A Spaniard is leading the US Women’s Open 2025. Yes, you read that right. Julia López (-4) continues to show that she is made for big events, for great things. The former World Number One amateur has delivered a card of 68 strokes at the start of the first US Women’s Open of her career to place herself at the top of the leaderboard after the first 18 holes of the tournament.
What’s impressive is how she did it. With enviable solidity. With an immaculate round at Erin Hills. At 22 years old, she has made what is very difficult look easy. It’s not just that she made four birdies, which is very positive, the great merit of the round is that she didn’t stumble at any point; only two players have delivered a bogey-free card.
Julia seemed to have control of her round at all times. She went on the attack and barely had to defend herself. Two commitments of just over a metre and a half to save par on the opening hole of her round and on the fourth is the closest she came to a bogey. She had to recover from the bunker on the 14th hole of her round about twenty metres from the flag and left it practically given. Solid with the putt, she closed the round by the two most difficult holes of Erin Hills and solved them with two great pars. On the eighth, she gave herself a small birdie chance from eight metres, and on the ninth, she holed a small commitment of just over a metre.
The big hitter from Benahavís was also the longest player on this first day with an average of 298 metres with the driver. No one hit harder, but that didn’t stop her from hitting a great number of fairways. She only missed three fairways, and one of them was on the short par four of the 2nd hole, her eleventh of the day, which left her in the left rough, a bit past the flag. Additionally, she only missed three greens in regulation. A bomb from the tee and a lot of finesse with the irons. Little more can be asked of the Spaniard’s round, who also had the luxury of holing a ten-metre putt to score her first birdie of the day.
It’s still very early, but the excitement of the lead makes it impossible not to dream of a possible Spanish victory in a major. It would be the first in history. It’s not the time to think about that, but the reality is that this generation of young players is making us dream that the big breakthrough could come sooner rather than later. It’s barely her first season as a rookie on the LPGA, and she’s showing what she’s made of. The one who won the European Ladies Amateur in 2023 as an amateur and reached the top of the world amateur ranking made her first big statement on the big stage this Thursday. Her great calling card.
Tied with her at the top are five other players, including Lim Kim, Angel Yin, Rio Takeda, Yealimi Noh, and Jinhee Im. 33 players managed to beat the course, although Wednesday’s rains made the course more receptive than expected, and the absence of wind also helped. More adverse weather conditions are expected for Friday, with the appearance of wind that could reach 30 kilometres per hour.
Four other Spaniards were also in action this Thursday. Great round by Paula Martín (PAR) with a bittersweet taste. She went from strength to strength to recover in the final stretch. We saw it all, and the final result is more than positive. A round of 72 strokes and 34th place in the first round of her career in a major. The one from Stanford started on the 10th hole like a real steamroller that lost strength as the day went on. In the blink of an eye, she had made three birdies at Erin Hills. Her first round in a major, and she was one stroke off the lead, and she was barely teeing off on the 6th hole. However, a double bogey and a consecutive bogey just before closing the first round ruined everything achieved. She had to start from scratch with nine holes ahead. The Spaniard managed to hold her own, not let herself go, and tie with the course in the second nine holes, thanks mainly to two magnificent birdies on the 7th and 8th holes, especially the last success by holing a great putt from seven metres.
Something similar happened to Carla Bernat (+1). The ANWA champion was in the negative when she reached the tee of the 15th hole. However, two consecutive bogeys dropped her to +1. It’s a good result that puts her among the top sixty in the tournament, and tomorrow she will fight to make the cut in the second major of her career.
The one who suffered greatly on the opening day was Carlota Ciganda (+6). The Navarrese couldn’t get the measure of the course at any time: little consistency and many ups and downs. Especially painful was the triple bogey on the 11th hole. The second shot from the rough on the left side of the fairway barely advanced thirty metres to go directly into the bunker, from where she also couldn’t get it out of the sand; it stayed right on the lip, and the fourth shot was barely to get it to the fringe. Approach and two putts and a seven on the card. She managed to recover with an eagle on the next flag.
The fifth Spaniard in the fray, Carol López Chacarra (+4), debuted in a major with a card of 76 strokes and will need to fly low in the second round to make the cut in her first Major. This Friday, much more complex weather conditions are expected in Wisconsin, with winds that could reach 30 miles per hour, which could make the game much tougher. It will be difficult to see so many players under par.
From the rest of the day, the result of Nelly Korda (PAR) stands out, who tied with the course with a card of 72 strokes. The world number one needed 18 holes to score her only birdie of the day.
