The 79th edition of the U.S. Women’s Open, the longest-running major championship in women’s golf, gets underway on Thursday at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Penn. The major championship features a purse of $12 million with Ally coming on board as presenting sponsor of the major championship earlier this year. Here’s a closer look at five things you need to know about the season’s second major championship.
The Field
The U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally features a field of 156 players that features a who’s who of players who have already hoisted a major trophy. Nelly Korda, the two-time major champion and current Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1, headlines the field in pursuit of her seventh win of the 2024 season. She’s joined in Lancaster by major champions Celine Boutier, Ashleigh Buhai, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko and Hannah Green, just to name a few. Green is the only other multiple winner this season on the LPGA Tour, earning two victories at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. Eight past champions of the U.S. Women’s Open will also tee it up, including Brittany Lang, Ariya Jutanugarn, Jeongeun Lee6, A Lim Kim, Yuka Saso, Minjee Lee, Allisen Corpuz and In Gee Chun, who was the winner the last time the championship was held at Lancaster Country Club in 2015. Chun’s victory was her first on the LPGA Tour, and since that win, she has maintained a relationship with the Lancaster community by establishing an educational foundation in partnership with the club that helps to provide scholarships to local families.
Qualifying
There were 1,897 entries received for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, just over a hundred shy of the record of more than 2,000 entries submitted last year, with the championship being staged for the first time at Pebble Beach Golf Links. In the end, just over 60 players advanced from 26 qualifying sites, having outlasted a 36-hole gauntlet to earn a coveted spot in the field at Lancaster Country Club alongside those who were previously exempt. Notable qualifiers for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open include Gabi Ruffels, who finished as medalist at her qualifying site to earn a spot in the field for her fifth U.S. Women’s Open. The rookie has been on a run of good form lately and comes to Pennsylvania off back-to-back top-three finishes on the LPGA Tour. Other notable qualifiers include Moriya Jutanugarn, Sydnee Michaels, Caroline Masson and Lucy Li, who first competed in the U.S. Women’s Open at the age of 11.
The Course
Lancaster Country Club is a hidden gem amongst the rota of major championship venues, and beginning Thursday, it hosts the U.S. Women’s Open for only the second time. The course, which was the venue for the championship in 2015, will challenge players with a complete test of golf. The William Flynn design features a variety of par 4s, distinct par 3s and just two par 5s. This second-shot golf course will play to 6,583 yards for the championship, exactly 100 yards longer than it was in 2015, and to a par 70. The biggest change from 2015 can be seen at the par-5 13th hole, which was lengthened by 30 yards and has seen the addition of four new bunkers.
Corpuz Defends
Allisen Corpuz became not just a Rolex First-Time Winner but also a major champion with her breakout victory in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2023. Corpuz closed with a final-round 3-under, 69 to win by three strokes in the first women’s major to be staged at Pebble Beach. Corpuz, who became the first American to win her national championship since Brittany Lang in 2016, took home $2 million for her victory along with the Mickey Wright Medal and the Horton S. Semple Trophy. But since Corpuz earned her maiden victory at the U.S. Women’s Open, she’s struggled to recapture the magic that propelled her to major glory. Following her win, she finished runner-up in her next start and picked up a tie for sixth in the final major of the 2023 season, the AIG Women’s Open. This year, Corpuz has recorded just a single top-10 finish, a tie for eighth that came at the HSBC Women's World Championship.
Korda Chasing Major No. 3
Nelly Korda arrives at the second major championship of the season in pursuit of not just her seventh victory of the year but also a third career major victory. Korda captured her fifth consecutive win of the season at the year’s first major, The Chevron Championship, and will be riding high on the momentum of a sixth win in her last start at the Mizuho Americas Open. At a major venue like Lancaster Country Club, which puts a premium on hitting fairways and greens, Korda will be tough to beat as she leads the Tour in greens in regulation, putts per green in regulation and scoring average. Korda is competing in her 10th U.S. Women’s Open, and she has two top-10 results in the event. She did not compete at Lancaster in 2015.
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