U.S. Women's Open Preview

The U.S. Women's Open is one of my favorite sports events of the year.  This year's championship will be played at the Lancaster Country Club, in Lancaster, Pa.  (This will be the third time since 2009 that the U.S. Women's Open has been played in Pennsylvania.  I keep meaning to write a post about how Pennsylvania is one of the most underrated states, but I never seem to have the time.  If I do write that post, I will reference the many great golf courses in Pennsylvania.)  After the nightmare of Chambers Bay, it will be  nice to see a golf course that looks like an actual golf course.

You will remember that the last time we checked in on the U.S. Women's Open, it was being won by Michelle Wie, who finally vindicated the promise of greatness she had shown almost 10 years ago.  Wie hasn't won a tournament since then, and hasn't seriously contended in any major, but she still has star power, and it will be interesting to see how she does this week.  Of course, she won't be the only former champion in the field.  Here are the last 10 winners of the U.S. Women's Open:

2005 (Cherry Hills C.C., Cherry Hills Village, Colo.):  Birdie Kim (KOR)
2006 (Newport C.C., Newport, R.I.):  Annika Sorenstam (SWE)
2007 (Pine Needles Lodge and G.C., Southern Pines, N.C.):  Cristie Kerr
2008 (Interlachen C.C., Edina, Minn.):  Inbee Park (KOR)
2009 (Saucon Valley C.C., Bethlehem, Pa.):  Eun-Hee Ji (KOR)
2010 (Oakmont C.C., Oakmont, Pa.):  Paula Creamer
2011 (Broadmoor G.C., Colorado Springs, Colo.):  So Yeon Ryu (KOR)
2012 (Blackwolf Run, Kohler, Wisc.):  Na Yeon Choi (KOR)
2013 (Sebonack G.C., Southampton, N.Y.):  Inbee Park (KOR)
2014 (Pinehurst # 2, Pinehurst, N.C.):  Michelle Wie

12 of the last 13 U.S. Women's Opens have been won by golfers from South Korea or the United States.  Six of those title went to South Korea, and six went to the home side.

Meanwhile, here are the top 10 women's golfers in the world, according to the Rolex Rankings:

1.  Inbee Park (KOR)
2.  Lydia Ko (NZL)
3.  Stacy Lewis
4.  Hyo-Joo Kim (KOR)
5.  Suzanne Pettersen (NOR)
6.  Shanshan Feng (CHN)
7.  Anna Nordqvist (SWE)
8.  So Yeon Ryu (KOR)
9.  Brittany Lincicome
10.  Sei Young Kim (KOR)

And here are the winners of all the women's majors since the beginning of 2014 (Note:  Since 2013, the LPGA has counted The Evian Championship as a major.  But that would mean that there are five majors, which is absurd.  So I'm not going to count The Evian Championship as a major).  Remarkably, the Americans have won four of these six tournaments:

2014 Inspiration (formerly the Kraft Nabisco Championship:  Lexi Thompson (1st Major)
2014 Women's PGA:  Inbee Park (KOR) (5th Major)
2014 U.S. Women's Open:  Michelle Wie (1st Major)
2014 Women's British Open:  Mo Martin (1st Major)
2015 Inspiration:  Brittany Lincicome (2d Major)
2015 Women's PGA:  Inbee Park (KOR) (6th Major)

Finally, we will, of course, be keeping track of Emma Talley (of Princeton), who recently won the NCAA Women's Championship.  She tees off tomorrow morning at 7:35 A.M. Central Time, as part of a group that includes Natalie Gulbis and Laura Diaz.  We wish them, and all the competitors, the very best of luck.