List of U.S. Women's Open champions

Annika Sörenstam in a pink shirt and hat with white pants and glove and a driver in her hand at the end of a golf swing
Annika Sörenstam was a three-time winner of the event in 1995, 1996 and 2006, and one of seven golfers to repeat as champion.

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]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "U.S. Women's Open" (PDF). LPGA Tour. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "USGA Trophies". United States Golf Association Museum. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Antonucci, Lisa (April 19, 2023). "2023 LPGA majors guide: Mix of new, old and familiar highlight championships". Golf Channel. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  4. ^ "U.S. Women's Open History". United States Golf Association. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference numbers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b "2010 U.S. Women's Open media guide" (PDF). United States Golf Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  7. ^ "LPGA major championship records, modern majors". LPGA. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2016.