Tournament information | |
---|---|
Location | Houston, Texas in 2020 |
Established | 1946, 74 years ago |
Course(s) | Champions Golf Club in 2020 Jackrabbit and Cypress Creek courses |
Par | 71 (in 2020) |
Length | 7,301 yd (6,676 m) (Cypress Creek) and 7,021 yd (6,420 m) (Jackrabbit) in 2020 |
Organized by | USGA (since 1953) |
Tour(s) | LPGA Tour |
Format | Stroke play |
Prize fund | $5.5 million in 2020 |
Month played | December in 2020 |
Tournament record score | |
Aggregate | 272 Annika Sörenstam (1996) 272 Juli Inkster (1999) 272 Chun In-gee (2015) |
To par | –16 Juli Inkster (1999) |
Current champion | |
The United States Women's Open Golf Championship, one of nine national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the ANA Inspiration, Women's PGA Championship, Women's British Open, and The Evian Championship.
Established 74 years ago in 1946, the U.S. Women's Open is the only event to have been recognized as a major by the LPGA since the group's founding in 1950. Originally operated by the Women's Professional Golfers Association (WPGA) for its first three years and the LPGA for the next four, it became a USGA event in 1953. [1] Now held in late May/early June. the U.S. Women's Open is the second major of the LPGA season and has the highest purse in women's golf, at $5.5 million in 2019. [2] For 2020, it will be the final major of the year and be held for the first time over two courses, as it will be held in December, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that postponed golf tournaments from March through June. [3]
Unlike the U.S. Open, the U.S. Women's Open is not globally recognized as a major championship. The Ladies European Tour does not sanction any of the three majors held in the United States, and the LPGA of Japan Tour has its own set of majors. The significance of this is limited, as the LPGA Tour is the dominant tour in women's golf.
In 2007, international players outnumbered Americans for the first time. [4] The 2008 tournament was won by 19-year-old South Korean Inbee Park, who became the event's youngest winner ever.
The 2012 championship, won by Choi Na-yeon, was played July 5–8 at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin, which previously hosted the event in 1998, won by Pak Se-ri in a Monday playoff that extended to 20 holes. [5] The Original Championship Course for 2012 played just under 7,000 yards (6,400 m), over 500 yards (460 m) longer than in 1998. [6]
Beginning in 2018, the U.S. Women's Open will be held prior to its men's counterpart (rather than following it and the U.S. Senior Open), in order to "provide optimum playing conditions for the world's best players across a broader variety of the country's finest golf courses." [7]
The playoff format was modified in 2018, reduced from three to two aggregate holes, followed by sudden death. [8] The last 18-hole playoff was in 2006; the three-hole playoff was introduced the following year and used in 2011 and 2016.
The U.S. Women's Open is open to any professional or amateur female golfer. Amateurs must have an up-to-date USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4, [9] lowered in 2014 from 4.4 in 2013. [10] Players may obtain a place by being exempt or by competing successfully in qualifying.
In 2002, a two-stage method of qualification was introduced: 18 holes for local qualifying and 36 holes for sectional qualifying. In 2010, the qualification process reverted to a single sectional stage of 36 holes played on a single day.
The criteria for exemption from qualifying has changed through the years. In 2010, there were eleven exemption categories, including winners of the U.S. Women's Open for the last ten years, winners of the other three majors for the last five years, the top 50 from the previous year's LPGA Tour money list, the top five from the previous year's Japan LPGA Tour, Korea LPGA Tour, and Ladies European Tour money lists, and official winners of LPGA co-sponsored events for the 52-week period prior to the U.S. Women's Open. [11]
There is no upper or lower age limit. The youngest-ever qualifiers were 11-year-old Lucy Li in 2014, [12] and 12-year-old Lexi Thompson in 2007. [13]
Winners of major amateur tournaments are also exempt. Currently, winners of the U.S. Girls' Junior, and U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur and the finalist of the U.S. Women's Amateur (all USGA events) are exempt provided they did not turn professional beforehand. Winners of the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship will qualify effective with the inaugural tournament in 2019. The U.S. Women's Amateur champion is exempt, regardless of turning professional between the Women's Amateur and the U.S. Women's Open as a result of an August 2019 rule change by the USGA. [14]
The number following some winners' names indicates the cumulative number of U.S. Women's Open wins for that player.
PO - Won in playoff
(a) = Amateur
† = Won 5 and 4 over Betty Jameson in 36-hole match play final
This table lists the golfers who have won more than one U.S. Women's Open.
Deceased golfer † |
Career Grand Slam winners ‡ |
Golfer | Country | Total | Years |
---|---|---|---|
Betsy Rawls | 4 | 1951, 1953, 1957, 1960 | |
Mickey Wright ‡ | 4 | 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964 | |
Babe Zaharias † | 3 | 1948, 1950, 1954 | |
Susie Berning | 3 | 1968, 1972, 1973 | |
Hollis Stacy | 3 | 1977, 1978, 1984 | |
Annika Sörenstam ‡ | 3 | 1995, 1996, 2006 | |
Louise Suggs ‡ | 2 | 1949, 1952 | |
Donna Caponi | 2 | 1969, 1970 | |
JoAnne Carner | 2 | 1971, 1976 | |
Betsy King | 2 | 1989, 1990 | |
Patty Sheehan | 2 | 1992, 1994 | |
Karrie Webb ‡ | 2 | 2000, 2001 | |
Juli Inkster ‡ | 2 | 1999, 2002 | |
Meg Mallon | 2 | 1991, 2004 | |
Inbee Park | 2 | 2008, 2013 |
The defending champion has retained the title on seven occasions, most recently 19 years ago in 2001:
Through 2018, three consecutive championships has not been achieved.
This table lists the total number of titles won by golfers of each nationality.
