U.S. SENIOR WOMEN'S OPEN
By Ron Sirak
Jill McGill (2022) is the only American to have won the U.S. Senior Women's Open, and is one of five players looking for a second title. (USGA/Jeff Haynes)
For the sixth time, beginning with Laura Davies’ 2018 victory in the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at historic Chicago Golf Club, a field of 120 players will chase the top prize in senior women’s golf. When play starts Thursday at Fox Chapel Golf Club, all five past champions will tee it up along with 22 U.S. Senior Women’s Open rookies.
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The addition of this competition for females 50 and older has enhanced the rich history of USGA championships. The 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2 was the 1,000th USGA championship and the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be the 1,005th. There have been 742 USGA champions, which includes 162 multiple winners. Bob Jones and Tiger Woods are the all-time individual leaders with nine championships. JoAnne Gunderson Carner has won the most championships by a woman with eight. The 85-year-old is in the field this week.
Here are 3 things to know for the first two rounds:
The U.S. Senior Women’s Open has been contested five times and there have been five different winners: Davies (2018), Helen Alfredsson (2019), Annika Sorenstam (2021), Jill McGill (2022) and Trish Johnson (2023). That fivesome is competing this week and all with have the chance to become the first two-time winner.
Both Sorenstam and McGill are already multiple USGA winners; Annika having captured the U.S. Women’s Open in 1995, 1996 and 2006 while Jill won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1993 and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links the following year. Davies has one other USGA championship on her résumé, the 1987 U.S. Women’s Open. That’s a formidable five to keep an eye on.
Among the 120 players in the field at Fox Chapel are 22 competing in their first U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Sherri Steinhauer won eight times on the LPGA Tour, including two majors – the 1992 du Maurier Classic and 2006 Women’s British Open. Steinhauer competed in 24 U.S. Women’s Opens, with five top-25 finishes. Vicki Goetze-Ackerman won the 1989 and 1992 U.S. Women’s Amateurs and was a member of two USA Curtis Cup Teams. She played in 15 U.S. Women’s Opens and competed on the LPGA Tour, from 1994-2009.
Also among the first-timers is Gail Graham, a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and two-time LPGA Tour winner. She is a recipient of the LPGA Tour’s Founders Award and finished T-6 in the 1992 U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont Country Club, right across the Allegheny River from Fox Chapel. Can one of these first timers contend this week? That’s something to look for.
Fox Chapel Golf Club will host its fourth USGA championship and first U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Pittsburgh area native Carol Semple Thompson, who is in this week’s field on a special exemption, made a 27-foot birdie putt that secured the USA’s victory in the 2002 Curtis Cup Match at Fox Chapel. There are also 10 players in this week’s field who competed in the 1985 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Fox Chapel: Danielle Ammaccapane, Donna Andrews, Jean Bartholomew, Laurel Kean, Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Martha Leach, Sarah Lebrun Ingram, Cindy Schreyer, Kim Williams and Thompson.
Fox Chapel, which opened in 1923, will play to a par of 36-35–71, with three par-5 holes. Seth Raynor, who took his inspiration from the best holes in Scotland and Europe, designed Fox Chapel with many of his famous template holes, including the par-3 17th with its Biarritz green. Brian Silva renovated the course in 2001 and Fazio Design completed an extensive restoration in 2020 that re-introduced a variety of original greens and bunkers. The consensus among the players is that lag putting on the challenging greens will be key this week. Beware of the competitor with the hot putter.
Ron Sirak is a Massachusetts-based freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on USGA websites.
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