The U.S. Women's Open is an annual golf competition that was established in 1946.[1] Since 1953, the championship is sanctioned by the United States Golf Association (USGA), the governing body for the game in the United States.[2] Originally played as the "Ladies" Open, the event was sanctioned by the Women's Professional Golfers Association from 1946 to 1948,[2] and by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) from 1949 to 1952.[2] It is one of the five women's major championships, alongside the Chevron Championship, the Women's PGA Championship, the Women's British Open, and The Evian Championship.[3] The U.S. Women's Open has always been played in stroke play, with the exception of the first competition in 1946,[4] and is currently the third women's major of the year.[3]
The first trophy presented to U.S. Women's Open champions was donated by the Spokane Athletic Round Table, a fraternal order, and used until 1953.[2] The USGA commissioned the silversmith J. E. Caldwell and Co. of Philadelphia to produce a sterling-silver two-handled trophy, which was first presented to Betsy Rawls in 1953, and was retired to the USGA Museum in 1992.[2] Since then, the champion receives the Harton S. Semple Trophy, named for a former USGA committeeman and the USGA president from 1973 to 1974.[2] It was commissioned by Semple's family and friends in July 1992,[2] and was first presented to Patty Sheehan that year.[2]
Rawls and Mickey Wright jointly hold the record for the most U.S. Women's Open victories, with four each.[1] The most consecutive wins at the event is two, achieved by Wright, Susie Berning, Hollis Stacy, Annika Sörenstam, Donna Caponi, Betsy King and Karrie Webb.[1] The lowest[a] winning score for 72 holes in relation to par is 16-under, achieved by Juli Inkster in 1999.[1] The lowest aggregate winning score for 72 holes is 271, achieved by Minjee Lee in 2022.[5] Conversely, the highest winning score for 72 holes in relation to par is 13-over, achieved by Murle Lindstrom in 1962.[1] The highest aggregate winning score for 72 holes is 302, achieved by Rawls in 1953 and Kathy Cornelius in 1956; both events were won in playoffs.[1] The oldest champion was Babe Zaharias in 1954, at the age of 43,[6] and the youngest champion was Inbee Park in 2008, at the age of 19.[6] The U.S. Women's Open has had eight wire-to-wire champions: Zaharias in 1954, Fay Crocker in 1955, Wright in 1958, Mary Mills in 1963, Catherine Lacoste in 1967, Berning in 1968, Donna Caponi in 1970, and JoAnne Carner in 1971.[7]
Champions
- Key
* | Tournament won in a playoff |
# | Tournament won by an amateur |
‡ | Wire-to-wire victory |
Multiple champions
This table lists the golfers who have won more than one U.S. Women's Open. Champions who win consecutively are indicated by the years with italics*.
- Key
‡ | Career Grand Slam winners |
T1 | Tied for first place |
T3 | Tied for third place |
T7 | Tied for seventh place |
Rank | Country | Golfer | Total | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|
T1 | United States | Betsy Rawls | 4 | 1951, 1953, 1957, 1960 |
T1 | United States | Mickey Wright ‡ | 4 | 1958*, 1959*, 1961, 1964 |
T3 | United States | Babe Zaharias | 3 | 1948, 1950, 1954 |
T3 | United States | Susie Berning | 3 | 1968, 1972*, 1973* |
T3 | United States | Hollis Stacy | 3 | 1977*, 1978*, 1984 |
T3 | Sweden | Annika Sörenstam ‡ | 3 | 1995*, 1996*, 2006 |
T7 | United States | Louise Suggs ‡ | 2 | 1949, 1952 |
T7 | United States | Donna Caponi | 2 | 1969*, 1970* |
T7 | United States | JoAnne Carner | 2 | 1971, 1976 |
T7 | United States | Betsy King | 2 | 1989*, 1990* |
T7 | United States | Patty Sheehan | 2 | 1992, 1994 |
T7 | Australia | Karrie Webb ‡ | 2 | 2000*, 2001* |
T7 | United States | Juli Inkster ‡ | 2 | 1999, 2002 |
T7 | United States | Meg Mallon | 2 | 1991, 2004 |
T7 | South Korea | Inbee Park | 2 | 2008, 2013 |
- Patty Sheehan was a two-time champion of the event in 1992 and 1994.
- Karrie Webb is only one of seven golfers to repeat as champion of the event 2000 and 2001.
- Juli Inkster is a two-time champion in 1999 and 2002.
- Meg Mallon is a two-time champion in 1991 and 2004.
Champions by nationality
This table lists the total number of titles won by golfers of each nationality.
Rank | Nationality | Wins | Winners | First title | Last title |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States | 53 | 34 | 1946 | 2023 |
2 | South Korea | 11 | 10 | 1998 | 2020 |
T3 | Australia | 4 | 3 | 1983 | 2022 |
T3 | Sweden | 4 | 2 | 1988 | 2006 |
5 | England | 2 | 2 | 1987 | 1997 |
T6 | France | 1 | 1 | 1967 | 1967 |
T6 | Uruguay | 1 | 1 | 1955 | 1955 |
T6 | Thailand | 1 | 1 | 2018 | 2018 |
T6 | Philippines | 1 | 1 | 2021 | 2021 |
See also
Notes
- a Par is a predetermined number of strokes that a golfer should require to complete a hole, a round (the sum of the total pars of the played holes), or a tournament (the sum of the total pars of each round). E stands for even, which means the tournament was completed in the predetermined number of strokes. The best score should always be the lowest in relation to par.[97]
- b The first event was contested in match play competition. This means the score is reported differently.[8]
- c Betsy Rawls won in an 18-hole playoff over Jackie Pung, 70–77.[1]
- d Kathy Cornelius won in an 18-hole playoff over Barbara McIntire (a), 75–82.[1]
- e Mickey Wright won in an 18-hole playoff over Ruth Jessen, 70–72.[1]
- f JoAnne Carner won in an 18-hole playoff over Sandra Palmer, 76–78.[1]
- g Jane Geddes won in an 18-hole playoff over Sally Little, 71–73.[1]
- h Laura Davies won in an 18-hole playoff over Ayako Okamoto and JoAnne Carner, 71–73–74.[1]
- i Patty Sheehan won in an 18-hole playoff over Juli Inkster, 72–74.[1]
- j Se Ri Pak won in an 18-hole playoff over Jenny Chuasiriporn (a), 73–73, which she won in sudden death after that on the second extra hole.[1]
- k Hilary Lunke won in an 18-hole playoff over Angela Stanford and Kelly Robbins, 70–71–73.[1]
- l Annika Sörenstam won in an 18-hole playoff over Pat Hurst, 70–74.[1]
- m So Yeon Ryu won in a 3-hole playoff over Hee Kyung Seo, 10–13.[84]
- n Brittany Lang won in a 3-hole playoff over Anna Nordqvist, 12–15.[98]
- o Ariya Jutanugarn won in a 2-hole playoff over Kim Hyo-joo, 8–8, which she won in sudden death after that on the second extra hole.[99]
- p Yuka Saso won on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Nasa Hataoka, after they tied in the initial 2-hole playoff.[94]
References
- General
- "U.S. Women's Open" (PDF). LPGA Tour. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- "2010 U.S. Women's Open media guide" (PDF). United States Golf Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
- Specific