The U.S. Women's Open is an annual golf competition that was established in 1946. Since 1953, the championship is sanctioned by the United States Golf Association (USGA), the governing body for the game in the United States. Originally played as the "Ladies" Open, the event was sanctioned by the Women's Professional Golfers Association from 1946 to 1948, and by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) from 1949 to 1952. 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. The U.S. Women's Open has always been played in stroke play, with the exception of the first competition in 1946, and is currently the third women's major of the year.
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. 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. Since then, the champion receives the Harton S. Semple Trophy, named for a former USGA committeeman and the USGA president from 1973 to 1974. It was commissioned by Semple's family and friends in July 1992, and was first presented to Patty Sheehan that year.
Rawls and Mickey Wright jointly hold the record for the most U.S. Women's Open victories, with four each. 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. The lowest[a] winning score for 72 holes in relation to par is 16-under, achieved by Juli Inkster in 1999. The lowest aggregate winning score for 72 holes is 271, achieved by Minjee Lee in 2022. Conversely, the highest winning score for 72 holes in relation to par is 13-over, achieved by Murle Lindstrom in 1962. 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. The oldest champion was Babe Zaharias in 1954, at the age of 43, and the youngest champion was Inbee Park in 2008, at the age of 19. 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.
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.
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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.
- b The first event was contested in match play competition. This means the score is reported differently.
- c Betsy Rawls won in an 18-hole playoff over Jackie Pung, 70–77.
- d Kathy Cornelius won in an 18-hole playoff over Barbara McIntire (a), 75–82.
- e Mickey Wright won in an 18-hole playoff over Ruth Jessen, 70–72.
- f JoAnne Carner won in an 18-hole playoff over Sandra Palmer, 76–78.
- g Jane Geddes won in an 18-hole playoff over Sally Little, 71–73.
- h Laura Davies won in an 18-hole playoff over Ayako Okamoto and JoAnne Carner, 71–73–74.
- i Patty Sheehan won in an 18-hole playoff over Juli Inkster, 72–74.
- 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.
- k Hilary Lunke won in an 18-hole playoff over Angela Stanford and Kelly Robbins, 70–71–73.
- l Annika Sörenstam won in an 18-hole playoff over Pat Hurst, 70–74.
- m So Yeon Ryu won in a 3-hole playoff over Hee Kyung Seo, 10–13.
- n Brittany Lang won in a 3-hole playoff over Anna Nordqvist, 12–15.
- 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.
- 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.
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