2018 U.S. Women's Open

The 2018 U.S. Women's Open was the 73rd U.S. Women's Open, played May 31 – June 3 at Shoal Creek Club in Shoal Creek, Alabama, a suburb southeast of Birmingham.

2018 U.S. Women's Open
Tournament information
DatesMay 31 – June 3, 2018
LocationShoal Creek, Alabama
33°26′17″N 86°36′43″W / 33.438°N 86.612°W / 33.438; -86.612
Course(s)Shoal Creek Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)LPGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length6,732 yards (6,156 m)[1]
Field156 players, 63 after cut
Cut148 (+4)
Prize fund$5.0 million
Winner's share$900,000
Champion
Thailand Ariya Jutanugarn
277 (−11)
Location map
Shoal Creek is located in the United States
Shoal Creek
Shoal Creek
Location in the United States
Shoal Creek is located in Alabama
Shoal Creek
Shoal Creek
Location in Alabama
← 2017
2019 →

The U.S. Women's Open is the oldest of the five current major championships and the second of the 2018 season. It has the largest purse in women's golf at $5 million. The tournament was televised by Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports.

The championship was moved up in the schedule this year; it had been played in July for decades, with a few exceptions. Also, the playoff format was modified as part of USGA changes for the four U.S. Open championships in golf (Open, Women's Open, Senior Open, Senior Women's) in 2018, reduced from three to two aggregate holes, followed by sudden death.[2]

Ariya Jutanugarn won the championship in a playoff over Kim Hyo-joo, which ended on the fourth extra hole.[3]

Qualifying and field

edit

The championship was open to any female professional or amateur golfer with a USGA handicap index not exceeding 2.4. Players qualified by competing in one of 24 36-hole qualifying tournaments held at sites across the United States and at international sites in China, England, Japan, and South Korea. Additional players were exempt from qualifying because of past performances in professional or amateur tournaments around the world.

Exempt from qualifying

edit

Many players were exempt in multiple categories. Players are listed only once, in the first category in which they became exempt, with additional categories in parentheses () next to their names.[4] Golfers qualifying in Category 12 who qualified in other categories are denoted with the tour by which they qualified.

1. Winners of the U.S. Women's Open for the last ten years (2008–2017)

Chun In-gee (7,9,14,15), Paula Creamer, Ji Eun-hee (9,10,11,14,15), Brittany Lang (9), Inbee Park (4,5,9,10,11,14,15), Park Sung-hyun (8,9,11,14,15), Ryu So-yeon (6,8,9,14,15), Michelle Wie (9,10,11,14,15)

2. Winner and runner-up from the 2017 U.S. Women's Amateur; winner of the 2017 U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur (must be an amateur)

Kelsey Chugg (a), Sophia Schubert (a), Erica Shepherd (a), Albane Valenzuela (a)

3. Winner of the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal (Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking) (must be an amateur)

4. Winners of the Women's PGA Championship for the last five years (2013–2017)

Brooke Henderson (9,10,11,14,15), Danielle Kang (9,14,15)

5. Winners of the Ricoh Women's British Open for the last five years (2013–2017)

Ariya Jutanugarn (9,10,11,14,15), In-Kyung Kim (9,11,14,15), Stacy Lewis (9,11,14,15), Mo Martin (9)

6. Winners of the ANA Inspiration for the last five years (2014–2018)

Lydia Ko (7,9,11,14,15), Brittany Lincicome (9,11,14,15), Pernilla Lindberg (9,10,11,14,15), Lexi Thompson (9,11,14,15)

7. Winners of the Evian Championship for the last five years (2013–2017)

Kim Hyo-joo (9), Anna Nordqvist (9,11,14,15)

8. Ten lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place from the 2017 U.S. Women's Open

Choi Hye-jin (14,15), Carlota Ciganda (9,12-LET,14,15), Shanshan Feng (9,10,11,14,15), M. J. Hur (9,14,15), Kim Sei-young (9,14,15), Lee Jeong-eun (12-KLPGA,14,15), Mirim Lee (9,14,15), Amy Yang (9,14,15)

