2012 U.S. Women's Open
The 2012 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was the 67th U.S. Women's Open, held July 5–8 at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin. Na Yeon Choi won her first major championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Amy Yang.
The U.S. Women's Open is the oldest major championship and the third of the 2012 season. It has the largest purse in women's golf, at $3.25 million in 2012. It is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association.
Qualifying tournaments began on May 14, 2012 and concluded on June 3, 2012. The tournament was televised by ESPN and NBC Sports.
Blackwolf Run previously hosted the U.S. Women's Open in 1998 with Se Ri Pak beating amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn in a Monday playoff that went to 20 holes. Their 72-hole score was 290, played on a par-71 course at. The course for 2012 was set as a par-72 with a maximum length of, an increase of. The course was set at less than the maximum for all four rounds.
Qualifying and field
The championship was open to any female professional or amateur golfer with a USGA handicap index not exceeding 4.4. Players qualified by competing in one of nineteen 36-hole qualifying tournaments that tare taking place between May 14 and June 3 at sites across the United States. Additional players were exempt from qualifying because of past performances in professional or amateur tournaments around the world.The USGA reports that a record 1,364 entries were received for the Championship, surpassing the previous record of 1,296 entries for the 2010 U.S. Women's Open.
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 qualify by more than one method are also denoted with the tour by which they qualified.1. Winners of the U.S. Women's Open for the last ten years
Juli Inkster, Paula Creamer, Eun-Hee Ji, Cristie Kerr, Birdie Kim, Inbee Park, So Yeon Ryu
Exempt but did not enter tournament: Hilary Lunke, Meg Mallon, Annika Sörenstam
2. Winner and runner-up from the 2011 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship
Moriya Jutanugarn
3. Winner of the 2012 Ladies British Open Amateur Championship
Stephanie Meadow
4. Winner of the 2011 Mark H. McCormack Medal
Lydia Ko
5. Winners of the LPGA Championship for the last five years
Anna Nordqvist, Yani Tseng
6. Winners of the Ricoh Women's British Open for the last five years
Catriona Matthew, Jiyai Shin
Exempt but did not enter tournament: Lorena Ochoa
7. Winners of the Kraft Nabisco Championship for the last five years
Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Sun-Young Yoo
8. 10 lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place from the 2011 U.S. Women's Open Championship
I.K. Kim, Ai Miyazato, Mika Miyazato, Hee Kyung Seo, Angela Stanford, Ryann O'Toole, Amy Yang, Karrie Webb
9. Top 70 money leaders from the 2011 final official LPGA money list
Kyeong Bae, Amanda Blumenherst, Christel Boeljon, Chella Choi, Na Yeon Choi, Shanshan Feng, Katie Futcher, Sandra Gal, Julieta Granada, Natalie Gulbis, Sophie Gustafson, Hee-Won Han, Mina Harigae, Caroline Hedwall, Maria Hjorth, Katherine Hull, Amy Hung, Pat Hurst, Vicky Hurst, Tiffany Joh, Jennifer Johnson, Jimin Kang, Christina Kim, Mindy Kim, Song-Hee Kim Candie Kung, Cindy LaCrosse, Brittany Lang, Meena Lee, Paige Mackenzie, Kristy McPherson, Becky Morgan, Belen Mozo, Azahara Muñoz, Se Ri Pak, Hee Young Park, Suzann Pettersen, Gerina Piller, Pornanong Phatlum, Stacy Prammanasudh, Morgan Pressel, Beatriz Recari, Dewi Claire Schreefel, Jenny Shin, Karen Stupples, Momoko Ueda, Wendy Ward, Michelle Wie
Exempt but did not enter tournament: Mi Hyun Kim, Heather Bowie Young
10. Top 10 money leaders from the 2012 official LPGA money list, through the close of entries on May 2
All players in this category already qualified in at least one other category
11. Winners of LPGA co-sponsored events, whose victories are considered official, from the conclusion of the 2011 U.S. Women's Open Championship to the initiation of the 2012 U.S. Women's Open Championship
Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson
12. Top five money leaders from the 2011 Japan LPGA Tour, Korea LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour
Japan LPGA Tour: Sun-Ju Ahn Chie Arimura , Yukari Baba, Ji-Hee Lee,, Sakura Yokomine
Korea LPGA Tour: Kim Ha-neul, Hyun Hwa Sim, Soo Jin Yang, Yeon Ju Jung
Ladies European Tour: Diana Luna, Lee-Anne Pace, Melissa Reid,
