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]
* | Tournament won in a playoff |
# | Tournament won by an amateur |
‡ | Wire-to-wire victory |
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*.
‡ | 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 | ![]() | Betsy Rawls | 4 | 1951, 1953, 1957, 1960 |
T1 | ![]() | Mickey Wright ‡ | 4 | 1958*, 1959*, 1961, 1964 |
T3 | ![]() | Babe Zaharias | 3 | 1948, 1950, 1954 |
T3 | ![]() | Susie Berning | 3 | 1968, 1972*, 1973* |
T3 | ![]() | Hollis Stacy | 3 | 1977*, 1978*, 1984 |
T3 | ![]() | Annika Sörenstam ‡ | 3 | 1995*, 1996*, 2006 |
T7 | ![]() | Louise Suggs ‡ | 2 | 1949, 1952 |
T7 | ![]() | Donna Caponi | 2 | 1969*, 1970* |
T7 | ![]() | JoAnne Carner | 2 | 1971, 1976 |
T7 | ![]() | Betsy King | 2 | 1989*, 1990* |
T7 | ![]() | Patty Sheehan | 2 | 1992, 1994 |
T7 | ![]() | Karrie Webb ‡ | 2 | 2000*, 2001* |
T7 | ![]() | Juli Inkster ‡ | 2 | 1999, 2002 |
T7 | ![]() | Meg Mallon | 2 | 1991, 2004 |
T7 | ![]() | Inbee Park | 2 | 2008, 2013 |
T7 | ![]() | Yuka Saso | 2 | 2021, 2024 |
This table lists the total number of titles won by golfers of each nationality.
Rank | Nationality | Wins | Winners | First title | Last title |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 53 | 34 | 1946 | 2023 |
2 | ![]() | 11 | 10 | 1998 | 2020 |
T3 | ![]() | 4 | 3 | 1983 | 2022 |
T3 | ![]() | 4 | 2 | 1988 | 2006 |
5 | ![]() | 2 | 2 | 1987 | 1997 |
T6 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 1967 | 1967 |
T6 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 1955 | 1955 |
T6 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 2018 | 2018 |
T6 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 2021 | 2021 |
T6 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 2024 | 2024 |
Annika Charlotta Sörenstam is a Swedish professional golfer. She is regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 96 international professional tournaments, making her the female golfer with the most wins to her name. She has won 72 official LPGA tournaments including ten majors and 24 other tournaments internationally. After turning 50, she came back from her retirement and added a win in the 2021 U.S. Senior Women's Open.
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