9. Top 75 money leaders from the 2017 final official LPGA money list

Marina Alex (14,15), Brittany Altomare (14,15), Nicole Broch Larsen, Ashleigh Buhai, Peiyun Chien, Chella Choi (14), Cydney Clanton, Jacqui Concolino, Austin Ernst, Jodi Ewart Shadoff (14,15), Sandra Gal, Hsu Wei-ling, Charley Hull (14,15), Karine Icher, Moriya Jutanugarn (10,11,14,15), Kim Kaufman, Cristie Kerr (11,14,15), Megan Khang, Katherine Kirk, Jessica Korda (10,11,14,15), Nelly Korda (14,15), Olafia Kristinsdottir, Candie Kung, Lee Jeong-eun, Lee Mi-hyang (11,14,15), Minjee Lee (11,14,15), Gaby López, Caroline Masson (15), Ally McDonald, Azahara Muñoz (12-LET,14), Haru Nomura, Su-Hyun Oh, Ryann O'Toole, Jane Park, Pornanong Phatlum, Madelene Sagström, Lizette Salas (14,15), Alena Sharp, Jenny Shin (14,15), Sarah Jane Smith, Jennifer Song (14,15), Angela Stanford, Ayako Uehara, Jing Yan, Angel Yin (15), Yoo Sun-young

10. Top 10 money leaders from the 2018 official LPGA money list, through the close of entries on April 25

Ko Jin-young (11,12-KLPGA,14,15)

11. Winners of LPGA co-sponsored events, whose victories are considered official, from the conclusion of the 2017 U.S. Women's Open to the initiation of the 2018 U.S. Women's Open

12. Top five money leaders from the 2017 Japan LPGA Tour, Korea LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour

Georgia Hall (14,15), Kim Ji-hyun, Lee Min-young (14,15), Teresa Lu (14,15), Klára Spilková, Ai Suzuki (14,15), Anne van Dam

13. Top three money leaders from the 2017 China LPGA Tour

Saranporn Langkulgasettrin, Lee Solar, Supamas Sangchan

14. Top 50 point leaders from the current Rolex Rankings and anyone tying for 50th place as of April 25

Nasa Hataoka (15)

15. Top 50 point leaders from the current Rolex Rankings and anyone tying for 50th place as of May 28

16. Special exemptions selected by the USGA

Karrie Webb[5]

Qualifiers

edit

Additional players qualified through sectional qualifying tournaments which took place May 2–17 at sites in the United States, China, South Korea, England, and Japan.[4]

May 2 at Canoe Brook Country Club, Summit, New Jersey

Grace Na
Evelyn Arguelles (a)

May 2 at Indiana Country Club, Indiana, Pennsylvania

Olivia Cason (a)

May 3 at Industry Hills Golf Club, City of Industry, California

Patty Tavatanakit (a)
Elizabeth Wang (a)

May 4 at Sugar Mill Country Club, New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Kris Tamulis
Sarah Kemp

May 6 at Ka'anapali Golf Club, Lahaina, Hawaii

Tiffany Chan

May 7 at Dunwoody Country Club, Dunwoody, Georgia

Christine Song
Ssu-Chia Cheng
Katelyn Dambaugh
Emma Talley

May 7 at Elgin Country Club, Elgin, Illinois

Yujeong Son (a)
Martina Edberg

May 8 at La Purisima Golf Club, Lompoc, California

Emily Kristine Pedersen
María Hernández

May 8 at Ohtone Country Club, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Fumika Kawagishi
Minami Hiruta
Kaori Takayama
Kotono Kozuma

May 14 at Arizona Country Club, Phoenix, Arizona

Giulia Molinaro
Cheyenne Woods

May 14 at Contra Costa Country Club, Pleasant Hill, California

Allisen Corpuz (a)
Lucy Li (a)

