It’s one thing to win a professional tournament in women’s golf, but when that maiden triumph comes in the form of the U.S. Women’s Open, the accomplishment is more than magnified.
A number of former and current LPGA stars have made the U.S. Women’s Open their first pro win, and there are numerous players in this week’s field who could follow in their footsteps. Some of the game’s top stars and legends, including Annika Sorenstam (1995) and Inbee Park (2008) are included in that illustrious group, and it is quite the interesting list.
So Yeon Ryu, then a member of the KLPGA, was the most recent golfer to accomplish the feat in 2011 and was the 16th player to make the U.S. Women’s Open her first LPGA win. Birdie Kim joined the club in 2005 at Cherry Hills Country Club outside Denver thanks to a legendary hole-out from the bunker on the 72nd hole for her one and only LPGA victory, and Hilary Lunke defeated Kelly Robbins and Angela Stanford in an 18-hole Monday playoff at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore., in 2003 to also notch her lone LPGA win.
Sorenstam’s Hall of Fame career began in a big way at The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Colo., 20 years ago, and victorious 2013 Solheim Cup Captain Liselotte Neumann won the USWO as a rookie in 1988. Jane Geddes (1986) and Kathy Baker (1985) claimed their first LPGA wins at the event in consecutive years, while Janet Alex secured her lone Tour win in 1982 at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, Calif.
Jerilyn Britz (1979), Donna Caponi (1969), Sandra Spuzich (1966), Mary Mills (1963) and Murle Lindstrom (1962) also made the famed tournament their first LPGA wins. It is quite the diverse group, and for some, the USWO triumph will forever be the pinnacle of their careers.
Also part of that “club” are Catherine LaCoste, who became the tournament’s lone amateur to win in 1967, and Laura Davies (1987) and Ryu (2011), who won as non-LPGA members. In addition, Hall of Famer Betty Jameson made the Open her first professional win in 1947 before the formation of the LPGA Tour.
The 15 players who have achieved the honor of making the USWO their first LPGA win had varying degrees of success after their big wins. Some struggled to maintain the momentum from winning the event, while others used it as a springboard to prolonged success.
Here’s a look at how they rank according to all-time victories:
72, Annika Sorenstam*
24, Donna Caponi*
20, Laura Davies*
15, Inbee Park
13, Liselotte Neumann
11, Jane Geddes
9, Mary Mills
7, Sandra Spuzich
4, Murle Lindstrom
3, So Yeon Ryu
2, Kathy Baker, Jerilyn Britz
1, Birdie Kim, Hilary Lunke, Janet Alex, Catherine LaCoste (a)
*LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame members
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