13. Top 25 point leaders from the current Rolex Rankings and anyone tying for 25th place as of May 2, 2012
All players in this category already qualified in at least one other category
14. Top 25 point leaders from the current Rolex Rankings and anyone tying for 25th place as of July 2, 2012
Mi-Jeong Jeon
15. Special exemptions selected by the USGA'''
None offered
Qualifiers
The following players qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women's Open through one of the sectional qualifying tournaments. At sites with multiple qualifiers, players are listed in order of qualifying scores, from lowest score to highest.May 14 at Bellingham Golf and Country Club, Bellingham Washington
Sue Kim, Emma Talley
May 15 at Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club, Ormond Beach, Florida
Katie Burnett, Veronica Felibert, Jennifer Gleason, Jaye Marie Green
May 15 at Trump National Golf Club, Colts Neck, New Jersey
Annie Park, Seon Hwa Lee, Jeong Jang, Mi Jung Hur, Jennie Lee, Jennifer Song
May 21 at Longmeadow Country Club, Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Alison Walshe, Megan Khang
May 21 at Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
Mina Nakayama
May 21 at Half Moon Bay Golf Links, Half Moon Bay, California
Gigi Stoll, Hannah O'Sullivan, Mo Martin
May 21 at Big Foot Country Club, Fontana, Wisconsin
Carlota Ciganda, Junthima Gulyanamitta
May 21 at Dunwoody Country Club, Dunwoody, Georgia
Victoria Tanco, Cydney Clanton, Mi Hyang Lee, Jin Young Pak
May 22 at The Woodlands Country Club, The Woodlands, Texas
Maria Gabriela Lopez, Katy Harris, Lili Alvarez
May 23 at Terravita Golf Club, Scottsdale, Arizona
Lizette Salas, Lindsey Weaver, Nicole Castrale, Jane Rah
May 29 at Industry Hills Golf Club, City of Industry, California
Brianna Do, Jisoo Park, Elizabeth Bernabe, Danielle Kang
May 29 at The Oaks Club, Osprey, Florida
Doris Chen, Paola Moreno, Haley Wilson
May 29 at Woodmont Country Club, Rockville, Maryland
Lorie Kane, Haru Nomura, Brittany Altomare, Ilhee Lee, Samantha S Marks, Angela Oh, Kelly Shon
May 29 at Wayzata Country Club, Wayzata, Minnesota
Briana Mao
May 29 at Glen Echo Country Club, St. Louis, Missouri
Isabelle Beisiegel, Brooke Pancake
May 30 at Carolina Trace Country Club, Sanford, North Carolina
Katherine Perry, Cheyenne Woods, Rinko Mitsunaga
May 30 at Fox Chapel Golf Club, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Giulia Sergas, Christine Meier
May 30 at Stonebriar Country Club, Frisco, Texas
Gabriella Dominguez, Tessa Teachman, Jamie Hullett
June 3 at Broadmoor Golf Club, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Becca Huffer, Kelly Jacques, Anya Sarai Alvarez
Alternates added to field
, the first alternate from the Scottsdale, Arizona qualifier, was added to the field on June 12 when Jiyai Shin, who had qualified in multiple categories, withdrew because of injury.Alison Lee, the first alternate from the Half Moon Bay, California qualifier, was added to the field on June 29 when Sun Ju Ahn, who had qualified from the JLPGA money list, withdrew.
Jisoo Keel, the first alternate from the Colorado Springs qualifier, was added to the field on July 2 when Mi-Jeong Jeon who qualified by moving into the top 25 in the Rolex Rankings by that date declined to participate in the tournament.
The following players were added to the field on July 2 when spots reserved for players qualifying in various categories, including 5, 10, 11, 12 and 14, after the conclusion of open qualifying tournaments, were not used.
- Ashley Armstrong, the first alternate from the St. Louis qualifier
- Shannon Aubert, the alternate from the Ormond Beach qualifier
- Kylene Pulley, the first alternate from the Sanford, North Carolina qualifier
- Reilley Rankin, the first alternate from the Dunwoody, Georgia qualifier
- Jenny Suh, the first alternate from the Fairfax, Virginia qualifier
- Angel Yin, the first alternate from the City of Industry qualifier
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
Missed the cut
Course layout
Original Championship Course| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
| Yards | 348 | 522 | 455 | 341 | 409 | 200 | 590 | 180 | 395 | 3,440 | 564 | 375 | 447 | 195 | 342 | 372 | 602 | 172 | 445 | 3,514 | 6,954 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
- "Original Championship Course" uses the back nine from Meadow Valleys for its front nine, and the first four and final five holes from River for its back nine.
