[Edaily Starin, Reporter Joo Mi-hee] Although Jeon In-ji failed to win the 81st U.S. Women’s Open (total prize money: $12.5 million) for the first time in 11 years, she signaled a spectacular comeback by demonstrating her potential for a resurgence.

On the 8th (KST), Jeon In-ji carded a 1-under-par 70 in the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open—the second major tournament of the LPGA Tour season—held at the Riviera Country Club (par 71) in Pacific Palisades, California, USA, with four birdies and three bogeys.
Jeon In-ji, who finished with a total score of 6-under-par 278, briefly held the sole lead but ultimately finished the tournament in a tie for fourth place.
Jeon In-ji made a name for herself on the world stage by winning the U.S. Women’s Open in 2015 as a non-member while competing on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour. Despite it being her first appearance, she left a strong impression by overcoming a four-stroke deficit in the final round to claim the title.
After making her official LPGA Tour debut in 2016, Jeon In-ji won the Amundi Evian Championship that year, securing her second career major title. She also had a stellar rookie season, winning both the Rookie of the Year award and the Vare Trophy (for the lowest scoring average).
While her performance at the time seemed to herald a bright future for Jeon In-ji, she has won only twice on the LPGA Tour over the past decade: the 2018 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship and the 2022 major, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
In particular, following her 2022 major victory, she struggled with physical and mental slumps and found it difficult to produce consistent results. From the 2023 season through the 2025 season, she competed in 49 tournaments but finished in the top 10 only once.
She made a major change in her golf career starting in late 2024. She teamed up with coach Kim Song-hee and Dr. Cho Su-kyung, dreaming of a comeback. Although results didn’t come immediately, she persevered and persevered. Jeon In-ji even postponed the start of this season until March, focusing on rebuilding her swing with coach Kim Song-hee in Vietnam.
Instead of a swing that overused her lower back to gain distance, she worked hard to perfect a mechanism where she brings the club back to the correct position and transitions naturally into the downswing without forcing ground reaction force.

The results of her efforts began to show at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open. Jeon In-ji played consistently throughout the tournament, starting the final round tied for third place, one stroke behind the leader. She jumped into contention for the title by making birdies on the 1st (par 5) and 7th (par 5) holes. She then secured back-to-back birdies on the 10th (par 4) and 11th (par 5) holes to take the sole lead.
It was disappointing that she made consecutive bogeys on the 12th and 13th holes (both par 4s), allowing Nelly Korda (USA) and Charley Hull (England) to tie for the lead. On the 17th hole (par 5), her second shot landed in a bunker to the right of the green. Due to the difficult lie, her bunker shot fell short of the pin, and she failed to escape.
Gaby Lopez (Mexico) made a birdie on the final 18th hole (par 4) to join the group of co-leaders, resulting in a four-way tie that kept the competition tight until the very end.
Meanwhile, Coda sank a 2.5-meter birdie putt on the 17th hole (par 5) to take a one-stroke lead and move one step closer to victory. Jeon In-ji, who played in the group ahead, finished her round with a bogey on the 18th hole (par 4) after her second shot landed in the rough to the left of the green.
Although she fell short of the victory, this tournament served as a stage where Jeon In-ji confirmed her potential to return to the ranks of the world’s elite. After enduring a long slump, injuries, and a swing overhaul, she proved her competitiveness by coming within a hair’s breadth of reclaiming the US Women’s Open title for the first time in 11 years. It is particularly significant that she battled for the title until the very end against top-tier players, including world No. 1 Coda. She has regained the confidence that she can succeed on the major stage once again.
The title went to Korda, who carded a two-under-par round to finish with a total of 8-under-par 276. Korda has now won two consecutive majors since her victory at the Chevron Championship last April and is running away with the season, having secured four wins so far.
Kim Se-young lost one stroke and finished the tournament in a tie for fifth place (5-under-par 279).