Photosport NZ

Several players were yet to complete their second rounds of the KLM Open in Amsterdam when darkness finally brought a halt to the weather-delayed round, but, irrespective of what happens in the final two hours of play when those players return to the course on Saturday morning, New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier will be very much in contention for a second DP World Tour title.

A strong finish to his opening round on early on Friday, after day one’s play had also been suspended, was followed by a blistering start to day two when the 27-year-old Wellingtonian birdied five of his first eight holes and was out in 30 to take a share of the lead.

Hillier birdied his 12th and 13th holes, but a bogey at his 15th would cost him the chance of the lead through 36 holes. At 7 under after his round of 65, however, he trails Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg by just one, although he will need to wait until Saturday for his final 36-hole position to be determined.

Hillier’s form in 2026 has been mixed, beginning the season with two excellent finishes in the Middle East before his win at his own National Open in Queenstown, but in his next five starts, he would miss three cuts.

An impressive week at the PGA Championship, where he finished only midfield, but not all that far from contention, was encouraging, and although he missed the cut the following week, a 7th place finish in Austria last week suggested things were in good shape.

The finish in Austria moved him to 10th on the Race to Dubai ranking, and he has started this week as if he might well improve a few spots further by Sunday.

“There was a little bit tired,” said Hillier, referring to the additional holes he was forced to play.

“It was just one of those days where everything was in sync, which was nice, and seeing a couple of putts go in early gave me a bit of momentum.

“Hopefully I can get a good night’s rest tonight and come out firing tomorrow.”

Former New Zealand Open winner, Ryan Peake, has four holes to play in round two but at 4 under and just four from the lead, he has improved sharply on his recent run of five consecutive missed cuts. When he returns on Saturday morning, he has a 15 foot putt for birdie to move him within three of the lead.

Kazuma Kobori is the next best of the Australasians at 3 under and four from the lead, having completed a second round of 68.

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Australians start well at US Women’s Open


Karis Davidson – en route to an impressive first US Women’s Open round of 69 – image Kathryn Riley USGA

Australians have started well at the 2026 US Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, Minjee Lee and US Open debutante, Karis Davidson, completing their early rounds on day one at 2 under 69, while Hannah Green and Stephanie Kyriacou, also playing in the morning field, finished with rounds of 1 under 70.

At the completion of the morning play, Lee and Davidson were well inside the top ten and trailed the then-leader, Sei Young Kim, by two shots.

All four players were on the course by 7.40 am, Davidson, who was the last player into the tournament on Monday, taking advantage of her tee off before 7.00 am to play her opening nine in 2 under and although she would three-putt for bogey at the 17th, she was delighted with her start in her first US Women’s Open.

“Yeah, I’m really chuffed,” said the Scottish-born but now Queenslander. “Yeah, played solid. Holed some good putts. Also missed a couple silly ones. My concentration was not the best. On the back nine, I would say I lost a bit of energy.

Davidson only learned of her inclusion in the field after the victory by Celine Boutier in last week’s LPGA Tour event. Boutier, who was already exempt into the US Open, did not, therefore, require the one spot left open for the winner of that event, and so Davidson, who was an alternate via Final Qualifying, claimed the spot.

“Well, I just kind of came over from Australia with the mindset of you know what, even if I don’t get in, I’ll stay with the other Aussie girls and watch a bit of golf at Riv and hopefully get a practice round around the place.

“Obviously, I was really happy when I got the call, yeah.”

Minjee Lee – in action during her opening round – image Logan Whitton USGA

Lee, the 2022 champion, was out two groups after Davidson but started her round at the 10th. Making the turn at even par, Lee added birdies at the 10th and 9th holes for her round of 69.

Lee is playing her first event after a five-week break in Australia and made an encouraging start.

“I did not have too many expectations. I didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on myself, especially having five weeks off.

“Yeah, just wanted to have a nice day. It was really great weather. Nice walk out there.

“I always like coming back and competing in the U.S. Open. It’s always a great feeling, and as a past champion, I hold great pride coming back.”

Green, who has been in such great form in 2026, played in the group behind Lee and made it to the turn in 1 under before a homeward nine of even par for her round of 70 to leave herself well enough placed.

