1997 U.S. Women's Open

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.

1997 U.S. Women's Open
Tournament information
DatesJuly 10–13, 1997
LocationNorth Plains, Oregon
Course(s)Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club
Witch Hollow Course
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)LPGA Tour
Statistics
Par71
Length6,365 yards (5,820 m)
Field156 players, 64 after cut
Cut147 (+5)
Prize fund$1.3 million
Winner's share$232,500
Champion
England Alison Nicholas
274 (−10)
← 1996
1998 →
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club is located in the United States
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club
     Pumpkin Ridge is located in Oregon
     Pumpkin Ridge
     Pumpkin Ridge

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

edit

First round

edit

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

edit

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

edit

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

edit

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

edit
  1. ^ a b Shipnuck, Alan (July 21, 1997). "Open and Shut". Sports Illustrated. p. 44.
  2. ^ "1997 U.S. Women's Open Championship". Pumpkin Ridge. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Rodman, Bob (July 14, 1997). "Nicholas wins duel with Lopez". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
  4. ^ Pennington, Bill (July 14, 1997). "Lopez fails to get Shorty". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. (New York Times). p. C1.
  5. ^ Baum, Bob (July 12, 1997). "Nicholas roars into lead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. p. C-1.
  6. ^ Rodman, Bob (July 12, 1997). "Lopez lurks one shot back". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 1D.
  7. ^ "LPGA Tour at North Plains (1st rd)". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. July 11, 1997. p. 2B.
  8. ^ "Scoreboard". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. July 12, 1997. p. 4D.
  9. ^ "LPGA Tour at North Plains (3rd rd)". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. July 13, 1997. p. 7B.
  10. ^ "Scoreboard". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. July 14, 1997. p. 5B.
edit

45°36′50″N 123°00′07″W / 45.614°N 123.002°W / 45.614; -123.002