77th U.S. Women's Open: Inside the Field

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This is the 77th U.S. Women’s Open Championship Presented by ProMedica. The first U.S. Women’s Open, played at Spokane (Wash.) Country Club in 1946, was the only one conducted at match play. The Women’s Professional Golfers Association (WPGA) conducted the inaugural championship, won by Patty Berg. The WPGA conducted the Women’s Open until 1949, when the newly formed Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) took over operation of the championship. The LPGA ran the Women’s Open for four years but in 1953 asked the United States Golf Association to conduct the championship, which it has done ever since.

The youngest winners of the U.S. Women’s Open are Inbee Park (2008) and Yuka Saso (2021). Each player captured the championship at the age of 19 years, 11 months, 17 days. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who won the 1954 Women’s Open at age 43 years, 6 months, is the oldest winner.

In 1967, Catherine Lacoste, daughter of French tennis player Rene Lacoste and 1927 British Ladies Amateur champion Simone Thion de la Chaume, became the only amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open. Seven other amateurs – most recently Hye-Jin Choi in 2017 – have finished as runner(s)-up.

WHO’S HERE

Among the 156 golfers in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open, there are:

U.S. Women’s Open champions (12)

Na Yeon Choi (2012), In Gee Chun (2015), Eun-Hee Ji (2009), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018), A Lim Kim (2020), Brittany Lang (2016), Jeongeun Lee6 (2019), Sung Hyun Park (2017), So Yeon Ryu (2011), Yuka Saso (2021), Annika Sorenstam (1995, 1996, 2006), Michelle Wie West (2014)

U.S. Women’s Open runners-up (13)

Hye-Jin Choi (2017), Nasa Hataoka (2021), Hyo Joo Kim (2018), Jin Young Ko (2020), Brittany Lang (2005), Stacy Lewis (2014), Anna Nordqvist (2016), Amy Olson (2020), So Yeon Ryu (2019), Angela Stanford (2003), Lexi Thompson (2019), Amy Yang (2012, 2015), Angel Yin (2019)

U.S. Senior Women’s Open champions (1)

Annika Sorenstam (2021)

U.S. Women’s Amateur champions (5)

Jensen Castle (2021), Danielle Kang (2010, 2011), Lydia Ko (2012), Gabriela Ruffels (2019), Rose Zhang (2020)

U.S. Women’s Amateur runners-up (6)

Brooke Henderson (2014), Jaye Marie Green (2012), Moriya Jutanugarn (2011), Jessica Korda (2010), Gabriela Ruffels (2020), Annika Sorenstam (1992)

U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champions (1)

Blakesly Brock (2021)

U.S. Girls’ Junior champions (8)

Ariya Jutanugarn (2011), In-Kyung Kim (2005), Minjee Lee (2012), Yealimi Noh (2018), Amy Olson (2009), Jenny Shin (2006), Lexi Thompson (2008), Rose Zhang (2021)

U.S. Girls’ Junior runners-up (6)

Dottie Ardina (2011), Bailey Davis (2021), Alison Lee (2012), Andrea Lee (2016), Alexa Pano (2018), Angel Yin (2015)

U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball champions (1)

Sara Im (2022)

USA Curtis Cup Team members (20)

Jensen Castle (2021, 2022), Allisen Corpuz (2021), Ally Ewing (2014), Mariel Galdiano (2016, 2018), Mina Harigae (2008), Jessica Korda (2010), Jennifer Kupcho (2018), Brittany Lang (2004), Alison Lee (2014), Andrea Lee (2016, 2018), Stacy Lewis (2008), Lucy Li (2018), Amy Olson (2012), Annie Park (2014), Angela Stanford (2000), Lexi Thompson (2010), Lilia Vu (2018), Michelle Wie West (2004), Bethany Wu (2016), Rose Zhang (2021, 2022)

GB&I Curtis Cup Team members (9)

Gemma Dryburgh (2014), Louise Duncan (2021, 2022), Annabell Fuller (2018, 2021, 2022), Georgia Hall (2014), Charley Hull (2012), Bronte Law (2012, 2014, 2016), Leona Maguire (2010, 2012, 2016), Stephanie Meadow (2012, 2014), Mel Reid (2006)

NCAA Division I champions (5)

Jennifer Kupcho (2018, Wake Forest University), Stacy Lewis (2007, University of Arkansas), Annie Park (2013, University of Southern California), Annika Sorenstam (1991, University of Arizona), Rose Zhang (2022, Stanford University)

Olympic Medalists (2)