Nationality | Wins |
---|---|
51 | |
8 | |
4 | |
3 | |
2 | |
1 | |
1 | |
1 |
Year | Course | Location | Dates |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Champions Golf Club, Cypress Creek Course | Houston, Texas | Dec 10–13 |
2021 | The Olympic Club, Lake Course | San Francisco, California | June 3–6 |
2022 | Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club | Southern Pines, North Carolina | June 2–5 |
2023 | Pebble Beach Golf Links | Pebble Beach, California | June 1–4 |
2024 | Lancaster Country Club | Lancaster, Pennsylvania | May 30 – June 2 |
2025 | Erin Hills | Erin, Wisconsin | May 29 – June 1 |
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. Since 1898 the competition has been 72 holes of stroke play, with the winner being the player with the lowest total number of strokes. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday. The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, set up in such a way that scoring is very difficult, with a premium placed on accurate driving. As of 2019 the U.S. Open awards a $12.5 million purse, the largest of all 4 major championships and tied for largest of all PGA Tour events.
Michelle Sung Wie is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the youngest to qualify for an LPGA Tour event. She turned professional shortly before her 16th birthday in 2005, accompanied by an enormous amount of publicity and endorsements. She won her first major at the 2014 U.S. Women's Open.
The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced 40 years ago in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the European Senior Tour. The lower age limit was 55 in 1980, but it was lowered to 50 for the second edition in 1981, which is the standard limit for men's senior professional golf tournaments. By definition, the event is open to amateurs, but has been dominated by professionals; through 2019, all editions have been won by pros. Like other USGA championships, it has been played on many courses throughout the United States.
Brittany Grace Lincicome is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She currently resides in Gulfport, Florida.
Alexis Noel "Lexi" Thompson is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 12, she was the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women's Open. She turned professional in June 2010 at age 15. On September 18, 2011, Thompson set a then new record as the youngest-ever winner of an LPGA tournament, at age 16 years, seven months, and eight days, when she won the Navistar LPGA Classic. Three months later she became the second-youngest winner of a Ladies European Tour event, capturing the Dubai Ladies Masters by four strokes on December 17, 2011. She won her first major championship at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship at the age of 19 years, 1 month and 27 days, making her the second youngest LPGA golfer to win a major.
Stacy Lewis is an American professional golfer on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She has won two major championships: the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2011 and the Women's British Open in 2013. She was ranked number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings for four weeks in 2013, and reclaimed the position in June 2014 with a victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic for another 21 weeks.
Brittany Lang is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She has won one major championship, the 2016 U.S. Women's Open.
The 2010 United States Women's Open Golf Championship was the 65th U.S. Women's Open, played July 8–11 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. Paula Creamer, in her fourth tournament after surgery to her left thumb, won her first major championship, four shots ahead of runners-up Na Yeon Choi and Suzann Pettersen.
The 2011 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was the 66th U.S. Women's Open, played July 7–11 at The Broadmoor East Course in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA). The course is at an elevation of over 6,200 feet (1,890 m) above sea level and previously hosted the U.S. Women's Open in 1995, the first major championship won by Annika Sörenstam. Broadmoor East was the first course in the history of the tournament to play longer than 7,000 yards (6,400 m)
The 2012 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was the 67th U.S. Women's Open, held July 5–8 at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin. Na Yeon Choi won her first major championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Amy Yang.
The 2013 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was the 68th U.S. Women's Open, held June 27–30 at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, New York. It was first time the championship was played on Long Island and marked a return to the greater New York City area, which last hosted the U.S. Women's Open in 1987. Inbee Park won her second U.S. Women's Open title, four strokes ahead of runner-up I.K. Kim. It was Park's fourth major title and third consecutive in 2013. She is the first to win the opening three majors of a season since Babe Zaharias in 1950. The event was televised by ESPN and NBC Sports.
The 2013 Ricoh Women's British Open was played 1–4 August at the Old Course at St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. It was the 37th Women's British Open, and the 13th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour. It was the second Women's British Open at St Andrews, the first was six years earlier in 2007. ESPN televised the tournament in the United States and BBC Sport broadcast the event in the United Kingdom.
The 2014 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was the 69th U.S. Women's Open, held June 19–22 at Pinehurst Resort Course No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. It marked the first time that the U.S. Women's Open was played on the same course in the same year as the U.S. Open. The U.S. Women's Open was played in the week immediately following the U.S. Open.
The 2014 Ricoh Women's British Open was played 10–13 July at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. It was the 38th Women's British Open, and the 14th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour. It was the sixth Women's British Open at Royal Birkdale, the most recent was four years earlier in 2010. ESPN and BBC Sport televised the event from Royal Birkdale.
The 2015 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was the 70th U.S. Women's Open, held July 9–12 at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The 2016 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was the 71st U.S. Women's Open, held July 7–10 at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, California, southeast of San Jose.
The U.S. Senior Women's Open is one of fourteen U.S. national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association. The newest USGA championship, it is open to women whose 50th birthday falls on or before the first day of competition and hold a handicap index not exceeding 7.4. The inaugural championship was held in 2018 at the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois.
The 2018 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was the 73rd U.S. Women's Open, played May 31 – June 3 at Shoal Creek Club in Shoal Creek, Alabama, a suburb southeast of Birmingham.
The 2018 U.S. Senior Women's Open was the inaugural U.S. Senior Women's Open and was the 14th championship run by the United States Golf Association. It was open to women whose 50th birthday fell on or before the first day of competition and held a handicap index not exceeding 7.4. The championship was played at the Chicago Golf Club from July 12 to 15.
The 2020 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship will be the 75th U.S. Women's Open, to be played December 10–13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas, having been postponed from its original date of June 4-7, 2020, on April 3, 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It will be played on both the Cypress Creek and Jackrabbit courses.