1997 U.S. Women's Open
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 10–13, 1997 |
| Location | LPGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,365 yards (5,820 m) |
| Field | 156 players, 64 after cut |
| Cut | 147 (+5) |
| Prize fund | $1.3 million |
| Winner's share | $232,500 |
| Champion | |
 Alison Nicholas | |
| 274 (−10) | |
→ | |
The 1997 U.S. Women's Open was the 52nd U.S. Women's Open, held July 10–13 at the Witch Hollow course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club near North Plains, Oregon, northwest of Portland.
Alison Nicholas entered the final round with a three stroke lead and shot an even-par 71 to win her only major title, one stroke ahead of runner-up Nancy Lopez.[1] In the final pairing, Lopez slid a 15-foot (4.6 m) downhill birdie putt past the 72nd hole while Nicholas sank a three-footer (0.9 m) for par to win at 274 (−10).[2] Lopez, age 40 and in search of the title that eluded her, was the first-ever player to shoot four rounds in the 60s in the U.S. Women's Open.[1][3][4]
Two-time defending champion Annika Sörenstam's attempt for an unprecedented third straight title came up short. Five-over-par after her first nine holes on Thursday, she carded 77-73 for 150 (+8) and missed the 36-hole cut by three strokes, fourteen strokes behind the lead.[5][6] Through 2021, no one has won three consecutive U.S. Women's Opens.
The final round attendance on Sunday was a record 31,700 and the seven-day total was 123,850.[3]
This was the first U.S. Women's Open at Pumpkin Ridge; the championship returned just six years later in 2003. It previously hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1996, the third straight victory by 20-year-old Tiger Woods in his final competition as an amateur.
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, July 10, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Liselotte Neumann |
67 | −4 |
| T2 | Se Ri Pak |
68 | −3 |
 Susie Redman
| |||
| Deb Richard
| |||
| Kelly Robbins
| |||
| T6 | Trish Johnson |
69 | −2 |
 Lorie Kane
| |||
| Nancy Lopez
| |||
| Muffin Spencer-Devlin
| |||
| T10 | Jenny Chuasiriporn (a) |
70 | −1 |
 Alicia Dibos
| |||
| Rosie Jones
| |||
| Alison Nicholas
| |||
| Pearl Sinn
|
Source:[7]
Second round
Friday, July 11, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alison Nicholas |
70-66=136 | −6 |
| T2 | Nancy Lopez |
69-68=137 | −5 |
| Liselotte Neumann |
67-70=137 | ||
| Kelly Robbins |
68-69=137 | ||
| T5 | Juli Inkster |
72-66=138 | −4 |
| Deb Richard |
68-70=138 | ||
| 7 | Dawn Coe-Jones |
72-67=139 | −3 |
| T8 | Chris Johnson |
72-68=140 | −2 |
| Joan Pitcock |
71-69=140 | ||
| T10 |  Stefania Croce |
72-69=141 | −1 |
Lisa Hackney |
71-70=141 | ||
| Michele Redman |
74-67=141 | ||
| Muffin Spencer-Devlin |
69-72=141 |
Source:[8]
Third round
Saturday, July 12, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alison Nicholas |
70-66-67=203 | −10 |
| 2 | Nancy Lopez |
69-68-69=206 | −7 |
| 3 | Lisa Hackney |
71-70-67=208 | −5 |
| 4 | Kim Williams |
71-71-67=209 | −4 |
| 5 |  Karrie Webb |
73-72-65=210 | −3 |
| T6 | Donna Andrews |
74-71-66=211 | −2 |
 Akiko Fukushima |
71-71-69=211 | ||
| Michele Redman |
74-67-70=211 | ||
| Deb Richard |
68-70-73=211 | ||
| Kelly Robbins |
68-69-74=211 |
Source:[9]
Final round
Sunday, July 13, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alison Nicholas |
70-66-67-71=274 | −10 | 232,500 |
| 2 | Nancy Lopez |
69-68-69-69=275 | −9 | 137,500 |
| 3 | Kelly Robbins |
68-69-74-66=277 | −7 | 86,708 |
| 4 | Karrie Webb |
73-72-65-68=278 | −6 | 60,432 |
| T5 | Lisa Hackney |
71-70-67-71=279 | −5 | 46,159 |
| Stefania Croce |
72-69-71-67=279 | |||
| T7 | Michele Redman |
74-67-70-69=280 | −4 | 37,542 |
| Tammie Green |
74-70-71-65=280 | |||
| T9 | Akiko Fukushima |
71-71-69-71=282 | −2 | 28,769 |
| Chris Johnson |
72-68-73-69=282 | |||
| Dawn Coe-Jones |
72-67-73-70=282 | |||
| Donna Andrews |
74-71-66-71=282 | |||
| Patty Sheehan |
72-71-71-68=282 |
Source:[10]
References
- ^ a b Shipnuck, Alan (July 21, 1997). "Open and Shut". Sports Illustrated. p. 44.
- ^ "1997 U.S. Women's Open Championship". Pumpkin Ridge. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
- ^ a b Rodman, Bob (July 14, 1997). "Nicholas wins duel with Lopez". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
- ^ Pennington, Bill (July 14, 1997). "Lopez fails to get Shorty". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. (New York Times). p. C1.
- ^ Baum, Bob (July 12, 1997). "Nicholas roars into lead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. p. C-1.
- ^ Rodman, Bob (July 12, 1997). "Lopez lurks one shot back". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 1D.
- ^ "LPGA Tour at North Plains (1st rd)". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. July 11, 1997. p. 2B.
- ^ "Scoreboard". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. July 12, 1997. p. 4D.
- ^ "LPGA Tour at North Plains (3rd rd)". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. July 13, 1997. p. 7B.
- ^ "Scoreboard". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. July 14, 1997. p. 5B.
External links
- U.S. Women's Open - past champions - 1997