It’s the most prestigious golf event in the Birmingham area in nearly 30 years, and it’s arrived at Shoal Creek in North Shelby County! The 73rd U.S. Women’s Open Tournament will be contested Thursday, May 31st through Sunday, June 3rd. A huge field of 156 golfers will vie for the most coveted trophy in women’s golf, and they will have to conquer the Jack Nicklaus designed course that features a lengthy but fair test of golf.
Who will be there
Who will you see at Shoal Creek this week? Ten U.S. Open champions, twelve runners-up, eight United States junior champions, 4 NCAA champions (which includes former Alabama golfer Emma Talley), three Olympic medalists, 20 amateurs and more. Stroke play competition begins on Thursday morning with all rounds being televised on Fox Sports1 (Thursday & Friday) and WBRC Fox6 (Saturday and Sunday) between 1 pm and 6 pm CT each day.
Names to watch
Who might you look for this week? The list is a long one, but let’s start with the Americans. Here’s who you may want to follow:
Lexi Thompson: Now 23 years old, the Florida native was the youngest player ever to qualify for the U.S. Open when she competed in the event at the age of 12 (she missed the cut). Lexi is now ranked #3 in the world, and is arguably the most popular player on tour. Her best finish at the U.S. Open is T7.
Jessica Korda: The 25-year-old from Florida has placed in the top ten in four of her last seven tournaments. She has won the Australian Open, and her father Petr Korda is a former tennis pro who is a grand slam event winner. Jessica’s sister Nelly is also in the field.
Michelle Wie: Now 28, Wie became the youngest golfer ever to qualify for a USGA amateur event- she was ten years old. The Honolulu native once played alongside the men in a PGA Tour event, and is the winner of the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open.
Emma Talley: The former Alabama golfer first played in the U.S. Women’s Open at the age of 15. A member at Shoal Creek, Talley has been appearing on the first page of leaderboards on the LPGA Tour in 2018.
Cheyenne Woods: The 27-year-old is best known as being the niece of golf great Tiger Woods. The Wake Forest grad won more than thirty amateur tournaments before turning pro.
Stacy Lewis: The former Arkansas Razorback is ranked 30th in the world, but she finished 2nd in the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and has 14 worldwide victories.
Cristie Kerr: The Scottsdale, AZ resident may by 40, but she’s a threat. Kerr has won 20 Tour events and 2 majors, and her hard work in breast cancer awareness is lauded worldwide.
Are you looking at world rankings? Shoal Creek has it, as among those participating this week include: #1 Inbee Park, #3 Lexi Thompson, #4 Sung Hyun Park, #9 Jessica Korda, #11 Cristie Kerr, #18 Michelle Wie and many in between. And there’s more interesting angles you may want to check out:
The youngest participant? 15-year-old Lucy Li
The oldest participant? 48-year-old Catriona Matthew
Average golfer’s age: 25.78 years
Alabama connections
The Alabama connection includes Emma Talley & Kristen Gillman (Alabama) and Cydney Clanton (Auburn).
Storylines to watch
There have been 12 different winners in the 12 events on the LPGA Tour this year- will the trend continue?
There are 29 amateurs in the field- will one of them make a charge?
Can defending U.S. Women’s Open champion Sung Hyun Park go back-to-back? She’s currently ranked 4th in the world and has one win in 2018.
Where to watch
If you aren't planning to attend you can also watch the event on-air and online.
Thursday & Friday: Fox Sports1
Saturday & Sunday Fox (WBRC FOX6)
1-6 pm CT each day
The Prize
$5 million (winner’s share $900,000)
Live Scoring
Follow live scoring updates here.
Tee Times
Enjoy this women’s major at Shoal Creek- here are selective tee times for Thursday and Friday (notice the super group going off #10 on Thursday morning).
7:46 a.m. (No. 10)/ 1:26 p.m. (No. 1) – Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii; Lexi Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.; Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla
8:08 a.m. (No. 10) / 1:48 p.m. (No. 1) – Emma Talley, Princeton, Ky.; Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C.; (a) Kristen Gillman, Austin, Texas
8:30 a.m. (No. 10) / 2:10 p.m. (No. 1) – Cheyenne Woods, Phoenix, Ariz.; Kotono Kozuma, Japan; Celine Herbin, France
7:57 a.m. (No. 1) / 1:37 p.m. (No. 10) – Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif.; Brittany Lang, McKinney, Texas; Ryann O’Toole, San Clemente, Calif.
1:37 p.m. (No. 1) / 7:57 a.m. (No. 10) – Inbee Park, Republic of Korea; Moriya Jutanugarn, Thailand; In Gee Chun, Republic of Korea
7:57 a.m. (No. 10) / 1:37 p.m. (No. 1) – Shanshan Feng, People’s Republic of China; Minjee Lee, Australia; Eun-Hee Ji, Republic of Korea
7:24 a.m. (No. 10) / 1:04 p.m. (No. 1) – Danielle Kang, Las Vegas, Nev.; So Yeon Ryu, Republic of Korea; Anna Nordqvist, Sweden
1:15 p.m. (No. 1) / 7:35 a.m. (No. 10) – Sung Hyun Park, Republic of Korea; In-Kyung Kim, Republic of Korea; (a) Sophia Schubert, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
1:26 p.m. (No. 1) / 7:46 a.m. (No. 10) – Cristie Kerr, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Pernilla Lindberg, Sweden; Sei Young Kim, Republic of Korea
1:04 p.m. (No. 1) / 7:24 a.m. (No. 10) – Amy Yang, Republic of Korea; Lydia Ko, New Zealand; Nelly Korda, Bradenton, Fla.
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