Lydia Ko (2016, silver, New Zealand; 2020, bronze, New Zealand), Nelly Korda (2020, gold, United States of America)

Players with Most U.S. Women’s Open Appearances (2022 included)

Angela Stanford (23), Brittany Lang (18), Michelle Wie West (17), Stacy Lewis (16), Annika Sorenstam (16), Lexi Thompson (16), Amy Yang (16), Jessica Korda (15), Na Yeon Choi (15)

Active Consecutive U.S. Women’s Open Appearances (2022 included)

Angela Stanford (23, 2000-22), Brittany Lang (18, 2005-22), Stacy Lewis (16, 2007-22), Lexi Thompson (16, 2007-22), Amy Yang (16, 2007-22), Eun-Hee Ji (15, 2008-22), Jessica Korda (15, 2008-22)

First-Time U.S. Women’s Open Competitors (50)
Alyaa Abdulghany, Julianne Alvarez, Saki Baba (a), Pia Babnik, Malek Bouraeda (a), Blakesly Brock (a), Kylee Choi (a), Anna Davis (a), Bailey Davis (a), Amanda Doherty, Gemma Dryburgh, Louise Duncan (a), Allison Emrey, Alexandra Fosterling (a), Laney Frye (a), Annabell Fuller (a), Isi Gabsa, Sofia Garcia, Ami Gianchandani (a), Lauren Gomez (a), Melanie Green (a), Lydia Hall, Mayu Hamada, Lauren Hartlage, Natsumi Hayakawa (a), Sara Im (a), Nika Ito (a), Linnea Johansson, Alicia Joo (a), Karissa Kilby (a), Grace Kim, Karen Kim, Lauren Kim, Lauren Kim (a), Minsol Kim (a), Jeonghyun Lee (a), So Mi Lee, Gabby Lemieux, Wenbo Liu, Emma McMyler (a), Lauren Miller (a), Anna Morgan (a), Yuri Onishi, Catherine Park (a), Mao Saigo, Bailey Shoemaker (a), Smilla Sonderby, Yuna Takagi, Bethany Wu, Yunxuang Zhang (a)

Countries Represented (28)

Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong China, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Republic of Ireland, Republic of Korea, Scotland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United States of America, Wales

States Represented (18)

California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas

North Carolinians in The Field (1)
Allison Emrey (Charlotte, N.C.)

Played in the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles (9): Na Yeon Choi (MC), Mina Harigae (T66), Danielle Kang (MC), In-Kyung Kim (T61), Brittany Lang (MC), Stacy Lewis (MC), Annika Sorenstam (T32), Angela Stanford (T16), Lexi Thompson (MC)

Played in the 2001 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles (2): Annika Sorenstam (T16), Angela Stanford (MC)

Played in the 1996 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles (1): Annika Sorenstam (champion)

CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD

The 156-player field includes 78 fully exempt golfers and 11 U.S. Women’s Open champions. Qualifying, conducted over 36 holes, was held at 26 sites between April 19 and May 16 – 23 sites in the U.S. and three international sites (England, Japan, and the Republic of Korea).

Amateur Players in the Field (29)

Saki Baba, Malak Bouraeda, Blakesly Brock, Jensen Castle, Kylee Choi, Anna Davis, Bailey Davis, Louise Duncan, Alexandra Forsterling, Laney Frye, Annabell Fuller, Ami Gianchandani, Lauren Gomez, Melanie Green, Sara Im, Nika Ito, Karissa Kilby, Lauren Kim, Minsol Kim, Jeonghyun Lee, Ingrid Lindblad, Emma McMyler, Lauren Miller, Anna Morgan, Bohyun Park, Catherine Park, Bailey Shoemaker, Rose Zhang, Yunxuan Zhang

Top-Ranked Amateur Players in the Field

Six amateurs are in the top 50 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of May 25:

No. 1 – Rose Zhang
No. 2 – Ingrid Lindblad
No. 13 – Alexandra Forsterling
No. 23 – Anna Davis
No. 32 – Bohyun Park
No. 48 – Annabell Fuller

LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Alums in Field (14)

Jensen Castle (a)
Bailey Davis (a)
Amanda Doherty
Allison Emrey
Laney Frye (a)
Melanie Green (a)
Lauren Hartlage
Jillian Hollis
Sara Im (a)
Lauren Kim
Alison Lee
Anna Morgan (a)
Yealimi Noh
Bailey Shoemaker (a)

Notable Amateur Storylines

Malak Bouraeda, 21, of Morocco, is the first player to represent Morocco in a U.S. Women’s Open. She recently completed her senior year at the University of Colorado and is planning to return as a fifth-year senior in the fall while pursuing a master’s degree. Bouraeda lost her mother to a long battle with Crohn's disease when she was 10 years old and has since dedicated herself to becoming a Division 1 golfer. She has four top-10 finishes in her college career and advanced to last year’s NCAA Baton Rouge Regional as an individual before the event was canceled due to unplayable course conditions.

