The following article on Women’s U.S. Open Golf History is reprinted with permission.
Rick Woelfel is an accomplished golf journalist and author whose blog on women’s golf can be found by clicking here.
The 2025 U.S. Women’s Open will be played May 29-June 1 at the Erin Hills Golf Course in Erin, Wisc. The course is one of many designed by world-class architect Dr. Michael Hurdzan, whom the GHS is proud to claim as a much valued member.
By Rick Woelfel
This year marks the 90th playing of the United States Women’s Open Championship, the most significant event in women’s golf.
The championship has evolved significantly in that amount of time, as has the sport itself. Here are a few historical highlights.
1946—The inaugural U.S. Women’s Open, which was conducted by the Women’s Professional Golf Association, was the only one conducted at match play. Patty Berg defeated Betty Jameson 3&2 in the 36-hole final at Spokane (Washington) Country Club.
Berg’s share of a $19,700 purse was $5,600. That would be the largest purse until 1966 and the biggest first-place check until 1972.
1949—Louise Suggs finished 14 shots ahead of the field at Prince George’s Golf and Country Club in Landover, MD. She finished at 9-under par 291 for 72 holes. Babe Didrikson Zaharias was her closest challenger. That margin of victory remains a record for a women’s major championship. Suggs would win a second Women’ Open title in 1952.
1950—Babe Didrikson Zaharias claimed the second of her three Women’ Open titles at Rolling Hills Country Club in Wichita, KS. It was during this Women’ Open that the Ladies Professional Golf Association was officially formed. Zaharias won her first Women’s Open in 1948.
1954 Babe Zaharias claims her third Women’s Open, a record at the time, at Salem Country Club in Peabody, MA, completing 72 holes in 3-over par 291. Her closest pursuer, Betty Hicks, finished 12 strokes behind her. Zaharias passed away from cancer on September 27, 1956 at age 45. She is arguably the greatest female athlete of all time.
1955—Faye Crocker of Uruguay becomes the first non-American Women’s Open champion after scoring a four-shot victory at Wichita Country Club.
1960—Betsy Rawls set a record by claiming her fourth Women’s Open title at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, MA., completing the 72 holes in 4-over par 292 to win by a stroke over Joyce Ziske. Rawls won 55 LPGA tournaments in her career, including eight major championships. Following her retirement in 1975 she embarked on a long career as a rule official, administrator, and advocate for the game. Rawls who passed away in 2023, is unquestionably one of the most influential figures in the history of women’s golf.
1964—Mickey Wright ties Betsy Rawls’s record by winning her fourth Women’s Open title at San Diego Country Club after defeating Ruth Jessen in an 18-hole playoff. Wright’s previous Women’s Open wins came in 1958, ’59, and ’61. She stopped playing a full-time LPGA schedule after 1969 at age 34 but recorded the last of her 82 LPGA wins four years later at the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle.
1965—Carol Mann scores a two-shot win over Cathy Cornelius at Atlantic City (NJ) Country Club She finished at 2-over par 290. This Women’s Open was the first to be televised nationally; portions of the final round aired on NBC.
1987—Laura Davies introduced herself to the world by defeating Ayako Okamoto in an 18-hole playoff at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, NJ. Davies was a member of the LET at the time; she joined the LPGA Tour the following year. For the next two decades plus she was one of the most celebrated competitors in the world, winning 86 tournaments (Four of them majors), including 20 on the LPGA Tour and 45 on the LET. She also made 12 Solheim Cup appearances.
1995—Annika Sorenstam claimed the first of her three Women’s Open crowns at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs. Her winning score of 2-under par 278 gave her a one-shot victory over Meg Mallon. Sorenstam successfully defended her title the following year at Pine Needles, NC and captured a third Women’s Open title in 2006at Newport (Rhode Island) Country Club. To date, Sorenstam has won 97 times as a professional with 72 of those wins coming on the LPGA Tour, placing her third on the all-time list behind Kathy Whitworth (88) and Mickey Wright (82). As a point of comparison, Lydia Ko tops the list of active LPGA players with 25 wins.
1998—Se Ri Pak’s arrival on the LPGA Tour changed women’s golf forever. In her first full season on the LPGA Tour she claimed the Women’s Open title. The victory came just eight weeks after she won the McDonald’s LPGA Championship and led to an infusion of LPGA players from the Republic of Korea. Pak won 25 LPGA tournaments in her career and 39 times professionally. She ranks near the top of her sport’s most influential figures,
1999—Juli Inkster’s winning score of 277 at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, MS is the lowest in history relative to par (16 under). Inkster would win a second Women’s Open title three years later. She won 31 LPGA tournaments in her career, including seven majors, and 45 times professionally.
2000—Karrie Webb win the first of back-to-back Women’s Open titles at the Merit Club in Libertyville, IL. She finished at 6-under par 282, five shot clear of Cristie Kerr ad Meg Mallon. Webb would win gain the following year at Pine Needles in Southern Pines NC, besting Annika Sorenstam by two shots. Webb concluded her LPGA career with 41 wins, seven of them majors, and 56 wins as a professional
2022—Minjee Lee’s winning score of 271 at Pine Needles is the lowest aggregate total in Women’ Open history. To date Lee, who turned 29 on May 27, has won 10 LPGA tournaments and 13 times in all as a professional.
2024—Yuka Sasso scores a three-stroke victory at Lancaster (PA) Country Club over Hinako Shibuno. Her winner’s check is the largest in the history of women’s golf; $2.4 million from a $12 million purse. It’s Sasso’s second Women’s Open title. Her first came in 2021 at the Olympic Club.