ERIN, Wis. — Erin Hills appeared to be no problem for Yealimi Noh on day one of the 80th U.S. Women’s Open. The 23-year-old opened her week at the year’s second major championship with a stellar 4-under 68, a first-round effort that saw her make one bogey, three birdies and an eagle at this challenging venue.

Noh got off to a fairly strong start on Thursday morning, picking up a birdie on the par-4 2nd hole to move to 1-under, and she then parred her next six holes before erasing that early birdie with a bogey on the par-3 9th, what is one of the most difficult holes at this venue because of its heavily sloped green. Her second birdie of the round didn’t come until the par-3 13th hole, moving Noh back to 1-under, and she chipped in for eagle on the par-5 14th hole to climb to 3-under for the round.

Noh landed one last punch by making birdie on the par-5 18th hole to close out her round and sit in a tie for the lead after the morning wave finished up first-round play at Erin Hills.

“U.S. Opens are always very grand, and coming in, Erin Hills definitely lived up to the expectations. Everything's big – the fairways, the walks, need big drives, but it's an incredible golf course,” Noh said. “It was a very solid day. Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. My putting was good around the greens. I didn't chip around too much, so that made it more simple.

“I think it's a great start, but for the next few days, do the same thing. Focus on hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and keeping it going.”

The California native became a Rolex First-Time Winner earlier this season at the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands, an event she won by four strokes over former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko with a 72-hole total of 21-under.

It was a long-awaited victory for Noh, who had racked up 13 top-10 results since joining the Tour in 2020, and finally having that proverbial monkey off her back has bolstered the young athlete’s confidence tremendously in recent months, something evidenced by the five other top 20s she has collected after her win at Bradenton Country Club, the most recent of which was a tie for fifth she posted at the Mizuho Americas Open.

“So much more confidence,” said Noh when asked what that Founders Cup win did for her self-belief. “I think it takes a lot of pressure off my back and a lot of confidence and assurance and more belief in myself and my shots and what I can do even if I don't have a great start or a great round.”

Looking at her season-long statistics on the LPGA Tour, Noh’s metrics clearly point to the 23-year-old potentially having a lot of success at a championship of this magnitude. She was ranked inside the top 10 of four major strokes gained categories ahead of the U.S. Women’s Open, including strokes gained total (3, +1.96), strokes gained tee to green (3, +1.92), strokes gained approach (9, +0.97) and strokes gained off the tee (+0.64), a cocktail of excellent ball-striking abilities that are critical to successfully navigating a lengthy, thickly-roughed course like Erin Hills.

She was also leading the Tour in greens in regulation (78.63 percent), tied for second in par-5 scoring (4.50) and third in bogey avoidance (10.47 percent), additionally ranking sixth in greens hit from the rough percentage (66.07 percent) and eighth in greens hit from the fairway percentage (83.73 percent).

And while her ball striking is seemingly very much to thank for her success so far in 2025, Noh credits the switch she made to a broomstick putter from L.A.B. as another big reason for her strong play as of late.

“I was not in a good spot with my putting before the L.A.B.,” Noh admitted. “To be honest, I was having the yips, and it was really difficult. I didn't know what to do, and I just needed something completely different. My coach introduced me to a long putter, and then I moved on to the L.A.B. I think the L.A.B. makes the best broomstick putter. It's just been good from there.”

Posting an early round in the red at a U.S. Women’s Open will always put an athlete in a good headspace as they deal with one of the most difficult tests in all of golf, but Noh knows firsthand not to get too far ahead of herself.

She first competed in this major championship back in 2020, and after faring pretty well through the first 54 holes at Champions Golf Club and sitting at even par for the tournament, she carded a 9-over 80 in the final round in Houston, Texas, a disappointing finish to her debut appearance in the U.S. Women’s Open.

So, even though her 68 is a new career-best in this event, Noh is going to quickly wipe the slate clean and begin to mentally prepare for Friday’s second round, 18 holes that will likely see the conditions become a bit more challenging to contend with as the course firms up and the winds blow in Erin, Wis.

“I think it's the best championship in golf. I think my first U.S. Open during COVID, I had a pretty good start,” Noh said. “The final round wasn't as great, and I remember thinking, this is the U.S. Open. Even though I had a good start, a couple of days into the weekend, the final round, I was like, ‘Wow, things can change so fast.’ So I definitely need to keep my guard up and be steady.”

Noh Sweat: Yealimi Noh Opens with 68 in First Round of U.S. Women’s Open

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