Jensen Castle, 21, of West Columbia, S.C., defeated Yu-Chiang (Vivian) Hou, 2 and 1, to win the 121st U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., last August. Three weeks later, she earned 2 points for the victorious USA Curtis Cup Team, finishing with a 1-1-2 record in Wales, and she will also play for the USA in next week’s 42nd Curtis Cup Match at Merion Golf Club. Castle, who set Kentucky’s single-season stroke average record as a freshman, notched two top-20 finishes in the fall and led the team with a 71.75 stroke average. She earned a T12 finish at the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Anna Davis, 16, of Spring Valley, Calif., became the youngest Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion in April after carding a final-round, 3-under-par 69 to defeat LSU teammates Ingrid Lindblad and Latanna Stone by one stroke. The left-hander has since played in her first two LPGA events and made the cut in both. She won twice in 2021, a seven-stroke victory in the 2021 PGA Girls' Junior Championship and her first AJGA win in the Heather Farr Classic. Davis reached match play of the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2021 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship with partner Lucy Yuan. She will make her major championship debut in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Bailey Davis, 19, of White Plains, Md., became the second Black golfer to advance to a U.S. Girls' Junior final last July, losing to world No. 1 Rose Zhang at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md. Davis, who is competing in her first U.S. Women’s Open, earned Southeastern Conference All-Freshman honors this spring at the University of Tennessee. In 2021, she was the runner-up at the Mack Invitational in Texas to 2022 Curtis Cup competitor Amari Avery. Davis won the 2020 Maryland State Girls Amateur and was a three-time Maryland 4A high school champion.

Anna Morgan, 21, of Spartanburg, S.C., earned her first two individual collegiate victories at Furman University this season and was named the 2022 Southern Conference player of the year for the second time. Her seven-stroke win in the Lady Paladin Invitational in September set a tournament record for winning score (13 under). Last summer, the college junior finished runner-up in the North & South Women’s Amateur and reached the Round of 32 in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. She finished T-21 in the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Rose Zhang, 19, of Irvine, Calif., is a two-time USGA champion and currently No. 1 in the Women’s WAGR, having won the McCormack Medal as the world’s leading amateur in August for the second consecutive year. On May 23, she won the NCAA Division I individual title, becoming the second straight Stanford University freshman to do so. After winning the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur in Maryland, Zhang earned her second USGA title last July, defeating Bailey Davis, 6 and 4, in the final match of the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior, becoming just the eighth player to win both the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur. Zhang began her collegiate career earning individual victories in her first three starts. It was the first time in Cardinal history that a freshman – male or female – won their first three events. Prior to arriving at Stanford, Zhang went 4-0-1 to lead the USA over Great Britain & Ireland in the 2021 Curtis Cup in Wales, and she will compete for the USA again next week in the 42nd Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club. She has competed in six women’s major championships, making the cut in three, including a T11 finish in the 2020 ANA Inspiration. Zhang finished T12 at this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

AMATEUR PLAYERS IN RECENT U.S. WOMEN'S OPENS

Youngest Competitor

At 15 years, 6 months and 2 weeks of age as of June 2 (the first day of the championship), Jeonghyun Lee of the Republic of Korea is the championship’s youngest competitor.

Oldest Competitor

At age 51, Annika Sorenstam, of Sweden, is the championship’s oldest competitor.

Field by Age

Age 14-19 – 23 players
Age 20-29 – 101 players
Age 30-39 – 30 players
Age 40-55 – 2 players

The average age of the championship field is 25.4.

Oldest U.S. Women’s Open Champions (years/months/days)

43/0/7: Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1954
42/0/13: Juli Inkster, 2002
41/2/20: Meg Mallon, 2004

Youngest U.S. Women’s Open Champions (years/months/days)

19/11/17: Inbee Park, 2008
19/11/17: Yuka Saso, 2021
20/9/8: Se Ri Pak, 1998
20/11/2: In Gee Chun, 2015

Championship Birthdays

One player in the U.S. Women’s Open field will celebrate a birthday during championship week: Carlota Ciganda will turn 33 on June 1.

