1997 U.S. Women's Open
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. 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). 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.
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. 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.
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:
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:
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:
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: