156 Players Begin Chase for One Trophy, Place in History

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History happens at the U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally. A victory in the oldest women’s professional major championship changes a career for anyone, but for a select few in the field at Erin Hills Golf Club, the 80th edition of this competition offers the lure of a special reward. And when play starts Thursday the record book will lay open, ready for them to write new entries.

Yuka Saso is seeking to become the first player since Karrie Webb, in 2000-01, to successfully defend her title, and in doing so she would join Babe Zaharias, Susie Berning, Hollis Stacy and Annika Sorenstam as the only three-time champions, one victory behind the record four by Mickey Wright and Betsy Rawls.

Lydia Ko has won the Chevron and Evian championships as well as the AIG Women’s Open. A victory here would put her in a select group with World Golf Hall of Famers Louise Suggs, Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster and Sorenstam as having won four different LPGA majors. Webb is the only woman with five different major titles. Ko also has something none of those players own: an Olympic gold medal.

Yani Tseng, who registered 15 LPGA Tour victories, including five majors,  by the age of 23, is now 36 and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open for the first time since 2016. She’s chasing her first major championship victory since July 31, 2011 – a gap of 13 years, 10 months. Inkster went 10 years, 2 months between major victories at the 1989 Chevron and the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open.

And for Rolex No. 1 Nelly Korda, who at 26 is playing in her 11th U.S. Women’s Open, this championship has been her most elusive quest. In 2021, she took the gold medal  at the Tokyo Olympics and last year she won seven times, including her second major at the Chevron Championship. But she missed the cut in the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club, the third time in the last five years she hasn’t played the weekend.

“When somebody says what makes the U.S. Women's Open so unique, first is legacy,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan. “It's just been here. It's the longest running professional women's championship. Please don't miss the 80 in 80th, because 80 is one of the things that makes this championship so special. The LPGA is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year; the LET is celebrating its 47th year; the NCAA Division I championships are celebrating their 43rd.”

Saso is already part of the USGA legacy. When she won at The Olympic Club in 2021 she tied Inbee Park as the youngest U.S. Women’s Open champion at 19 years, 11 months and 17 days. Then she backed that up by winning again last year at Lancaster Country Club. She won her first representing the Philippines, the country of her mother, and the second repping Japan, the country of her father.

“It was also life-changing,” Saso said with a laugh about winning a second time. “I could call myself a two-time major champion, and better than that, two-time U.S. Women's Open champion. I dreamed of winning this, and winning it twice is much better.”

At only 23, she should have many more opportunities to add to her USGA legacy.

Korda, 26, played in her first U.S. Women’s Open in 2013, making the cut one month before her 15th birthday. But she’s finished outside the top 35 seven times, including those three missed cuts, her best showings T-10 in 2018 and T-8 in 2022.

“Oh, yeah, lots of ups and downs,” Korda said about her record in this championship. “It's the biggest test in the game of golf. Definitely has tested me a lot. I love it. At the end of the day, this is why we do what we do is to play these golf courses in these conditions, to test our games in every aspect. Not even just our games, our mental, as well. I enjoy it, and I'm excited to see what this week is going to bring.”

Tseng has also struggled in the U.S. Women’s Open, where she made her first start as a 16-year-old amateur in 2005. In 11 starts, her best finish is T-10 at Oakmont Country Club in 2010 and she’s missed the cut five times. She was T-59 in her last appearance in 2016 at CordeValle.

“It's crazy,” Tseng said. “Just incredible. Feel grateful, very grateful to be back. Nine years can change a lot, and I just feel very grateful to play the course like this. I'm just very happy that I didn't give up.”

Ko, 28, also made her U.S. Women’s Open debut as a teenager, finishing as low amateur in 2012.

“I was very nervous,” Ko said about tackling Blackwolf Run as a 15-year-old. “I couldn't even line up my ball on the first green. That's when I think I really realized that this meant a lot to me, and the U.S. Women's Open is different to any other event I had actually played in previously.”

There is not much missing on Ko’s résumé, which includes silver, bronze and gold medals in consecutive Olympics, except for the U.S. Women’s Open.

“I think this, like, would be the one that I'd say, ‘Oh, I wish I was a U.S. Women's Open champion.’” Ko says about the importance of this championship. “It may seem like a large pool of people that are the past champions, but it's actually quite small, and I would obviously love to be part of that U.S. Women's Open club.”

That’s an exclusive club 156 players are trying to join this week at Erin Hills. On Sunday, someone will have that honor. And the quest starts Thursday when the first ball is struck at 6:45 a.m.

Ron Sirak is an award-winning Massachusetts-based golf writer whose work has previously appeared on USGA websites and publications.