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, July 5, 2012| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
| T1 | Cristie Kerr | 69 | −3 | |
| T1 | Brittany Lincicome | 69 | −3 | |
| T1 | Lizette Salas | 69 | −3 | |
| T4 | Beatriz Recari | 70 | −2 | |
| T4 | Ai Miyazato | 70 | −2 | |
| T4 | Lexi Thompson | 70 | −2 | |
| T4 | Jennie Lee | 70 | −2 | |
| T8 | Meena Lee | 71 | −1 | |
| T8 | Sandra Gal | 71 | −1 | |
| T8 | Inbee Park | 71 | −1 | |
| T8 | Mika Miyazato | 71 | −1 | |
| T8 | Vicky Hurst | 71 | −1 | |
| T8 | Na Yeon Choi | 71 | −1 | |
| T8 | Suzann Pettersen | 71 | −1 |
Source:
Second round
Friday, July 6, 2012| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
| 1 | Suzann Pettersen | 71-68=139 | −5 | |
| T2 | Michelle Wie | 74-66=140 | −4 | |
| T2 | Cristie Kerr | 69-71=140 | −4 | |
| T4 | Vicky Hurst | 71-70=141 | −3 | |
| T4 | Inbee Park | 71-70=141 | −3 | |
| T4 | Sandra Gal | 71-70=141 | −3 | |
| T7 | Mika Miyazato | 71-71=142 | −2 | |
| T7 | Lizette Salas | 69-73=142 | −2 | |
| T9 | Nicole Castrale | 73-70=143 | −1 | |
| T9 | Na Yeon Choi | 71-72=143 | −1 | |
| T9 | Lexi Thompson | 70-73=143 | −1 |
Source:
Amateurs: Ko, Talley, Lee, Kim, Bernabe, Chen, Green, Altomare, Dominguez, O'Sullivan, J. Park, Khang, Perry, Shon, Jutanugarn, Keel, Lopez, Weaver, Aubert, Meadow, Armstrong, Meier, A. Park, Yin, Mao, Marks, Mitsunaga, Stoll.
Third round
Saturday, July 7, 2012| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
| 1 | Na Yeon Choi | 71-72-65=208 | −8 | |
| 2 | Amy Yang | 73-72-69=214 | −2 | |
| T3 | Lexi Thompson | 70-73-72=215 | −1 | |
| T3 | Mika Miyazato | 71-71-73=215 | −1 | |
| T3 | Sandra Gal | 71-70-74=215 | −1 | |
| 6 | Vicky Hurst | 71-70-75=216 | E | |
| T7 | Paula Creamer | 73-73-71=217 | +1 | |
| T7 | Nicole Castrale | 73-70-74=217 | +1 | |
| T7 | Lizette Salas | 69-73-74=217 | +1 | |
| T7 | Inbee Park | 71-70-76=217 | +1 | |
| T7 | Cristie Kerr | 69-71-77=217 | +1 | |
| T7 | Suzann Pettersen | 71-68-78=217 | +1 |
Source:
Final round
Sunday, July 8, 2012| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money |
| 1 | Na Yeon Choi | 71-72-65-73=281 | −7 | 585,000 | |
| 2 | Amy Yang | 73-72-69-71=285 | −3 | 350,000 | |
| 3 | Sandra Gal | 71-70-74-74=289 | +1 | 218,840 | |
| T4 | Ilhee Lee | 72-71-77-70=290 | +2 | 128,487 | |
| T4 | Shanshan Feng | 74-74-71-71=290 | +2 | 128,487 | |
| T4 | Giulia Sergas | 74-71-73-72=290 | +2 | 128,487 | |
| T7 | Paula Creamer | 73-73-71-74=291 | +3 | 94,736 | |
| T7 | Mika Miyazato | 71-71-73-76=291 | +3 | 94,736 | |
| T9 | Se Ri Pak | 72-73-76-71=292 | +4 | 72,596 | |
| T9 | Nicole Castrale | 73-70-74-75=292 | +4 | 72,596 | |
| T9 | Inbee Park | 71-70-76-75=292 | +4 | 72,596 | |
| T9 | Cristie Kerr | 69-71-77-75=292 | +4 | 72,596 | |
| T9 | Suzann Pettersen | 71-68-78-75=292 | +4 | 72,596 |
Source:
Amateurs: Ko, Talley, Lee.
Scorecard
Final round| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
 Choi | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −7 |
| Yang | −1 | −1 | −1 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 |
 Gal | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Lee | +4 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +1 | E | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +2 |
 Feng | +4 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 |
 Sergas | +2 | +2 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +2 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par