Following the July 4th holiday, it is entirely appropriate that the U.S. Women’s Open will take place at the most American of golf courses, Pebble Beach.
We had fireworks on Tuesday, and we are sure to have fireworks this weekend, as the best women golfers in the world play on one of the most famous courses in the world for the first time since 1951. The Weathervane Transcontinental Women’s Open was the last LPGA event to be held at Pebble Beach.
The return this year, and with these stakes, is long overdue. The PGA has held countless golf events at Pebble Beach, including six U.S. Opens. Now, finally, it’s time for the women.
The Favorites
Golfer | Odds |
Rose Zhang | +1000 |
Jin Young Ko | +1400 |
Atthaya Thitikul | +1600 |
Hyo Joo Kim | +2000 |
Leona Maguire | +2000 |
Nelly Korda | +2200 |
Xiyu Lin | +2200 |
Miyu Yamashita | +2500 |
Minjee Lee | +2500 |
Ayaka Furue | +3000 |
Rose Zhang
Is it premature to make Rose Zhang the golf US Womens Open picks to win? This will be just her third professional start. She won her first and finished tied for eighth in her second, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. That was her first ever major championship as a pro, and now this will be her second.
Zhang leads the golf U.S. Women’s Open odds, and it is a deserved spot on top. The 20-year-old is a sensation very much in the same mold as Tiger Woods. Pebble Beach hasn’t hosted a women’s professional tournament since 1951, but last year at the Carmel Cup, Zhang played Pebble Beach and shot a course-record 63.
Jin Young Ko
The golf odds have Jin Young Ko as the second betting favorite, but that is based on where she has been historically. She was in the top-10 in three major championships in 2022, but she missed the cut in one major in 2023, and was 57th in the other. Ko did, however, win at the Founders Cup in May.
Ko has two career major titles, and she is clearly one of the best golf players in the field, but she hasn’t finished atop the leaderboard in a showcase event since 2019.
Nelly Korda
Nelly Korda is the current No. 2 ranked golfer in the world, but most U.S. Women’s Open predictions have her finishing down the leaderboard. She has three top-10 finishes in majors in the last two years, but for her career, she has just one win.
Leona Maguire
Leona Maguire played three great rounds at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, but lost it in a bad final round. She was also a top-eight finisher at the U.S. Women’s Open last year, and her game is perfectly suited for the conditions of Pebble Beach.
Minjee Lee
Surprisingly Minjee Lee is down the favorites board a bit. U.S. Women’s Open predictions seem to forget that not only did Lee win last year’s Open, she won with a record-setting 13-under par. She was also the winner at the Evian Championship in 2021. That’s two major wins in two years, and you ignore her at your peril.
Other Golfers to Follow
After 18 years of professional golf, the legendary Michelle Wie West is calling it a career. This will be her final tournament. She turned pro at the age of 16, was the winner of the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, and she has five total wins on the LPGA Tour. She would have retired after last year’s U.S. Women’s Open, but she wanted to stick around for the opportunity to play at Pebble Beach.
Also, keep an eye on Amy Olson. She qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open back in May when she shot a six-under during her 36-hole qualifier. What made that unique is that she was six months pregnant. Now at Pebble Beach, she is more than seven months pregnant.
“Obviously, my belly is getting bigger, and it’s starting to impact certain things, but I still feel like I can play and I can compete,” said Olson. “It’s just that it is more challenging, and the swing changes day to day.”
U.S. Women’s Open predictions don’t expect much out of Olson this weekend, but as Olson told reporters after she won her qualifier, this baby “has good golf mojo.”
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