The U.S. Women's Open Comes to Riviera, and Brings Its Best Stories With It

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There are courses that the women’s game visits and courses that feel like an arrival, and Riviera, this week, is firmly the latter. The 81st U.S. Women’s Open got under way on Thursday on the kikuyu fairways of Pacific Palisades, the first time the championship has been staged at one of American golf’s most storied venues. Riviera has hosted men’s majors and decades of Tour golf, and the sight of the best women in the world walking up that long, downhill par-five first hole carries a weight that goes beyond a single week. With a record purse of 12.5 million dollars on the line, the championship has chosen its stage carefully.

Maja Stark on Pin High Press

The U.S. Women's Open Comes to Riviera, and Brings Its Best Stories With It