Memorable Moment Video Vignettes

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The U.S. Women's Open, which dates to 1946, has afforded fans countless moments through its robust history. Here we present some of those moments that have impacted the championship.

The footage is courtesy of USGA Archives. Videos compiled by Shannon Doody. All rights reserved.

 

1954 — Eighteen months after undergoing a procedure to combat cancer, Babe Didrikson Zaharias overcame enormous odds to win the 1954 U.S. Women’s Open by 12 strokes at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass. It was the third Women’s Open triumph for the former gold medalist at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
1961 — Mickey Wright termed the 1961 U.S. Women’s Open her “most satisfying victory as it transpired on such a marvelous test of the game,” the Lower Course at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. Wright posted a six-stroke victory over Betsy Rawls for her third Open championship, and she used her extreme distance to great advantage, playing the par-5 holes at 7 under par on the 6,372-yard layout.

1967 — Amateur Catherine Lacoste of France bested Susie Maxwell and Beth Stone by two strokes to win the 1967 Women’s Open at the Virginia Hot Springs Golf and Tennis Club (Cascades Course). Lacoste still remains the only amateur to win this championship, although several others have come close. The next year, Lacoste would go on to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur title.
1984 — At one point in the final round of the 1984 Women’s Open at Salem C.C. in Peabody, Mass., Hollis Stacy trailed by five strokes. But she vaulted back into a share of the lead by holing out a 7-iron at the 13th hole for an eagle-2 en route to becoming the fourth player to win at least three Open titles. Stacy’s 291 total was one ahead of the mark shot by Babe Zaharias at the ’54 Open at Salem.
1992 — Patty Sheehan holed a birdie putt at the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Juli Inkster at the 1992 Women’s Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. Sheehan would go on to win the playoff the following day, getting redemption for three previous runner-up finishes at this championship, including 1990 when she owned a 12-stroke lead at one point in the third round and couldn’t maintain it.
1998 — Amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisc., to force a playoff with Se Ri Pak, a putt that NBC analyst Johnny Miller called “one of the greatest putts in Women’s Open history.” Chuasiriporn’s effort to become the second amateur champion in Open history fell short the next day in a playoff that took 20 holes.
2002 — Juli Inkster cemented her second Women’s Open triumph by holing a 15-foot birdie putt at the 70th hole of the 2002 championship at Prairie Dunes C.C. in Hutchinson, Kan. Inkster, who won her first of three consecutive Women’s Amateur titles at Prairie Dunes in 1980, went on to defeat Annika Sorenstam by two strokes.
2003 — The 18-hole playoff at the 2003 Women’s Open at Pumpkin Ridge in Cornelius, Ore., between Hilary Lunke and Angela Stanford (Kelly Robbins also participated) looked to be headed to extra holes after Stanford holed a 25-foot birdie putt from the fringe at the par-5 18th. But Lunke ended the hopes of her former USA Curtis Cup teammate by draining a 15-foot putt for her first professional title.
2005 — The bunker shot at the 72nd hole by unheralded Birdie Kim of Korea might go down as the greatest in Women’s Open history. Kim blasted her ball out and then watched it hit the flagstick at Cherry Hills Country Club’s 18th hole and disappear for an improbable birdie that gave her a two-stroke victory in 2005 over amateurs Morgan Pressel and Brittany Lang.