8 players enjoyed career-best finishes on the LPGA in Mexico

The 2026 Riviera Maya Open will be remembered for Nelly Korda's dominant win, but further down the leaderboard it delivered something far more rare - hope.

For many players in the field of 125, this was an historic week, at least on a personal level. Eight players achieved career-high finishes in Mexico, and with the tour's next priority list reshuffle happening after the event, the timing couldn't have been better.

Brianna Do, 36, posted the first top-10 finish of her career last year at this event, a share of ninth, and one-upped it this time with a share of fourth. This on the heels of qualifying for her first U.S. Women's Open since 2017, and she left Mayakoba with a full heart. Do was 169th on the priority list coming into Mexico, which means she was not fully exempt.

"After last year, you know, going into it I believed that my best golf was still ahead of me even though I'm one of the older players out here," said Do, "and I still believe that. It just showed this week.

"It's hard to not get emotional, but I'm really proud of myself and how I played."

Both Do and Yu Liu played their way into this week's Mizuho Americas Open based on their top-10 finishes. (Korda was the only top-10 player in the world in the field last week and one of three players in the top 20.)

Runner-up Arpichaya Yubol topped her previous best, a share of fourth at the 2024 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, on her 24th birthday playing alongside Korda. Yubol, who has her dad on the bag, told him the airport that they had to have a strong week "because the reshuffle is coming."

And did they deliver.

Further down the board, Italy's Carolina Melgrati made her first cut on tour in Mexico. Melgrati, who finished in the top 25 at LPGA Q-School last December, took a share of ninth over the weekend.

Meanwhile LPGA rookie Melanie Green notched her second T-9 for the season, having done the same earlier this year at the JM Eagle LA Championship. Rookie Erika Hara of Japan also finished T-9, improving upon her previous best finish of T-16 at the Honda LPGA Thailand.

Minji Kang posted her first career top 10 in Mayakoba, besting a previous best of T-19 at the 2024 CPKC Open. South Korea's Kang first joined the tour in 2023.

Isi Gabsa's T-13 bested her previous best, a T-17 at the 2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open. The 30-year-old German was a rookie in 2019.

"I've been doing this for 13 years," said Gabsa, "so I guess like after a while you keep on doing it and doing it, you figure it out, hopefully."

And while she's not yet a tour member, amateur Maria Jose Marin finished fifth, earning two valuable LEAP points toward her LPGA card. Marin's previous best LPGA finish was a share of 17th at the Walmart event in Arkansas. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women's Amateur champion, has made four career LPGA starts and made the cut in each. She now has 13 LEAP points of the 20 needed to earn her card.