Sisters in the Field

For the eighth consecutive year, and ninth time overall, sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn, of Thailand, are both in the field. In the field together for the eighth time are sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda. The Jutanugarns and Kordas are two of seven sets of sisters to have competed in the same U.S. Women’s Open.

Past Sisters in Field

Danielle and Dina Ammaccapane (8) – 1991-93, 1996, 1998-99, 2001-02
Alice Bauer and Marlene Bauer Hagge (12) – 1947, 1949-55, 1957-58, 1964, 1966
Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn (9) – 2011, 2015-22
Jessica and Nelly Korda (8) – 2013, 2016-22
Aree and Naree Song (2) – 2003, 2005
Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam (8) – 1997, 1999-2005
Hollis Stacy and Martha Stacy Leach (1) – 1980

The U.S. Women’s Open Course

The 77th U.S. Women’s Open Championship will be the seventh USGA championship conducted at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club. Pine Needles is the first venue to host four U.S. Women’s Open Championships. Its first U.S. Women’s Open Championship was held in 1996, when Annika Sorenstam took home the trophy. Karrie Webb won the 2001 championship, and Cristie Kerr claimed the 2007 title.

Longest Course in Championship History

7,047 yards: The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., 2011

Shortest Course in Championship History

6,010 yards: Brooklawn C.C., Fairfield, Conn., 1979

Longest Par-3 Holes in Championship History

252 yards: 8th, Oakmont (Pa.) C.C., 2010
227 yards: 8th, Interlachen C.C., Edina, Minn., 2008
211 yards: 13th, Newport (R.I.) C.C., 2006
211 yards: 5th, Pine Needles L. & G.C., Southern Pines, N.C., 2007

Longest Par-4 Holes in Championship History

459 yards: 18th, Cherry Hills C.C., Cherry Hills Village, Colo., 2005
458 yards: 16th, Pinehurst R. & C.C. (No. 2), Village of Pinehurst, N.C., 2014
455 yards: 3rd, Blackwolf Run, Kohler, Wis., 2012

Longest Par-5 Holes in Championship History

603 yards: 17th, The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., 2011
602 yards: 12th, Oakmont (Pa.) C.C., 2010
602 yards: 16th, Blackwolf Run, Kohler, Wis., 2012
590 yards: 5th, Blackwolf Run, Kohler, Wis., 2012

What the Winner Receives

Among the benefits enjoyed by the U.S. Women’s Open champion are:

• A U.S. Women’s Open exemption for the next 10 years
• An exemption to the next five Chevron Championships
• An exemption to the next five AIG Women’s Opens
• An exemption to the next five KPMG Women’s PGA Championships
• An exemption to the next five Amundi Evian Championships
• Custody of Harton S. Semple Trophy for one year and Mickey Wright Medal

The 2022 purse is $10 million.

The Last Time it Happened at a U.S. Women’s Open Championship

Last international winner: Yuka Saso (2021)
Last to defend title: Karrie Webb (2001)
Last champion to win Women’s Open on first attempt: A Lim Kim (2020)
Last to win Women’s Open on second attempt: Sung Hyun Park (2017)
Last amateur to win Women’s Open: Catherine Lacoste (1967)
Last start-to-finish winner: Annika Sorenstam (2006 – Playoff)
Last winner to birdie the 72nd hole: A Lim Kim (2020)
Last winner to birdie the 72nd hole to force playoff: So Yeon Ryu (2011)
Last winner to birdie the 72nd hole to win by one stroke: Eun-Hee Ji (2009)
Last to win with four under-par rounds: Jeongeun Lee6 (2019)
Last to win without a round in the 60s: Eun-Hee Ji (2009)
Last player to win after competing in local qualifying: Hilary Lunke (2003)
Last player to win after competing in sectional qualifying: Birdie Kim (2005)
Last winner younger than 20: Yuka Saso, 19 (2021)
Last winner between ages 20-29: A Lim Kim, 25 (2020)
Last winner between ages 30-39: Brittany Lang, 30 (2016)
Last winner over age 40: Meg Mallon, 41 (2004)
Last defending champion to miss the cut: A Lim Kim (2021)

Title Defense

Should Yuka Saso win, she would become the eighth player to successfully defend her championship title. She would join Mickey Wright (1958-59), Donna Caponi (1969-70), Susie Maxwell Berning (1972-73), Hollis Stacy (1977-78), Betsy King (1989-90), Annika Sorenstam (1995-96) and Karrie Webb (2000-01).

HOW PLAYERS FINISHED IN TITLE DEFENSE