First played in 1946, this is the 67th U.S. Women’s Open Championship.
The first U.S. Women’s Open, played at Spokane (Wash.) Country Club in 1946, was the only one conducted at match play. The short-lived Women’s Professional Golfers Association (WPGA) conducted the championship, which was won by Patty Berg. The WPGA conducted the Women’s Open until 1949, when the newly formed Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) took over the 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 winner of the U.S. Women’s Open was Inbee Park, who won the 2008 championship at the age of 19 years, 11 months and 18 days. Babe Zaharias, who won the 1954 Women’s Open at age 43 years and six months, is the championship’s 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 Women’s Open. Six other amateurs have come close – with runner-up or co-runner-up finishes, most recently Brittany Lang and Morgan Pressel in 2005, but none have matched Lacoste’s feat.
The 2013 U.S. Women’s Open will be the first USGA championship at Sebonack Golf Club. Na Yeon Choi of Korea is the defending champion
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