When the major championships end, time slows down for the winner. As family and friends flock to the 18th green for hugs, photos and a trophy presentation, pressure and plans melt away.
For the runners-up, however, time can accelerate.
From the moment Nelly Korda’s shot spun the cup in Riviera’s 18th race and dropped in, it was less than five minutes before Gaby Lopez sat on the media center podium, fielding questions from just two reporters about her second-place finish. Her runner-up, Charley Hull, sat at the back of the room, anxiously playing on her phone, ready to leave the property. Did he have to stay to accept the second place medal? That’s what her team was wondering out loud.
Lopez and Hull displayed very different tendencies. Hull was frustrated. All this per second? Lopez was ecstatic.
“I feel great,” she said. “I’m not disappointed at all.”
Lopez had never been this close, and it showed. Hull now there are five major runners-up; on Instagram she called herself a “bridesmaid again.”
It was a fascinating matchup, but witnessed by few. Our collective gaze was fixed on the Korda team photo shoot on the 18th green. Hull is 30 and Lopez is 32, and the entire golfing world expects the former to earn a major before the latter — everyone, that is, but Lopez herself, who is apparently in hot pursuit of a major and nothing else.
She consulted with her compatriot, a two-time major winner Lorena Ochoafor tips on how to win the game’s biggest events. It has dropped regular starts from its summer schedule, in part because of grass species. If the next major is in bentgrass, she doesn’t want to prepare in poa. In the meantime, whenever Lopez’s competitive juices get him going play more her physical therapy closes it.
“Right now, let’s be smart,” coach Aaron Bond told Lopez this year. “Let’s focus on what you want to achieve. At the end of the day, let’s put ourselves in a position where you can give yourself a pat on the back on Sunday.”
It may be cliche framing, but at Riviera it worked, at least until the 70th hole of the championship. On the 16th green, Korda had a 21-footer for birdie, in line with Lopez, who had a 28-footer. Korda took two shots to put the ball in the hole; Lopez needed three.
That crucial bogey at the US Open would keep most players up at night. But Lopez, who has three more bites at the top apple this season, sees only positives.
“There is nothing I regret,” she said. “I’m happy. I’m proud… We’ve got to be a little tighter in a couple of weeks and hopefully one day it’s our chance.”
3 things I’m thinking
1. New beginnings? On the subject of Riv, I’ve heard a rumor that her first celebrity tee may not be THE First Olympic team in two years. The problem? It is so close to the club that it creates difficult flow for spectators and does not allow any stands behind it. If that happens, I would like to propose the third tee as an alternative option.
2. Doonbeg or bust. President Trump’s attendance at this week’s NBA Finals game in New York was a reminder that I’m told he intends to attend the DP World Tour’s Irish Open at his Doonbeg course this fall. His schedule may change, of course, but Trump loves watching his courses wait for the professionals. Doing this in another location would make for a much bigger spectacle.
3. Nelly knows no boundaries. Korda confirmed at the Riv what we knew a week ago: She’s playing the best golf of her life. DataGolf’s advanced analytics ranks her 2026 performance as a full stroke, averaging better than her 2024 season, when she won five times in six starts. Like Scottie Scheffler, Korda somehow continues to raise the bar.