Kyriacou’s round was a roller coaster, recording five birdies and four bogeys in her round of 70, but after missing the cut in her first two US Women’s Opens, she has made a solid start this week.

Grace Kim opened with a round of 1 over 72, while Gold Coast amateur Sarah Hammett, who did remarkably well to just make the field via qualifying, struggled to a round of 80 after being out in the first group of the day.

New Zealand’s Lydia Ko was out in one of the afternoon groups and through 4 holes was at even par.

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Hannah Green gets the nod amongst Australians at Riviera Country Club


Hannah Green – preparing for the US Women’s Open this week – image Kathryn Riley USGA

Australian women golf’s three most recent major winners, Minjee Lee, Hannah Green and Grace Kim are amongst six Australians in the field for this week’s US Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club in the suburbs of Los Angeles, with Hannah Green at number 5, now the highest world-ranked of the three.

Green will play her 8th US Women’s Open with a best of 12th in her previous seven attempts, but importantly for the 29-year-old she enters the event in some of the best form of her career. In just seven starts on the LPGA Tour this year, Green has recorded two wins, two other top tens, and a 14th place at her most recent start. She also won twice in Australia.

Green has steadily improved her results, the more she has played the US Women’s Open and given the style of game she possesses and the confidence she must surely be playing with at present, then she deserves consideration to become the 4th Australian (joining Jan Stephenson, Karrie Webb and Minjee Lee as winners of the female game’s most coveted title.


Minjee Lee tees off in practice this week – image USGA

Green’s fellow West Australian, Minjee Lee, won the title in 2022 at Pine Needles in North Carolina, setting a still-alive scoring record of 271 when doing so. Lee has missed only one cut in 12 attempts in the event, but her form in 2026 is well below that she was in before her win four years ago, and there is a question as to her capacity to contend this week.

Other than her win in 2022, Lee’s only other top ten at the US Women’s Open was when 9th   behind Yuka Saso in 2024.


Grace Kim practising this week – image USGA

Grace Kim’s win at last year’s Evian Championship came as a surprise so early in her career, but she had finished an encouraging 13th at the US Women’s Open in 2023, suggesting even then she had the constitution to do well in the demands of golf at the highest level.

Kim has yet to record a top ten in an LPGA Tour event this season, but arrives at Riviera with a series of solid if unspectacular finishes to date this year.

Kim’s lack of distance from the tee might work against her on a golf course where a capacity to at least be adequate in distance appears as if it will be a considerable advantage.

Australia will also field Stephanie Kyriacou, Karis Davidson and Gold Coast amateur Sarah Hammett in the US$12 million event, but it appears as if Hannah Green should start as the favourite amongst the Australians.

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Nelly Korda looking to turn domination into US Women’s Open success


Nelly Korda during practice on Tuesday – image Kathryn Riley USGA

World number one, Nelly Korda, will this week attempt to turn her domination of the women’s game in 2026 into a breakthrough success in her own national open when she takes on the US Women’s Open at the Riviera Country Club, trying to better her runner-up finish in the event in 2025.

Korda has played in eight LPGA Tour events in 2026 for three wins, three runner-up finishes, a 3rd and 8th place, and although the winner of three majors already in her career, the one she likely wants the most has eluded her to date.

It has been a phenomenal start to the year, but she is keen to put behind her the disappointment of finishing two shots behind Maja Stark at Erin Hills in Wisconsin last year.

“Last year was just a weird year of kind of not necessarily playing my best, but also when I did, not getting the bounces or just missing by a centimetre here and there. But I also learned a lot about myself. It made me hungrier to be in those positions.

“Yeah, it was just like there’s no better place to be in than in the hunt on a back nine on Sunday at a major championship, especially at the Women’s Open. It would have been a lifelong dream, but there’s more chances.”

After the disappointment of not winning at all in 2025, Korda talked about the return to the form that had seen her such a dominant force in 2024, when she won seven times on the LPGA Tour.

“I was definitely a little bit more motivated after last year not getting a win, but when it came to just my prep, everything stayed the same,” added Korda. “This year I didn’t go to Asia. I took that time off to really get my body ready, spend some time in the gym, and didn’t touch my clubs for a little bit. Then, when I thought I was ready, I started really grinding on my game. That’s kind of what I’ve been doing for the past three or four years.

