U.S. women's open 2023 - storylines to watch - ESPN

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — It has been 72 years since the best female golfers in the world played a competitive round at one of the most famous golf courses in the history of the game. The 1951 Weathervane Transcontinental Women's Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, won by Patty Berg, was the last LPGA event at the iconic venue, which is hosting the U.S. Women's Open.

The significance of the women finally playing here is not lost on anyone. A venue that has hosted countless PGA Tour events and the men's U.S. Open six times will now welcome the game's top women to its grounds, providing a unique test that will give the golf world a different look at Pebble Beach through the shots of some of the best ball strikers in the world.

«I watched Tiger's win at the U.S. Open, and Gary Woodland, he won the U.S. Open, so I watched everything,» world No. 1 Jin Young Ko said. «I'm really excited to play this golf course. I really wanted to play this golf course.»

From established stars to up-and-coming phenoms, no matter who emerges victorious, one thing is certain: A women's event at Pebble Beach has been long overdue.

Here are four storylines to watch for this week:

The top three players in the world rankings — Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko and Lydia Ko — all have earned their spots in those places, but it has been some time since each of them raised any major trophy of some sort.

Korda, who is perhaps the face of the women's game at the moment, has three top-10 finishes at majors in the past two years, but her sole major victory came in 2021 at the Women's PGA Championship. After returning from a back injury at this year's PGA, Korda said she was 100% healthy but ended up missing the cut — her first missed cut at a major since the 2021 U.S.