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.
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.
Ariya Jutanugarn won the championship in a playoff over Kim Hyo-joo, which ended on the fourth extra hole.
Qualifying and field 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 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. 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)
Choi Na-yeon did not play
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)
Leona Maguire (a) did not play
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)
Suzann Pettersen (9,14,15) did not play
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
Laura Gonzalez Escallon, Jang Ha-na (14,15) and Gerina Piller did not play
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
Kim Hae-rym (14,15), Kim Ha-neul (14), Oh Ji-hyun, and Jiyai Shin (14,15) did not play
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
Ahn Sun-ju did not play
16. Special exemptions selected by the USGA
Karrie Webb
Qualifiers 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.
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 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
2018 yardages by round RoundHole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal Par4454354343645434435436721Yards3743895054211664754221513833,2863995224291713703761995334043,4036,6892Yards3663875134211544884151403923,2763865264051833633741705324083,3476,6233Yards3803845144131774714221563843,3014074604021393793662105453943,3026,6034Yards3793964924301614894091493853,2904015084311723613891975314163,4066,696 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:
Round summaries First round Thursday, May 31, 2018 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Ariya Jutanugarn 67 −5 Lee Jeong-eun Sarah Jane SmithT4 Linn Grant (a) 69 −3 Danielle Kang Michelle WieT7 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 Friday, June 1, 2018 Saturday June 2, 2018
Weather delayed the conclusion of the second round until Saturday. PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Sarah Jane Smith 67-67=134 −102 Ariya Jutanugarn 67-70=137 −73 Su-Hyun Oh 70-68=138 −6T4 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 Saturday, June 2, 2018 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Ariya Jutanugarn 67-70-67=204 −122 Sarah Jane Smith 67-67-74=208 −83 Kim Hyo-joo 70-72-68=210 −64 Kim Ji-hyun 70-71-70=211 −5T5 Carlota Ciganda 73-68-71=212 −4 Inbee Park 70-71-71=212 Madelene Sagström 70-72-70=2128 Wei-Ling Hsu 71-73-70=214 −2T9 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 Sunday, June 3, 2018 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)T1 Ariya Jutanugarn 67-70-67-73=277 −11 Playoff Kim Hyo-joo 70-72-68-67=2773 Carlota Ciganda 73-68-71-69=281 −7 349,7904 Danielle Kang 69-77-70-69=285 −3 244,704T5 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=28609 Inbee Park 70-71-71-75=287 −1 145,919T10 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 Final round Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718Par445435434 454344354 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 {|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |style="background: Pink;" width=10| |Birdie |style="background: PaleGreen;" width=10| |Bogey |style="background: Green;" width=10| |Double bogey |style="background: Olive;" width=10| |Triple bogey+
Playoff 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.
PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Ariya Jutanugarn 4-4-4-4=16 E 900,0002 Kim Hyo-joo 3-5-4-5=17 +1 540,000
References
External links
United States Golf Association website