I’ve stayed the course because I’ve felt the best this way, and I’m just going to continue it. Sometimes you get the bounces, and the luck goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t. But athletes, after they’ve had like a tough year, they try to reinvent the wheel, and they try to change so much about their games. I feel like that leads them into trouble. It makes them doubt stuff a little bit more. Maybe you just don’t feel very comfortable in your own skin after you’ve changed a lot about your game, maybe your team as well.

“I always just try to be like, okay, this works. I’m putting in the effort every single day, and I know that if I continue this path, like it will change.”

Korda is already enjoying what the Riviera Country Club will offer this week.

“It’s in pristine condition. It’s an amazing place. Obviously, the men rave about it every year, and for us to get to play this golf course in a major championship in major championship conditions has — obviously, today being Tuesday, and yesterday, it’s already in absolute great condition.

“I know some golf courses kind of wait until Wednesday to really speed up the greens, but it’s amazing out here. I mean, the vibe of the place, knowing that so much history has been played out here. It’s a great place for us to play.”

Despite the venue being used on so many occasions for significant men’s events, Korda has not really paid a lot of attention to previous championships at the Riviera Country Club, but feels confident in the processes she has in place to do well.

“If I’m being honest, I haven’t researched at all. I don’t necessarily watch too much golf. I had my coach, one of my coaches, Jamie Mulligan, come out here, and he’s from this area, and he’s been at this golf course millions of times. So yesterday he came out and walked with me, as he will today as well.

“Obviously, he has a lot of knowledge, and I was just asking him some questions, but sometimes too much information isn’t really good. So I just try to play the golf course and kind of figure it out on my own. I know Jason, my caddie, has done a lot of research as well on the golf course.

“So we’ll pick a game plan depending on the day. Every day is going to be different. I know the wind switches here kind of from morning to afternoon based off it coming from the water. So, yeah, every day is going to be a different game plan.

“For me, I just try to scope out the golf course myself and figure it out.”

This will be Korda’s 12th US Women’s Open appearance with three top tens and a best of 2nd in 2025.

 

 

 

 

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Lydia Ko on cusp of LPGA Tour money earnings record


Lydia Ko – in action on Tuesday – image Logan Whitton USGA

14 years on from her first appearance in a Women’s US Open in 2012, when she played the event as a 15 year old amateur, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko will tee it up for the 15th time in the female game’s most significant event when she takes to the fairways of the famed Riveira Country Club in the suburbs of Los Angeles this Thursday.

Ko has missed only one cut in those 14 previous starts, but with only two top-ten finishes, she has perhaps performed below the standards she has set in her overall career to date.

Ko is currently in 11th position in the Race to the Globe in 2026 and is now number 10 in the Rolex standings, her worst standing in nearly two years, perhaps as other things become equally, if not more, important in her life as she approaches 30 (she is now 29).

Ko will, however, be one of the more fancied players this week, given her brilliant career to date. If she were able to finish 3rd alone or better this week, she would move past the great Annika Sorenstam to become the greatest prizemoney winner in the history of the LPGA Tour.

That milestone will surely come at some stage, it would seem, Ko needing another US767,000 to pass the US$22,584,000 Sorenstam earned in her 15-year LPGA Tour career.

Ko spoke to the media on Tuesday and put the chase of Sorenstam’s record in perspective.

“To be honest, it’s hard to compare myself to her record just because she won 70-something times and 90-something times worldwide,” said Ko.

“I think I’ve won a decent amount, having 23, but like 70-something is a completely different level than what I’ve done. We’re playing in a very different generation right now. You win CME, you get $3 million. Jeeno has played two tournaments, and she’s won like $6 million-plus, including the Aon she won one year.

“It’s cool to be, I guess, compared to that record and hopefully surpass it at some point, but it’s like very hard to kind of like compare it because we are playing for a lot more money than she did back in that day.

“For me, the win count is probably a little bit more meaningful. Not that the money isn’t meaningful. Obviously we’re very grateful that we get to play for a lot more money, and the last few majors, it’s been like a million-dollar purse increase starting in L.A. So it’s very exciting for the women’s game, but record-wise, no, I just feel like I’m like an ant and she’s — I don’t know what the biggest bug or living thing is, but she’s that.”