May 14 at The Ranch Country Club, Westminster, Colorado

Robyn Choi (a)
Jillian Hollis

May 14 at Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Buckinghamshire, England

Linn Grant (a)
Catriona Matthew
Mel Reid
Sarah Schober

May 14 at TPC Prestancia, Sarasota, Florida

Daniela Darquea
Lei Ye (a)
Daniela Holmqvist

May 14 at Dream Park Country Club, Incheon, South Korea

Park Hyun-kyung
Kim Hani did not play

May 14 at Stillwater Country Club, Stillwater, Minnesota

Casey Danielson
Celia Barquín Arozamena (a)

May 14 at Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, Texas

Kaylee Benton (a)
Dylan Kim (a)

May 14 at Deerwood Golf Club, Kingwood, Texas

Kristen Gillman (a)
María Fassi (a)

May 14 at Hermitage Country Club, Manakin-Sabot, Virginia

Paula Reto
Lin Xiyu
Julieta Granada
Gina Kim (a)

May 14 at Rainier Golf & Country Club, Seattle, Washington

Becky Morgan
Sophie Hausmann (a)

May 15 at Bermuda Run Country Club, Advance, North Carolina

Nannette Hill
Britney Yada

May 16 at Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai, China

Yiyi Liu

May 16 at Cape Cod National Golf Club, Brewster, Massachusetts

Celeste Dao (a)
Céline Herbin

May 17 at Seagate Country Club, Delray Beach, Florida

Jenny Suh
Dana Williams (a)

Alternates added to field

edit

The following players were added to the field before the start of the tournament when spots reserved for exemptions in various categories were not used and to replace players who withdrew from the tournament.

Jennifer Chang (a), Hailee Cooper (a), Lindy Duncan, Andrea Lee (a), Lee Lopez, Wichanee Meechai, Olivia Mehaffey (a), Emilia Migliaccio (a), Song Gaeun (a), Luna Sobrón Galmés, Sophie Walker, Rumi Yoshiba

Course layout

edit

2018 yardages by round

Round Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Par 4 4 5 4 3 5 4 3 4 36 4 5 4 3 4 4 3 5 4 36 72
1 Yards 374 389 505 421 166 475 422 151 383 3,286 399 522 429 171 370 376 199 533 404 3,403 6,689
2 Yards 366 387 513 421 154 488 415 140 392 3,276 386 526 405 183 363 374 170 532 408 3,347 6,623
3 Yards 380 384 514 413 177 471 422 156 384 3,301 407 460 402 139 379 366 210 545 394 3,302 6,603
4 Yards 379 396 492 430 161 489 409 149 385 3,290 401 508 431 172 361 389 197 531 416 3,406 6,696
  • Scoring average: 74.682
    • by round: 74.705, 75.123, 73.921, 74.318
  • Most difficult holes in relation to par: 12, 4, 18, 16

Source:[6]

Round summaries

edit

First round

edit

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Place Player Score To par
T1   Ariya Jutanugarn 67 −5
  Lee Jeong-eun
  Sarah Jane Smith
T4   Linn Grant (a) 69 −3
  Danielle Kang
  Michelle Wie
T7   Luna Sobrón Galmés 70 −2
  Kristen Gillman (a)
  Kim Hyo-joo
  Kim Ji-hyun
  Kim Sei-young
  Nelly Korda
  Su-Hyun Oh
  Inbee Park
  Emily Kristine Pedersen
  Mel Reid
  Madelene Sagström
  Patty Tavatanakit (a)

Second round

edit

Friday, June 1, 2018
Saturday June 2, 2018

Weather delayed the conclusion of the second round until Saturday.

