My Top 5 Picks To Win The U.S. Women's Open At Riviera
The U.S. Women's Open is not a tournament for guessing.
It usually finds something. It finds the most complete player. It finds the player with enough patience to survive bad breaks, enough ball-striking to handle championship pressure and enough nerve to make four-footers feel routine when everything around them feels anything but.
This week at Riviera Country Club, that test gets even more interesting.
Riviera is long, old-school, strategic and uncomfortable in all the right ways. The kikuyu rough can grab the club. The greens demand imagination. The par 71 setup will ask players to control distance, flight, spin and emotion for four full days.
With that in mind, here are my top five picks to win the U.S. Women's Open, including one dark horse who could absolutely make noise.
U.S. Women's Open Pick Sheet
Five Players Built For Riviera
This is not a week for guessing. Riviera should reward complete players who can drive it, control their irons, survive misses and handle major championship heat.
No. 1 Pick
Nelly Korda
The World No. 1 checks the most boxes with major form, elite scoring and the most complete all-around profile in the field.
Best Pressure Fit
Jeeno Thitikul
Her consistency, patience and all-around control make her one of the safest contenders if Riviera turns into a four-day grind.
Course-Fit Sleeper
Ruoning Yin
A major champion with controlled ball-striking and U.S. Women's Open form is exactly the type of player who can quietly take over this championship.
Dangerous Veteran
Hannah Green
A proven major winner, strong 2026 form and elite putting make Green a serious threat if the greens get fast and stressful.
Dark Horse Alert
Julia Lopez Ramirez
Power gives her a path. If she keeps the ball in play, her length can help shorten Riviera and turn her into one of the week's surprise contenders.
1. Nelly Korda
This is not exactly going out on a limb, but sometimes the obvious answer is obvious for a reason.
Nelly Korda is back at World No. 1 and has looked like the best player in women's golf again in 2026. She has already won three times this season, including a major at The Chevron Championship, and she leads the LPGA in scoring average at 68.15.
That matters at Riviera because this is not simply a putting contest. This is a complete examination.
Korda's game travels because she has no glaring weakness when she is right. She drives it well, controls her irons, has enough short-game creativity and owns the kind of major championship patience that wins U.S. Opens. Riviera will punish careless golf, but Korda's athletic, balanced move and elite scoring profile make her the safest pick in the field.
The only concern is pressure. She will carry the largest spotlight. But at this point, that is not new territory.
Why she can win: Best player in the world, best scoring profile, major form, complete game.
2. Jeeno Thitikul
Jeeno Thitikul may be the best "almost no one would be surprised" pick on the board.
She is World No. 2, sits near the top of the LPGA's major performance conversation and has the type of all-around consistency that fits a U.S. Women's Open. She is not just talented. She is efficient. She does not need her absolute best stuff to stay in a tournament.
That is a huge separator in this championship.
At Riviera, the winner will need to avoid the emotional mistake. Bogeys will happen. Bad lies will happen. A player will hit a good shot that gets a bad bounce. Thitikul's greatest strength is that she rarely looks rushed by the moment.
She has the ball-striking to hang around, the touch to save pars and the temperament to let the championship come to her.
Why she can win: Elite consistency, world-class all-around game, major-ready patience.
3. Ruoning Yin
Ruoning Yin feels like one of the cleanest fits for Riviera.
She is World No. 4, already a major champion and has the controlled, repeatable ball-striking profile that can shine on a golf course where angles and precision matter as much as power.
Yin finished tied for fourth at last year's U.S. Women's Open, which matters. This championship has a way of rewarding players who understand that par is never a bad score, especially when the setup gets firmer and faster.
Her game is not loud, but it is heavy. She can hit enough fairways, attack enough greens and avoid the big numbers that knock out half the field before Sunday even arrives.
If Korda is the favorite and Thitikul is the consistency play, Yin is the player I would trust to quietly climb into the final few groups and make everyone nervous.
Why she can win: Major pedigree, U.S. Women's Open form, controlled ball-striking.
4. Hannah Green
Hannah Green is built for weeks like this.
She is a proven major champion, a two-time winner in 2026 and has never missed a cut in seven previous U.S. Women's Open starts. That last part is not a throwaway stat. It speaks to toughness, patience and the ability to accept what this championship demands.
Green also ranks among the LPGA's best putters this season, which gives her a real path to winning if the ball-striking is steady.
At Riviera, there will be plenty of 25-footers for par, plenty of slippery five-footers and plenty of moments when a player has to make bogey feel like a small win. Green has the mentality for that.
She may not get the same attention as Korda or Thitikul, but she is absolutely dangerous.
Why she can win: Major experience, 2026 winning form, elite putting, perfect U.S. Women's Open cut record.
5. Dark Horse: Julia Lopez Ramirez
Here is the swing.
Julia Lopez Ramirez is my dark horse.
She is not one of the obvious household names yet, but Riviera may give her a real opening. She is one of the longest hitters on the LPGA in 2026, averaging more than 291 yards off the tee, and length is going to matter on a par 71 layout stretching close to 6,700 yards.
That does not mean this becomes a bomber's paradise. Riviera is too clever for that. But power gives a player options, and Ramirez's ability to shorten a demanding course could be a massive advantage if she keeps the ball in play.
She also finished tied for 19th in last year's U.S. Women's Open, so this is not a random pick based on distance alone. She has already shown she can handle this championship.
The question is whether she can keep the big number away for four rounds. That is always the question with a dark horse in a U.S. Open. But if she drives it well and gets comfortable early, she has the profile to hang around longer than people expect.
Why she can win: Elite length, strong 2025 U.S. Women's Open showing, upside on a long Riviera setup.
By The Numbers
Why These Picks Make Sense
The U.S. Women's Open rewards more than star power. These numbers point to players who bring the right blend of form, skill and toughness to Riviera.
No. 1
World Ranking
Nelly Korda enters Riviera as the top-ranked player in the world and the clear player to beat.
68.15
Scoring Average
Korda's scoring profile gives her the cleanest statistical case in the field.
T4
U.S. Women's Open Form
Ruoning Yin finished tied for fourth in last year's U.S. Women's Open, a strong indicator for this type of test.
7-for-7
Made Cuts
Hannah Green has never missed a cut in seven previous U.S. Women's Open starts.
Dark Horse Metric
291+ Yards
Julia Lopez Ramirez brings elite driving distance to a Riviera setup that stretches close to 6,700 yards. That power gives her a real path to contention if she controls the misses.
Final Pick
I am going with Nelly Korda.
It is not the sneaky pick. It is not the contrarian pick. It is the pick that makes the most sense.
Korda has the best blend of form, scoring, major confidence and complete-game control. At a place like Riviera, the winner cannot fake it for four days. She has to earn it from the tee, from the fairway, around the greens and inside five feet.
Right now, nobody checks more boxes than Korda.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent "The Starter" on R.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.
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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 5:47 PM.