Ko was asked her thoughts on how the Riviera Country Club, so often used in men’s events, will set up for a women’s event of this standing for the first occasion.

“I think it’s fairly long. The wind direction is going to be a huge factor. I hit pitching wedge into one of the greens two days ago, and then I hit 5-iron today. It’s not like the wind has been very strong.

“So just with the combination of how strong the wind is and what time of the day you play, the course is going to firm out a little bit more.  I truly think it’s just advantageous for the person who necessarily hits it 20 yards further.

“I think it’s got a lot of character. I think that’s why it’s going to be difficult but fun and fair. You don’t often get to go to super fair courses, and I think this is a true testament of that.”

There has often been speculation as to just when Ko will pull the plug on her competitive playing career and perhaps her answer to a question on the LA Olympics gave a hint of her thinking in that regard.

“The L.A. Olympics? Who knows? I could be a part of it in a different place rather than just competing, and I do take pride in competing for New Zealand at the Olympics, and I really hope that I can be a part of it somehow in some shape or form. But no. Three Olympics, and that stress was enough.”

Ko has an afternoon (1.14) tee time on day one.

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Six Australasians face US Women’s Open Challenge


The 9th hole at Riviera Country Club with the iconic clubhouse in the background – image courtesy of USGA

The famed Riviera Country Club in the suburbs of Los Angeles will, for the first time, play host to the US Women’s Open where five Australians and one New Zealander will contest the most significant title in women’s golf.

Minjee Lee, Lydia Ko, Hannah Green, Grace Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou, and amateur Sarah Hammett have all earned their way into the field of 156 for the US$12 million event, Lee, the only player amongst that group to have experienced success when she won at Pine Needles in North Carolina in 2022.

Three Australians have won four US Women’s Open Championships. Jan Stephenson won in 1983, Karrie Webb in 2000 and 2001, and Lee in 2022.

19-year-old Queenslander, Hammett, now studying at the University of Southern California, is the only debutante among the group, having earned the right to join the field courtesy of her great effort to lead the qualifiers at her final qualifying venue in Arizona.


Amateur Sarah Hammett – image USGA

Minjee Lee will make her 13th start in the Women’s US Open, with her 2022 win as the standout. There has been only one other top ten for the current world number 9, and she will need a significant improvement on her most recent form in 2026 if she is to be a contender again.


Minjee Lee – with her 2022 US Women’s Open trophy – image USGA

Lydia Ko will be making her 15th start in the event, having first played in 2012 when, as an amateur, she tied for 39th. For a player of her standing, Ko’s record at the Women’s US Open is below her normal standards, having recorded just two top tens in those 14 previous starts for a best of 3rd in 2016.

Ko has played well enough in recent weeks for her to be considered a contender but her disappointing record in the event is a concern.


Lydia Ko – during the 2024 US Women’s Open – image USGA

Hannah Green arrives at the event as Australasia’s leading world-ranked player. With four wins in seven starts, including two in Australia in 2026, the West Australian will play her 8th Women’s US Open.


Hannah Green- A winner already in Los Angeles this year – can she make it another – image LPGA

Grace Kim tees it up as Australasia’s only major championship winner over the past four years, having won the 2025 Evian Championship and will play her 4th US Open with a best of 13th at her second start in 2023. Kim has made all but one of her eight cuts in 2026 but she has just the one top ten when 10th at the Women’s Australian Open.


Grace Kim – already a winner of a major – image LPGA

Sydney’s Stephanie Kyriacou is the final member of the Australasian group. Kyriacou will play her third US Women’s Open, but having missed the cut in her previous two and with seven consecutive missed cuts entering the event, it will be a significant effort for her to just make the weekend.


Stephanie Kyriacou – struggling with her game this year – image PGA of America 

Working in favour of the group however is the Australian feel to the outstanding, traditional golfing layout, where so many Australians have done well in PGA Tour events over the years.

Adam Scott (twice), Robert Allenby, Aaron Baddeley and Steve Elkington (1995 PGA Championship)  have all won events around the original George Thomas Jr designed (1926) layout.

