U.S. Senior Women's Open

U.S. Senior Women's Open
Tournament information
LocationPittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2024)
Established2018, 6 years ago
Course(s)Fox Chapel Golf Club (2024)
Par71 (2024)
Length5,964 yards (5,453 m) (2024)
Organized byUSGA
FormatStroke play
Prize fund$1.0 million[1]
Month playedAugust
Tournament record score
Aggregate276 England Laura Davies (2018)
Sweden Annika Sörenstam (2021)
To par−16 England Laura Davies (2018)
Current champion
United States Leta Lindley
2024 U.S. Senior Women's Open

The U.S. Senior Women's Open is one of fourteen U.S. national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association. This USGA championship is open to women whose 50th birthday falls on or before the first day of competition and hold a handicap index not exceeding 7.4. It is part of the Legends of the LPGA Tour. The inaugural championship was held in 2018 at the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois.

The U.S. Senior Women's Open and the Senior LPGA Championship are considered to constitute the senior women's major golf championships. The eligibility for the Senior LPGA Championship and the Legends of the LPGA Tour are for female golfers age 45 and older, why not all Senior LPGA Championship players are eligible for the U.S. Senior Women's Open.

The field for the tournament is 120 players and is filled with professionals and amateurs with exemptions and sectional qualifying status. The tournament is 72 holes of stroke play, with the top 50 and ties making the 36-hole cut. Winners gain an exemption into the following year's U.S. Women's Open.

Eligibility

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The following players are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Senior Women's Open, provided they are 50 years old. Senior amateur categories require players to still be amateurs. For the first three editions of the tournament, golfers eligible in categories with an upper age limit, were eligible regardless of that.[2]

  • Winners of the U.S. Senior Women's Open who have not yet reached their 66th birthdays on or before the final day of the championship or winners in the past ten years, regardless of age
  • The top 20 (and ties) from the previous year's U.S. Senior Women's Open
  • The low amateur from the previous year's U.S. Senior Women's Open
  • Winners of the U.S. Women's Open to 59 years of age
  • From the two most recent U.S. Women's Open, any player returning a 72-hole score
  • Finalist in the U.S. Women's Amateur the previous year
  • Winners of the U.S. Women's Amateur (if turned professional a three-year exemption and if remained amateur a five-year exemption)
  • Winners of the women's majors to 59 years of age – Chevron Championship, KPMG Women's PGA Championship, editions of the du Maurier Classic from 1979 to 2000, editions of Women's British Open since 2001, and editions of the Evian Championship since 2013.
  • Winner and runner-up of the previous U.S. Senior Women's Amateur
  • The winner of the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur the last two years
  • Winner of the past two U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur
  • Members of either two of the two more recent Curtis Cup teams
  • Members of the two most recent U.S. Espirito Santo Trophy teams
  • Playing members of the five most recent Solheim Cup teams
  • Top 30 players from the previous year's final Legends Tour money list
  • Top 10 money leaders of all-time Legends Tour earnings
  • Top 15 money leaders on the current Legends Tour money list
  • Winners of Legends Tour events, excluding team events, in the last two years and current year
  • Top 75 LPGA Tour money leaders all-time
  • Winners of The Womens Amateur Championship 50 to 52 years of age
  • Winners of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Championship in the past five years and the second-place finisher in the most recent edition
  • Winners of LPGA Tour events, in the current and last five years
  • Top five money leaders from the previous year's final Ladies European Tour and LPGA of Japan Tour career money lists
  • Winners of the most current Senior Ladies' British Open Amateur and Canadian Senior Women's Amateur championships
  • Special exemptions

Winners

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Year Champion Score To par Margin
of victory
Runner-up Purse
($)
Winner's
share ($)
Site
2024 United States Leta Lindley 275 −9 2 strokes Japan Kaori Yamamoto 1,000,000 180,000 Fox Chapel Golf Club
2023 England Trish Johnson 284 −4 1 stroke United States Leta Lindley 1,000,000 180,000 Waverley Country Club
2022 United States Jill McGill 289 −3 1 stroke United States Leta Lindley 1,000,000 180,000 NCR Country Club (South)
2021 Sweden Annika Sörenstam 276 −12 8 strokes Sweden Liselotte Neumann 1,000,000 180,000 Brooklawn Country Club
2020 Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic[3]
2019 Sweden Helen Alfredsson 285 +1 2 strokes United States Juli Inkster
England Trish Johnson
1,000,000 180,000 Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club
2018 England Laura Davies 276 −16 10 strokes United States Juli Inkster 1,000,000 180,000 Chicago Golf Club

Sources:[4][5][6][7]

Future sites

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Year Host site City Dates
2025 San Diego Country Club[8] Chula Vista, California August 21–24
2026 TBD
2027 Tacoma Country and Golf Club[8] Lakewood, Washington August 19–22
2028 TBD
2029 TBD
2030 Spyglass Hill Golf Course[9] Pebble Beach, California TBD
2031 Plainfield Country Club[10] Edison, New Jersey TBD
2032 Prairie Dunes Country Club[11] Hutchinson, Kansas TBD

References

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  1. ^ "2021 U.S. Senior Women's Open final results: Prize money payout, leaderboard and how much each golfer won". Golf News Net. August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "Exemption Categories for U.S. Senior Women's Open". USGA. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  3. ^ Altstadter, Jeff (April 6, 2020). "2020 U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Senior Women's Open Canceled". USGA.
  4. ^ Bamberger, Michael (August 1, 2021). "Annika Sorenstam just showed us what happens to talent over time". Golf.com.
  5. ^ "U.S. Senior Women's, Results". USGA. January 5, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  6. ^ "2021 US Senior Women's Open final results: Prize money payout, leaderboard and how much each golfer won". Golf News Net. August 2, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  7. ^ "Sorenstam wins U.S. Senior Women's Open at Brooklawn Country Club in Connecticut". Legends of the LPGA. August 2, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Morton, Amy (August 22, 2022). "Trio of Classic Courses to Host U.S. Senior Women's Opens". United States Golf Association.
  9. ^ Pine, Julia (April 20, 2022). "USGA, Pebble Beach Company Announce Landmark Partnership". United States Golf Association.
  10. ^ DePasquale, Brian (August 21, 2023). "Plainfield C.C. to Host 3 Future USGA Championships". United States Golf Association.
  11. ^ DePasquale, Brian (September 12, 2023). "Prairie Dunes to Host Pair of USGA Senior Open Championships". United States Golf Association.
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39°40′48″N 84°11′46″W / 39.680°N 84.196°W / 39.680; -84.196