World No. 1 Nelly Korda clocked her best finish of the 2025 season at this weekend's US Women's Open, tying Japan's No. 14 Rio Takeda for second place as the decorated US golfer continues to hunt her first LPGA Tour win of the year.

"When you come so close and you kind of feel that adrenaline coming down 18, the one thing that you want to do is hold the trophy at the end of the day," Korda said afterwards. "And I'm not."

That said, Korda's second-place finish marks her best showing yet at the US Women's Open, and a significant boost from last year's edition in which she failed to make the cut following an 80-stroke opening round.

"To have that showing last year definitely put a dagger into my heart, but that's just golf," the 26-year-old said after the tournament. "You're going to lose more than you win a majority of the time."

"I feel like I actually learn a lot about myself and my game and where I need to improve playing the US Women's Open because it does test every part of your game," Korda added.

Sweden's Maja Stark lifts the 2025 US Women's Open trophy.
Maja Stark won the 2025 US Women's Open with a two-stroke lead. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Stark, Cooper climb leaderboard at US Women's Open

While the second-place finish earned Korda and Takeda each a check for $1,052,621, it was Sweden's No. 6 Maja Stark whose two-shot lead had her walking away with both her first career major trophy and the $2.4 million winner’s purse — the largest payday in the sport.

"It feels so surreal, and it felt like it was so far away just a couple of weeks ago," said the 25-year-old after claiming the title.

Notably, another US golfer walked away with a large paycheck, as world No. 155 Hailee Cooper finished the tournament tied for seventh to take home $358,004.

The 25-year-old, who competes on the developmental Epson Tour in hopes of earning LPGA membership, banked just under $50,000 in her 2025 play before becoming the second-best US finisher in the 2025 US Women's Open on Sunday — Cooper's first-ever LPGA Tour event as a pro.

"I walked out and [the officials] go, 'So you want to see the money?'" Cooper said about her Top 10 finish. "I walked up and I immediately started crying when I saw the numbers. I'm like, 'Oh, gosh, there are six of them.'"

"It's life changing for sure," she explained. "It makes professional golf a lot easier financially now, so it will be really nice."