TELFER’S THOUGHTS 8.6.26

Lydia Ko and Nellie Korda, the two most celebrated names in women’s golf over the past 10 years, went to the famed Riviera Golf Club in California last week with one thing in mind, each anxious to fill in the one gaping missing piece from their remarkable list of career achievements, a US Open title.

At the end of the week, one went home with that sought-after title to her name, the other didn’t even it make it to the weekend.

Sadly for Kiwi golf fans it was Lydia who failed to make the cut. Her two-round score of 5 over saw her miss the cut by 1 shot. Unfortunately missed cuts in Majors are becoming something of an issue for Ko, who for the first 10 years or so of her career barely missed a cut in any tournament. From her first 35 Major Championships she missed the cut only once. Since the start of 2023, however, Lydia has failed to make it to the weekend in 6 of her last 17 Major starts. If she can win a US Open she will have achieved the Women’s Grand Slam which, for some reason I’m not entirely sure of,

only requires women to win 4 of their 5 Majors. I suspect the 4 the women have to win are the same 4 Major titles men have to win to earn the Grand Slam.

Curiously Lydia has been in good touch basically in 2026, until she gets to a Major. From 11 starts, she’s had 4 top 10 finishes. Her only missed cuts have been the 2 Majors to date in 2026.

Our three leading male golfers, I’m pleased to say, fared better on both sides of the Atlantic. Ryan Fox again lined up in one of the 8 Signature events on the USPGA Men’s Tour.

Only 72 in the field, most of whom were ranked inside the top 100 on the World Rankings. Yes, there was US$20million in prizemoney at stake, but with a quality field like this there were ironically no easy dollars there for the taking.

Foxy again showed why he can hack it with the best in the world, finishing in a tie for 27th against this world class field. For his troubles he picked up US$157,000 (NZ$270,000). He also moved up to 64th place on the FedEx Cup rankings. This week looms as a big week for Foxy who finds himself, for the first time in his US career, starting a tournament as the defending champion. Yes, he’s back at the venue in Toronto where he won the 2025 Canadian Open in a play-off last year against the American Sam Burns. Foxy’s winning score last year was 18 under par. So I guess that’s the sort of number he‘ll have in mind as he begins the formidable task of defending that crown.

In Amsterdam last week Daniel Hillier and Kazuma Kobori both comfortably made the cut at the Dutch Open, but neither was able to kick on over the weekend. Poor old Daniel had the mortifying experience of putting two tee shots into the water on the short 115 metre par 3 4 th hole. He finally\ trudged off the green with a 4 over par 7. His round and tournament was effectively cooked there and then. He picked up 3 birdies on the back 9 to give some respectability to his round. His 73 did get him a 14 th finishing place, but he did drop out of the Race to Dubai’s top 10. He’s now 11 th .

Kazuma Kobori also finished poorly with a 4 over 75 on the last day. He had 2 double bogeys along with 4 bogeys and 4 birdies, a real mixed bag and a tie for 28th .