Inaugural U.S. Senior Women's Open Championship: Fact Sheet

July 12-15, 2018, Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, Ill.

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Championship Tickets and Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer registration for the 2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship is now open, and championship tickets to this historic event are now available for purchase. Click here to buy tickets, and click here to register to volunteer.

Championship Field and Entries          

The championship is open to any professional or amateur golfer who is 50 years of age as of July 12 and has a Handicap Index not exceeding 7.4. The field will include 120 players, who earned entry in the walking-only championship via sectional qualifying at sites nationwide during the spring of 2018 or through an exemption category. Click here to see the latest field list.

Schedule of Play         

Eighteen holes of stroke play are scheduled each day from Thursday, July 12, through Sunday, July 15. In the case of a tie after 72 holes, a two-hole aggregate playoff will commence immediately after the conclusion of the fourth round.

July 12: Round 1, 18 holes, stroke play
July 13: Round 2, 18 holes, stroke play; after 36 holes, the starting field will be cut to the low 50 scorers, including ties
July 14: Round 3, 18 holes, stroke play
July 15: Round 4, 18 holes, stroke play

About Chicago Golf Club and Course Setup

Chicago Golf Club is one of the five founding clubs of the USGA and the oldest golf club in the U.S. in continuous use at the same location. Founded in 1893 by Charles Blair Macdonald, who won the inaugural U.S. Amateur in 1895, the original 18-hole course was renovated in 1923 by Seth Raynor and remains largely unchanged today.

The championship course will be set up at 6,082 yards and play to a par of 36-37—73.  

Note: Yardages subject to change.

USGA Championships at Chicago Golf Club      

The inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship will be the 12th USGA championship conducted at Chicago Golf Club and the first Open championship played at the club in 107 years when John J. McDermott became the first American to win the U.S. Open in a three-man playoff against Mike Brady and George Simpson in 1911. The club also hosted the U.S. Open in 1897 and 1900:

• In 1897, Joe Lloyd, of England, who worked at the Essex Country Club in Manchester, Mass., in the summer, and at Pau, France, in the winter, finished 83-79—162 to defeat Willie Anderson, by one stroke. Anderson would go on to win the U.S. Open four-times (1901, 1903, 1904, and 1905) – sharing the record for the most victories with Robert T. Jones, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus.
• In 1900, Harry Vardon, of England, finished 79-78-76-80—313, two strokes ahead of J.H. Taylor. Vardon won a record six Open Championships conducted by The R&A (1896,1898, 1899, 1903, 1911 and 1914) and Taylor won five.

Four U.S. Amateur Championships have been played at the Club (1897, 1905, 1909, 1912):

• During the 1897 championship, Charles Whigham won his second U.S. Amateur title, among 58 players.
• In the 1905 U.S. Amateur, H. Chandler Egan, of Chicago, successfully defended his title by defeating D.E Sawyer, 6 and 5. A Harvard graduate who helped his team win three NCAA Championships and the individual title in 1902, Egan also helped Team USA win team gold in the 1904 Olympic Games where he finished second individually.
• In 1909, Robert A. Gardner became the youngest winner of the U.S. Open at the age of 19 years and five months, defeating Egan, 4 and 3. That record stood until 1994 when Tiger Woods won the title at 18 years, 7 months.
• Regarded as one of the strongest match-play players of his time, Jerome D. Travers – a four-time U.S. Amateur champion – defeated Charles Evans Jr., 7 and 6, to win the 1912 title.

Other USGA champions crowned at Chicago Golf Club include Bessie Anthony who defeated J.A. Carpenter, 7 and 6, in the 1903 U.S. Women’s Amateur, and William C. Campbell, who won the 1979 U.S. Senior Amateur. Campbell shared medalist honors with Dale Morey before defeating Lewis Oehmig, 2 and 1, to become the only player to win won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Senior Amateur.

The club also hosted Walker Cup Matches in 1928 and 2005, with the United States defeating the Great Britain & Ireland team, 11-1 and 12 ½-11 ½, respectively.

1897 U.S. Amateur: H.J. Whigham def. W. Rossiter Betts, 8 and 6
1897 U.S. Open: Joe Lloyd won by one stroke over Willie Anderson (162-163)
1900 U.S. Open: Harry Vardon won by two strokes over J.H. Taylor (313-315)
1903 U.S. Women’s Amateur: Bessie Anthony def. J.A. Carpenter, 7 and 6
1905 U.S. Amateur: H. Chandler Egan def. D.E. Sawyer, 6 and 5
1909 U.S. Amateur: Robert A. Gardner def. H. Chandler Egan, 4 and 3
1911 U.S. Open: John J. McDermott won a three-man playoff over Michael J. Brady, George O. Simpson (307-80, 307-82, 307-85)
1912 U.S. Amateur: Jerome D. Travers def. Charles Evans Jr., 7 and 6
1928 Walker Cup: United States def. Great Britain, 11 to 1
1979 Senior Amateur: William C. Campbell def. Lewis W. Oehmig, 2 and 1
2005 Walker Cup: United States def. Great Britain, 12 ½ to 11 ½
2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open

USGA Championships in Illinois
The 2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be the 61st USGA championship contested in Illinois and the state’s first Open championship in 15 years when Jim Furyk hoisted the U.S. Open Championship trophy in 2003 at Olympia Fields Country Club. The 2015 U.S. Amateur, won by Bryson DeChambeau, also played at Olympia Fields, was the most recent USGA championship in Illinois.

Future U.S. Senior Women’s Open Sites
May 16-19, 2019: Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club (Southern Pines, N.C.)