This is the most interesting stat from Nelly Korda’s U.S. Women’s Open
Sean M. Haffey
Major championships are going to play harder than your average week on tour. It’s not surprising to see players at the U.S. Women’s Open miss more fairways and greens at Riviera Country Club, the ultimate strategic design. But there was something interesting in Nelly Korda’s stats en route to winning the championship on Sunday, something that showed (surprisingly) that a player can miss a lot of greens, while still hitting it great.
Korda is the best ball-striker on the LPGA Tour and has averaged 77 percent greens in regulation during the 2026 season. At the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera C.C., Korda hit 56 percent of greens during the first round (10 of 18), 61 percent in the second round (11 of 18), 56 percent again in the third round and 61 percent once more in the final round. But the greens in regulation stat doesn’t tell the entire story.
Strokes gained shows that though she hit about the same amount of greens during each round, her ball-striking improved significantly since Thursday. In that first round, Korda lost .65 strokes to the field in approach shots, ranking 101st in the field. The frustration was clear. She talked about a swing issue she’d been working on, where she was having trouble releasing the club, which was resulting in the ball flying off to the right. She went to the range and ultimately her sister, Jessica, told her to strengthen her grip.
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The following round, she hit about the same number of greens, but her strokes gained stat changed considerably. In the second round, she gained 1.27 strokes on the field in approach, ranking 35th in the field. In the third round, she missed eight greens again but gained 2.61 strokes on the field, ranking third in strokes gained approach. She finished birdie-birdie-birdie to enter the final round with a share of the lead.
Come Sunday, Korda’s strokes gained/approach dipped from Friday and Saturday, but was still in positive territory (.23)
The greens in regulation stats show she’s missing greens, but the strokes-gained stats in her second and third rounds reveal that she’s not missing by much, and she’s missing in great places.
“Despite missing eight greens in regulation on Saturday, Nelly ranked 13th in the field in average proximity to the hole, meaning when she did miss, it wasn't overly penalizing,” explains golf data analyst Justin Ray. “For example, on the 12th hole Saturday, Nelly didn't land her approach on the putting surface, but was just 21 feet from the hole. Because it was still in an advantageous position relative to the field, she gained about two-tenths of a stroke with her approach play there.”
Korda’s strokes-gained stat was also bolstered by the instances when she hit the green, and the ball ended up incredibly close to the pin.
“Strokes-gained approach also gives extremely high value to approach shots that result in kick-in birdies. Nelly had three approach shots Saturday to less than six feet,” Ray says. “On those three holes alone, she gained 2.48 strokes with her approach play. Because the second shot was the most consequential in the birdie, that's the shot that gets the most credit statistically on that hole.”
Korda’s second and third rounds prove that the key to navigating championship setups isn’t to never miss a green, it’s to miss in the right spot. And that every opportunity to fire at a pin has to be fully taken advantage of.
“We're playing in a major championship so it's going to test every part of your game. You're not going to hit solid shots off the tee, solid shots into the green. It's just kind of all about grinding,” Korda said after her round Saturday. “I would say major championships are about grinding and then kind of when have you that little window to be aggressive, you really have to take it.”
And take it she did, all the way to the biggest victory of her career.