It’s finally here! Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate this week as we prepare to crown another great USGA champion in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh golf scene is privileged to host many incredible USGA Championships, and this year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Fox Chapel Golf Club promises to be extraordinary.
The 18th hole at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Copyright USGA/Fred Vuich)
Starting Thursday, 120 players will compete for the top prize in senior women’s golf at Fox Chapel Golf Club. This year’s field includes all five past champions along with 22 U.S. Senior Women’s Open rookies. Previous winners Laura Davies (2018), Helen Alfredsson (2019), Annika Sorenstam (2021), Jill McGill (2022), and Trish Johnson (2023) will be vying to become the first two-time winner.
Annika Sorenstam hits a shot on the 11th hole during a practice round ahead of the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Monday, July 29, 2024. (Jeff Haynes/USGA)
Annika Sorenstam and Jill McGill are already multiple USGA winners. Annika won the U.S. Women’s Open in 1995, 1996, and 2006, while Jill won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1993 and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links the following year. Laura Davies also has another USGA championship under her belt, the 1987 U.S. Women’s Open. This formidable group will be exciting to watch.
Jill McGill hits her tee shot on the 11th hole during a practice round ahead of the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Monday, July 29, 2024. (Jeff Haynes/USGA)
Among the 120 players at Fox Chapel, 22 are competing in their first U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Sherri Steinhauer, an eight-time LPGA Tour winner with two majors, competed in 24 U.S. Women’s Opens, achieving five top-25 finishes. Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, a two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and Curtis Cup team member, played in 15 U.S. Women’s Opens and competed on the LPGA Tour from 1994-2009. Gail Graham, a Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member and two-time LPGA Tour winner, is another notable first-timer. She finished T-6 in the 1992 U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont Country Club, just across the Allegheny River from Fox Chapel. Can one of these first-timers contend this week? That’s something to watch for.
The Third hole at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Copyright USGA/Fred Vuich)
Fox Chapel Golf Club, hosting its fourth USGA championship and its first U.S. Senior Women’s Open, boasts a storied history. Pittsburgh area native Carol Semple Thompson, competing this week on a special exemption, famously secured the USA’s victory in the 2002 Curtis Cup Match at Fox Chapel with a 27-foot birdie putt. This week’s field includes 10 players who competed in the 1985 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Fox Chapel: Danielle Ammaccapane, Donna Andrews, Jean Bartholomew, Laurel Kean, Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Martha Leach, Sarah Lebrun Ingram, Cindy Schreyer, Kim Williams, and Thompson.
Carol S. Thompson hits her tee shot on the 12th hole during a practice round ahead of the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Monday, July 29, 2024. (Jeff Haynes/USGA)
Opened in 1923, Fox Chapel Golf Club will play to a par of 36-35–71, featuring three par-5 holes. Designed by Seth Raynor, who drew inspiration from the best holes in Scotland and Europe, Fox Chapel includes many of his famous template holes, such as the par-3 17th with its Biarritz green. Brian Silva renovated the course in 2001, and Fazio Design completed an extensive restoration in 2020, reintroducing a variety of original greens and bunkers.
The seventeenth hole at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (Copyright USGA/Fred Vuich)
The green complexes at Fox Chapel may determine where the eventual winner makes her move to bring home the trophy. If the players don’t place their approach shots correctly, it could be a long two, or hopefully four, days of golf.
https://championships.usga.org/usseniorwomensopen/2024/2024-u-s-senior-womens-open-tickets.html
