While Hull embraces all-out aggression, Korda – who is firmly on track for golfing greatness – took a more pragmatic approach to winning her fourth major title.
She leant heavily on caddie Jason McDede to ensure she landed the title she most coveted. “When I entered the back nine all Jay and I were talking about was one shot at a time,” the champion said.
“Not getting too ahead of myself. Not looking at the leaderboard, seeing what other people were doing. It was just a shot at a time.”
Korda, who won the Chevron Championship at a canter in April, now has four wins and three runner-up finishes in what is proving an extraordinary 2026 season.
No-one in the women’s game currently knows better how to get over the finishing line.
“Major championships are about grinding it out and also having that little window where you can be aggressive,” she said.
“I just did a really good job of staying patient and making those up and downs and then knowing that when I had that little window I was going to be aggressive.”
Like Hull, Korda had to overcome a frustrating start. Her sister Jessica advised a subtle but discomfiting grip change after a two-over-par opening 73 in which she repeatedly lost drives to the right.
Putting has often been her weak link, but she gained more than three shots on the greens compared with the rest of the field and topped the statistical charts for scrambling.
“Even mid-round I was like, well, will I ever win it?” Korda said. “You always have those doubts, you’re just a human being.”
This was a classic US Open that tested every aspect of the game, technically and mentally. It was hard to run balls on to the greens because of the sticky approaches, but the sloping putting surfaces were often too firm to hold.
Korda’s extra height to her approach shots provided a key benefit but her composure to repeatedly get up and down proved the difference.
While Hull’s aggression brings the best out of the Briton, she would do well to embrace some of those more measured qualities of last week’s winner in future major attempts.
Korda, meanwhile, can enjoy the biggest win of her stellar career to date. “I don’t know if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” she said.
“But I think I’m just extremely proud of my fight this week and the dream of that little girl that you kind of get to check that off your bucket list.”
It would be a shame if we do not soon hear Hull saying something similar.
