There is plenty up for grabs for Chiara Tamburlini at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open as the Swiss star looks to replicate last year’s strong finish and improve her position in the Solheim Cup standings.
Tamburlini – winner of the 2024 Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit – enjoyed a brilliant debut at golf’s toughest in 2025 finishing T14 as Sweden’s Maja Stark claimed victory.
Since then the 26-year-old has earned her LPGA card and is well in the running to earn a spot in Anna Nordqvist’s Team Europe side for the clash in September.
Tamburlini remains second on the LET Solheim Cup Standings with points up for grabs this week. Germany’s Helen Briem, not present this week, is now within touching distance sitting just one behind the the Swiss star following her win at last week’s Jabra Ladies Open de France.
Despite all the noise and adding incentives, Tamburlini is continuing to stay grounded and block out the distractions at The Riviera Country Club.
“Being on the Solheim Cup team has been the number one goal this season for myself,” she explained. “I would say I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily benefited me too much. So I would say my goal this week is to play my own game and not think about it too much. I know that’s what everybody says, but I guess there’s a reason for that. I mean, what good is it going to do if hit my first tee shot thinking about Solheim. I know that my swing is in a good spot and my putting is in a good spot. I just need to play my own game and hopefully that will do the talking and I’ll earn a spot on the team.”
Tamburlini has played in three more Majors since her T14 finish at Erin Hills last year finishing missing the cut at the The Amundi Evian Championship before placing T13 at the 2025 AIG Women’s Open and T27 at the Chevron Championship earlier this year.
The trio of strong results have filled the three-time LET winner with confidence heading into this week’s event in Los Angeles.
“I’m very excited,” Tamburlini said. “I mean, this place is unreal. I played a the U.S. Women’s Open for the first time last year, but it’s a different golf course and it’s playing very different. There is something really special about the U.S. Women’s Open, I have to say. The setup, the vibe, the atmosphere, it’s definitely different from any other tournament and I’m very excited.
“Finishing T14 last year definitely gives me a lot of confidence. I do like tough courses where you have to be very smart and grind it out. It’s definitely going to be like that this week with the rough being tricky to get out of. What I did well last year was that I just kept myself in play. There will be bogeys, that’s for sure, but avoiding the big mistakes is important. That experience last year reinforces that mindset.
“It’s been a year but so much has happened but I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable out here now. You know more people and everything starts to feel more familiar. Of course it’s different to the LET and the courses are different but I am really enjoying it. It’s trickier and I haven’t quite found my groove as I’ve wanted to, but I’ve had a couple of good finishes so hopefully I can build on that this week.”
Tamburlini gets underway at the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally at 8:46am. She will be boosted by having some home comforts alongside her at the second Major of the year.
“Both my parents are here which feels really familiar as well as my management,” she said. “A couple of coaches from Swiss Golf are here too. It’s fun. I haven’t had that many people from home around [since coming to the USA] so that’s really nice and helps me switch off in the evenings.
“Obviously I want to compete but I’ve found that does me no good to think about it too much. My goal is to contend but the goal comes way earlier taking it shot by shot and trusting the process. It’s all in the visualising and in the decision making.”
