The golfers to watch during 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Reaching the summit is a dream. But staying there? That’s an altogether different problem.

Maja Stark has a particular appreciation for that now, a 12 months after successful the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills and feeling the hefty weight of expectation that got here along with it.

For her, the aftermath of that victory introduced heightened anxiety, and searing criticism from outsiders when the Swedish skilled’s play took a dip.

“You get feedback and stuff saying, ‘What happened? You just won a major; why do you suck all of a sudden?‘” Stark said at the Chevron Championship in April. “That does take some energy and just makes you focus on the wrong things. Then I got even more stressed and anxious.”

Stark said she sought professional help in the form of a mental coach, sports psychologist and therapist and now believes she’s better in a position to face up to the scrutiny that comes with successful at the best tier.

That career-shaping stress can be on show again this week when the USGA brings the U.S. Women’s Open to Riviera Country Club for the first time, merging the sport’s most prestigious ladies’s championship with a historic venue celebrating its centennial 12 months. The match takes place Thursday through Sunday.

Riviera is a theater, sitting low beneath high hillsides that virtually serve as balconies. Players have described the course as a stage because it could really feel as if you’re being watched even when you’re alone.

“I think there’s something very nostalgic about the facility,” said Jim Richerson, Riviera’s normal supervisor. “The golf course has never had any major renovations or changes. The clubhouse is the exact same footprint today as it was when it was built in the 1920s.”

The U.S. Women’s Open is the oldest of the LPGA Tour’s 5 majors, and has long served as the usual by which ladies’s golf measures itself. It’s open to professionals and elite amateurs through a qualifying course of, and the match is understood for figuring out the participant who can face up to the most stress under the most demanding situations.

NBC will televise the championship and although Mike Tirico is not going to call the event, he is aware of the importance of holding it at Riviera.

“Without there being a Masters for women’s golf, that tournament really is the crown jewel of the sport,” Tirico said. “It has become the event people dream of winning. … It’s just appropriate that it’s contested at a place like Riviera that for so many generations has come to define a great championship test of golf.”

A glance at some of the gamers to watch:

Nelly Korda

Nelly Korda celebrates after successful the Chevron Championship on April 26.

(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

The world’s No. 1 participant is a major needle mover for ladies’s golf and is a vital source of scores when she’s in rivalry. She had a document 5 consecutive victories last season and seven total. Her lacking major is the U.S. Women’s Open. She completed in a runner-up spot last 12 months and left Erin Hills firmly believing a win was within attain.

Jeeno Thitikul

Jeeno Thitikul performs a shot from the golf green during the first spherical of the Queen City Championship on May 14.

(Jeff Dean / Associated Press)

The former World No. 1 is still in pursuit of her first major championship. She’s a big query mark in the sphere.

Lydia Ko

Lydia Ko hits from the golf green during the second spherical of the LPGA Honda Thailand on Feb. 22.

(Kittinun Rodsupan / Associated Press)

This Hall of Fame participant is the only golfer in trendy Olympic historical past to win a full set of medals — gold, silver and bronze — across three different Olympic Games. She’s still trying for her first U.S. Women’s Open win.

Charley Hull

Charley Hull hits off the sixteenth tee during the first spherical of the Mizuho Americas Open on May 7.

(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)

A colourful character who went viral during the 2024 Open for smoking a cigarette while signing autographs and enjoying. She was among a cluster who completed second in that match. She has three victories on the LPGA Tour but has yet to win a major.

Rose Zhang

Rose Zhang hits from the ninth tee during the ultimate spherical of the Queen City Championship on May 17.

(Dylan Buell / Getty Images)

Zhang, who has been splitting time between Stanford and the LPGA, amassed a exceptional assortment of victories as an newbie and three years in the past, turned the first participant in 72 years to win an LPGA Tour event in her skilled debut.

Minjee Lee

Minjee Lee prepares to putt during the third spherical of the Chevron Championship on April 25.

(Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

Lee, an Australian star, has gained three majors including the U.S. Women’s Open in 2022. Her youthful brother, Min Woo, gained the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur, making them the first brother-sister tandem to win the USGA’s junior championships.

Yuka Saso

Yuka Saso traces up a putt during the first spherical of the Mizuho Americas Open on May 7.

(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)

She is the anomaly of anomalies, with zero wins on the LPGA Tour with the exception of two U.S. Women’s Open victories. She gained the first of those at 19 years, 11 months and seven days — astoundingly tying her for the youngest participant to win the Open with Inbee Park, who was exactly that outdated when she gained in 2008.

Lilia Vu

Lilia Vu watches her shot from the seventh tee during the third spherical of the Queen City Championship on May 16.

(Dylan Buell / Getty Images)

Vu grew up in Fountain Valley and was a standout at UCLA. She gained two majors in 2023 but these days has been battling back issues.

Michelle Wie West

Michelle Wie West of the United States hits from the third tee during the first spherical of the Mizuho Americas Open on May 7.

(Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

Wie West retired three years in the past after the Open at Pebble Beach, but is popping out of retirement to use her last 12 months of exemption to play at Riviera. Her husband, Jonnie West, son of late NBA icon Jerry West, can be caddying for her.