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Footnote – Queensland’s Karis Davidson has now been added to the field courtesy of Celine Boutier’s win at the weekend, opening up the one spot left for a potential non-exempt winner gaining a start. Davidson had finished as an alternate at her final qualifying venue in April and plays in her first start in a US Women’s Open

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Scott Hend secures PGA Tour Champions future with five shot Morroco win


The years of travel to events anywhere have paid off with Hend’s biggest cheque and a future on the PGA Tour Champions – file image courtesy of NZ Open 

Until this week, Queensland’s Scott Hend had played two events on the PGA Tour Champions in 2026 for a runner-up and a third-place finish, but, very importantly, his five-shot win in Morocco overnight has secured the 52-year-old his full playing rights for that tour, and he can now focus on what should be a very lucrative career there.

Hend led after round one at the Trophy Hassan 11, slipped one behind Tommy Gainey through 36 holes in the 54 hole event, but today completed an emphatic five-shot win over Gainey and New Zealand’s Steve Alker with a final round of 69.

A bogey at his opening hole of today’s final round saw Hend fall two behind Gainey, but by the turn, he was one ahead of Gainey, whose double bogey at the 9th and another bogey at the 10th would prove costly.

Alker was also emerging as a threat when he reached the turn in 4 under, but a double bogey at the 11th effectively put paid to his chances of a second win for the season.

Hend was just two ahead of Gainey with three to play, but bogeys at the 17th and 18th by the American and a birdie at the last by the Australian sealed the deal for Hend, who earns US$400,000 for his breakthrough win and moves to a very impressive 5th on the Charles Schwab Cup standings in just three events compared to the seven or eight those ahead of him have played.

One of the game’s great travelling journeymen for much of his career, Hend now has a tour on which he can focus much of his attention, in a country where he and his family have their permanent base, ensuring what should be a very productive time for him in the US.

“It means the world to me,” said Hend. “It means I can be back in the States full time, back in my house, back kicking my kids on the backside when they’re doing things wrong, supporting the wife. Just generally to feel like I’m competing against the best senior players in the world; it’s an awesome feeling.

“I thought coming T-3 at the Senior PGA, and then I finished 2nd at the Regions, 2nd in Barbados, I felt like I was on the way up. I didn’t feel like a win was going to come this quick, so hey, when the win comes, you take it. Not complaining, it’s awesome. It’s early in the season for me. Hopefully I can kick on and contend really strongly in the senior majors.”

“To win this tournament in the 50th edition is very prestigious and very special to me. To see the trophy is amazing. It’s an amazing trophy. To win out here on the Champions Tour and to win in Morocco, with the start of the week being a little bit cool for us and then heating up as the week went on, was a little bit challenging to stay mentally spot on out there and not get too tired from the heat.

“It was just a great trophy to win, and as I said, to win the 50th edition is amazing.”

Alker improved from 8th to his share of 2nd and improved two places to 4th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

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Scott Hend contending again at Trophy Hassan event in Morocco


Scott Hend – file photo courtesy of Photosport NZ / NZ Open 

Scott Hend has been in contention in the PGA Tour Champions events in which he has been able to gain a start in 2026, but the victory that would secure him full playing rights on the lucrative over-fifties tour has thus far eluded him.

Just two starts this season have yielded a 3rd place at the Senior PGA Championship and a runner-up finish at the Regions Traditions, both majors, have highlighted Hend’s capacity to do well on the PGA Tour Champions if and when he gains full status, and tomorrow he gets another chance to do just that.

After leading the US$2.5 million Trophy Hassan 111 event in Morocco following an opening day 66, Hend began the second round in the worst possible fashion when he triple bogeyed his opening hole but staged a remarkable recovery with seven birdies and an eagle to go with two bogeys for a round of 69 over the par 73 layout and with one round to play in the 54 hole event he sits just one off the pace and in a share of second place.

“I think it’s an exceptionally good round considering I started with a triple bogey on the first and saw every single tree on the left-hand side. To just hang in there and grind it out was really good.

“Made a really poor bogey on the eighth hole, the par 5,” said Hend. “Very scrappy golf today, but if I can play really scrappy and shoot 4 under, then look out tomorrow.”

Hend is behind only Tommy Gainey whose consecutive rounds of 67 have him one ahead of Hend and South African Darren Fichardt.

Greg Chalmers is four shots behind Hend and the next best Australasian in 6th place, while Steve Alker and Cameron Percy are also inside the top ten in a share of 8th place at 5 under and six behind Hend.

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