The LPGA is back on the East Coast with the 2025 Mizuho Americas Open teeing off in New Jersey on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Defending champion Nelly Korda is on the hunt for her first win of the year after an unprecedented 2024 run. The world No. 1 golfer has struggled to regain her consistency this season, despite showing flashes of brilliance. "I've had some really good rounds, and some iffy rounds as well," Korda said earlier this week. "But I think that's just the game of golf — it's life, it's up, it's down, it's never going to be easy. And when you think you've got it figured out, it's going to humble you very quickly."
Korda isn't alone in her pursuit at the 2025 Americas Open, as fellow US star Rose Zhang makes her return to the links this week, despite battling a lingering neck injury. The world No. 26 golfer, who turns 22 years old at the end of this month, won the inaugural Americas Open in her 2023 pro debut but sat out last month's Chevron Championship due to her discomfort. "I will say that I'm pain-free right now, which I'm very thankful for," Zhang told Golf Digest. "I never realized, and obviously it goes unsaid, but the neck is very important for anything that you do."
Both Korda and Zhang are chasing the lion's share of the four-day tournament's $3 million purse — one of the largest non-major prize pools on the LPGA schedule. The Americas Open follows a unique format, inviting 24 top American Junior Golf Association players to tee off alongside the LPGA Tour's 120 best at Liberty National Golf Club.
As the tournament kicked off, Leona Maguire found herself on the wrong side of the provisional cutline after the opening round, finishing with a two-over 74 that left her tied for 92nd. It was a tough day for the Cavan woman, who bogeyed her opening hole and four of her first nine. Despite two birdies, she made the turn at +2. After being +3 through seven, a birdie on the 11th hole brought her back to +1, but a bogey on the final hole saw her slip back to +2, two strokes below the cutline.
Meanwhile, Jeeno Thitikul was making waves at the Mizuho Americas Open, firing a flawless eight-under 64 to hold an early two-stroke lead. The Thailand native hadn’t started an LPGA Tour event with a round of 64 or better since the 2022 BMW Ladies Championship. "I think my putter is working well, better than Chevron week," Thitikul said with a laugh. "I’ve been sucking with the putter on the Chevron week. But it’s not just me but everyone. I think the green was so tough that week. But here, I hit it good, too, and also made the putts. Also, got a lucky draw in the morning because it’s not really windy (in) the morning."
Thitikul’s performance at The Chevron Championship was her worst of the 2025 season, where she tied for 24th. However, before the year’s first major championship, she had racked up 13 straight T12 or better results from August 2024 to April 2025, including a victory at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where she took home a $4 million first-place check, the largest in the women’s game.
After morning play concluded on day one, Thitikul was leading by two strokes over Celine Boutier and Hye-Jin Choi, both of whom carded impressive 66s to kick off their weeks in New Jersey. Considering her fast start and her previous top-10 finishes at the Mizuho Americas Open — tying for 10th in 2023 and seventh in 2024 — Thitikul seems primed for a strong showing this tournament.
However, she is working to mitigate expectations as wet, windy conditions threaten Liberty National on Friday. "I think it’s kind of playing a little easier than last year, but it’s going to play longer anyway because it’s softer," Thitikul said. "The green is kind of easier, softer. But I just got lucky in the morning. Not much wind so we can be aggressive at the pin for the front nine. We’ll see. It’s going to be a lot of rain tomorrow."
In the AJGA portion of the LPGA’s Mizuho Americas Open, 15-year-old Aphrodite Deng from Short Hills is participating for the second consecutive year. Currently ranked No. 7 in the country in the latest Rolex AJGA Rankings and No. 50 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Deng teed off in the first round on Thursday at 9:05 a.m. with Nikki Oh and Jude Lee. A total of 24 of the nation’s top-ranked junior girls have been invited to play alongside LPGA players.
Deng is currently tied for 13th place with Jude Lee, each having scored 32 points, an improvement from her first round last year. The AJGA tournament uses a modified Stableford scoring format where points are awarded based on scores for each hole: Double Eagle earns 8 points, Eagle 5 points, Birdie 3 points, Par 2 points, Bogey 1 point, and Double Bogey or worse earns 0 points. Last year, Deng finished in a tie for 13th with a total score of 133.
"I made a couple mistakes I shouldn’t have. Some course management mistakes put me in tough positions which were hard to get up and down. Overall, it wasn’t my best, but there’s still three more days left for improvement," Deng said after her round, reflecting on her experience at Liberty National. "It’s important to be straight off the tee on this course. Learning from my mistakes from last year and knowing where to miss on certain holes have definitely helped."
Pending weather conditions, Deng’s group will tee off at 2:16 p.m. on Friday from hole 10. "My expectations for the rest of the week are just to play up to my own standards, and just play it shot by shot," said Deng, who is currently doing school online. In her last AJGA start, she won by a six-stroke margin to claim medalist honors at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, South Carolina back in mid-March.
As the tournament progresses, the excitement builds not just for the players but for the fans and the future stars of golf. With the unique blend of established LPGA players and promising juniors, the 2025 Mizuho Americas Open is poised to deliver thrilling moments and memorable performances.
