PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – As Alison Lee made her way up to the 18th green late Friday afternoon at Riveria Country Club, she turned around after hearing her 1-year-old son Levi yell “ball” from outside the ropes. That’s about the time Lee’s partner, Trey Kidd, took off in a slow jog up the hill to the clubhouse so that Levi wouldn’t distract mom as she put the finishing touches on a 3-under 68 to co-lead the U.S. Women’s Open.
A mom hasn’t won the U.S. Women’s Open since Juli Inkster in 2002, and while there’s a long way to go, Kidd can’t help but imagine what it would be like for “supermom” Lee to make her first and long-awaited title a major in own her backyard, with Levi waddling out to greet her.
“I almost get emotional thinking about that happening one day, because I know how much she wants it,” said Kidd, a venture capitalist who played collegiate golf at Colorado State.
When mom is leading the @uswomensopen and you’re tying to get a good view on 18. pic.twitter.com/ZgxIELOQee
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) June 6, 2026
Lee, 31, heads into the final round in a share of the lead with China’s Ruoning Yin, a major champion and former No. 1 who shot a second consecutive 69 to sit knotted with Lee at 138.
It’s a bunched leaderboard behind them, crammed with major champions, including world No. 1 Nelly Korda, who went from talking about shoe problems, bewildered by her wayward driver to carding the round of the day on Friday of 4-under 67. She trails by two heading into the weekend and credits big sister Jessica for helping turn things around on the range Thursday afternoon.
“I just tried to strengthen my grip a little bit,” said Korda. “I just kind of keep laying it off at the top and I’ve been working on it, gosh, grinding on it for five weeks, and I can’t get it. I don’t know what I’m doing in my swing, so I just try to strengthen my grip. It felt super funky today, but I just trusted and went with it.”
No world No. 1 has won the U.S. Women’s Open since Inbee Park in 2013. Annika Sorenstam was the only other player to achieve the feat, winning in 2006 not long after the rankings debuted.
A decorated junior and collegiate player down the road at UCLA, Lee made the U.S. Solheim Cup team her rookie year in 2015 and looked poised to become one of the best players in the world.
Only that never materialized.
The driver yips that plagued her for a time as a youngster came back early in her pro career. She thought about quitting.
Then a resurgence came in 2023, when she won on the LET and finished runner-up in her last three LPGA starts. She was already pregnant when she played in the 2024 Solheim Cup, throwing up so much she thought she might not be able to play.
After Lee gave birth to Levi via emergency C-section in 2025, she started working on her short game about a month later. Four months after giving birth, she started to competition.
One of the most brutally honest players on tour, Lee relates to sleepless moms everywhere when she talks about feeling like she’s drowning every single day trying to get things done.
“I mean, I clean the house a million times,” she said, “and it still looks like a tornado went through. I think I just have to accept my house is a mess and I can’t ever have people over.”
Alison Lee, trying to become the first mom to win the @uswomensopen since Juli Inkster in 2002, arrives at Riviera with son Levi, who recently turned 1. pic.twitter.com/hmbNl9mZ69
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) June 5, 2026
Kidd says the distraction of being a mom has been good for her game, as has the addition of the long putter.
“She said she doesn’t feel any shakes,” said Kidd, “especially on the short ones.”
Lee is saying at her parents’ house in Valencia this week, which can take well over an hour at the wrong times. When she had an early tee time on Thursday, she crashed in a spare room at Megan Khang’s Airbnb. But on Thursday night, when Levi woke up a couple times in the night, Alison insisted on being the one to go in and soothe him, even though her own mom offered to help.
Lee wants to have more kids. But she also wants to win, and she’s bullish about making the Solheim Cup team again this year.
In her mind, she has given herself 2026 and 2027 to give it everything she’s got.
“I’m just going to do everything I can to possibly play the best golf I can and say that I have no regrets,” said Lee.
Win or lose.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Alison Lee, Ruoning Yin co-lead 2026 U.S. Open, Nelly Korda within 2
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