ERIN, Wis. — A lot has changed in 17 years for Allisen Corpuz.

She’s a bit taller than she once was and hits the golf ball a lot further. She played collegiate golf at USC, earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in her time as a Trojan and establishing herself as one of the nation’s top amateur players.

She moved away from her native Hawaii and joined the LPGA Tour, winning for the first time at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach and competing on two U.S. Solheim Cup Teams, one of which won last year at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. She even got engaged to her longtime boyfriend Daniel Eckstrom.

But one thing that hasn’t changed over the last nearly two decades is Corpuz’s quietly competitive nature, something that will be on full display once again at the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills. And unlike many in this year’s 156-player field, the 27-year-old has a history with this venue, which is hosting the world’s best female athletes for the first time since it opened in 2006, but unfortunately, it isn’t one that she remembers much about.

Give her some grace, though. Corpuz was only 10 years old when she first played Erin Hills.

“I was here in 2008 for the (Women’s Amateur Public Links), and I was 10 years old, and I remember it being a really big course,” Corpuz said. “We were talking earlier. I remember one being a solid three shots for me, and this year, it looks like it might be a little more reachable. Then, I remember nine being really pretty down the hill.

“I wish I remembered more of it from when I was younger, but I remember how awesome this property is and how nice the practice facilities are. That was my first USGA Championship, so I remember coming on-site and being really, really impressed, and here I am 17 years later and still really impressed by how (the USGA) runs a championship.”

Corpuz is back in Erin, Wis., for the 80th edition of the U.S. Women’s Open, which is visiting the Badger State for the first time since the event was contested at Blackwolf Run in 2012. The course has undergone a few cosmetic renovations in the years after Corpuz made history as the youngest competitor in USGA Championship history at 10 years, 3 months and 10 days old, namely some bunker reshaping and tee expansion, but it still feels familiar to the LPGA Tour winner, even if some of the finer details have been made a bit fuzzy by the passage of time.

The past champion is coming into the second major of the 2025 season off a couple of missed cuts on the LPGA Tour at the Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion and Mizuho Americas Open, events at which she was just a shot here and there away from playing the weekend. Some athletes might have balked at missing back-to-back cuts leading up to a major championship, hustling to add a tournament to the schedule to try and get in a positive competitive rep before a test as tough as a U.S. Women’s Open.

But one of the things that has benefitted Corpuz in her four years as an LPGA Tour member is her calm, cool and collectedness, which is the vibe she is giving heading into the challenge that awaits at Erin Hills, reassured by the fact that she knows how to win against the best in the world when conditions get difficult, something evidenced by her triumph two years ago at Pebble Beach.

“I think it's about putting my game under pressure and being able to execute in the moment,” Corpuz said when asked what she is waiting for to click. “I've practiced really well. I feel like I've had a really hard time putting four solid rounds together, so I'll have one low round, kind of struggle through another. I don't think anyone is going to go 20-, 25-under this week, and I feel like I've always been really good at playing for par, making some really tough pars. I think that'll be good at this course, being able to grind out a score.”

Many athletes have said ahead of the start of the U.S. Women’s Open that accuracy is going to be a critical component for success this week at Erin Hills because even though the course looks wide, being in the right spot is crucial when looking to attack what are heavily sloped, undulating greens. In terms of statistics, Corpuz ranks ninth in driving accuracy and fifth in greens in regulation on the LPGA Tour this season, so despite being a shorter hitter, it’s her ability to keep the ball out of trouble that should see her fare well this week in Wisconsin.

“It's a U.S. Open. You know the rough is going to be up. It'll be windy this week,” Corpuz said. “It's always comforting to know that I'll go out there and be comfortable over the ball, know, okay, if I'm struggling, everyone else is, as well. I know I'm one of the straightest players out here, even if I don't hit it the furthest, and definitely, I would take fairway over the rough here.”

But no matter how difficult the conditions prove to be and what gets thrown her way in the 72 holes upcoming, there is one thing that will always be an advantage for Corpuz, something that has remained the same from her first USGA Championship experience at 10 years old until now, helping her already become a major champion and win one of the toughest tournaments in all of golf.

“I'd say just attitude and patience,” Corpuz said when asked what has remained the same in her golf game from 10 years old to now. “I'd like to think I'm a much better player now than I was before. But I feel like I've always been a pretty calm player, and I think that's stayed the same over the years.”

Allisen Corpuz Returns to Erin Hills for First Time Since She Was 10 Years Old

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