Place Player Score To par
1   Sarah Jane Smith 67-67=134 −10
2   Ariya Jutanugarn 67-70=137 −7
3   Su-Hyun Oh 70-68=138 −6
T4   Chella Choi 71-70=141 −3
  Carlota Ciganda 73-68=141
  Linn Grant (a) 69-72=141
  Kim Ji-hyun 70-71=141
  Kim Sei-young 70-71=141
  Inbee Park 70-71=141
  Jenny Shin 72-69=141
  Michelle Wie 69-72=141

Third round

edit

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Place Player Score To par
1   Ariya Jutanugarn 67-70-67=204 −12
2   Sarah Jane Smith 67-67-74=208 −8
3   Kim Hyo-joo 70-72-68=210 −6
4   Kim Ji-hyun 70-71-70=211 −5
T5   Carlota Ciganda 73-68-71=212 −4
  Inbee Park 70-71-71=212
  Madelene Sagström 70-72-70=212
8   Wei-Ling Hsu 71-73-70=214 −2
T9   Ji Eun-hee 73-72-70=215 −1
  Megan Khang 72-74-69=215
  Nelly Korda 70-74-71=215
  Ryu So-yeon 73-70-72=215
  Patty Tavatanakit (a) 70-73-72=215

Final round

edit

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
T1   Ariya Jutanugarn 67-70-67-73=277 −11 Playoff
  Kim Hyo-joo 70-72-68-67=277
3   Carlota Ciganda 73-68-71-69=281 −7 349,790
4   Danielle Kang 69-77-70-69=285 −3 244,704
T5   Wei-Ling Hsu 71-73-70-72=286 −2 182,487
  Sarah Jane Smith 67-67-74-78=286
  Lexi Thompson 71-75-70-70=286
  Patty Tavatanakit (a) 70-73-72-71=286 0
9   Inbee Park 70-71-71-75=287 −1 145,919
T10   Nasa Hataoka 74-70-72-72=288 E 104,505
  Charley Hull 74-73-70-71=288
  Megan Khang 72-74-69-73=288
  Kim Ji-hyun 70-71-70-77=288
  Nelly Korda 70-74-71-73=288
  Angela Stanford 73-72-71-72=288
  Michelle Wie 69-72-76-71=288

Scorecard

edit

Final round

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 5 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 5 4 3 4 4 3 5 4
  Jutanugarn −13 −12 −13 −13 −14 −15 −15 −15 −16 −13 −13 −12 −12 −12 −12 −13 −12 −11
  Kim −7 −7 −8 −8 −8 −9 −9 −9 −9 −9 −9 −10 −10 −10 −11 −11 −11 −11
  Ciganda −4 −4 −5 −5 −5 −6 −6 −7 −7 −7 −8 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −8 −7
  Kang −1 −1 −2 −2 −2 −2 −3 −4 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −3
  Smith −8 −7 −8 −8 −8 −7 −7 −8 −7 −7 −5 −4 −4 −4 −3 −2 −2 −2

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+

Source:[7]

Playoff

edit

In the first year of the new USGA two-hole aggregate playoff format, the playoff was held on holes 14 and 18, both par fours. Jutanugarn parred both while Kim went birdie-bogey to stay tied and it moved to sudden-death, using the same holes only. Both parred the 14th hole, but Kim again made bogey at the 18th hole while Jutanugarn made another par and won the championship.

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Ariya Jutanugarn 4-4-4-4=16 E 900,000
2   Kim Hyo-joo 3-5-4-5=17 +1 540,000

References

edit
  1. ^ "U.S. Women's Open: Course Info". LPGA. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  2. ^ "U.S. Open abandons 18 holes for 2-hole playoff". ESPN. Associated Press. February 26, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  3. ^ "Ariya Jutanugarn wins U.S. Women's Open on fourth playoff hole". ESPN. Associated Press. June 3, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "73rd U.S. Women's Open Championship – Entry Form" (PDF). USGA. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  5. ^ "Karrie Webb gets special exemption to U.S. Women's Open". ESPN. Associated Press. March 20, 2018.
  6. ^ "73rd U.S. Women's Open Championship – Course Stats". USGA.
  7. ^ "U.S. Women's Open". USGA. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
edit