2018 U.S. Women's Open


The 2018 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship 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 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
Chun In-gee, Paula Creamer, Ji Eun-hee, Brittany Lang, Inbee Park, Park Sung-hyun, Ryu So-yeon, Michelle Wie
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
Kelsey Chugg, Sophia Schubert, Erica Shepherd, Albane Valenzuela
3. Winner of the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal
4. Winners of the Women's PGA Championship for the last five years
Brooke Henderson, Danielle Kang
5. Winners of the Ricoh Women's British Open for the last five years
Ariya Jutanugarn, In-Kyung Kim, Stacy Lewis, Mo Martin
6. Winners of the ANA Inspiration for the last five years
Lydia Ko, Brittany Lincicome, Pernilla Lindberg, Lexi Thompson
7. Winners of the Evian Championship for the last five years
Kim Hyo-joo, Anna Nordqvist
8. Ten lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place from the 2017 U.S. Women's Open
Choi Hye-jin, Carlota Ciganda, Shanshan Feng, M. J. Hur, Kim Sei-young, Lee Jeong-eun, Mirim Lee, Amy Yang
9. Top 75 money leaders from the 2017 final official LPGA money list
Marina Alex, Brittany Altomare, Nicole Broch Larsen, Ashleigh Buhai, Peiyun Chien, Chella Choi, Cydney Clanton, Jacqui Concolino, Austin Ernst, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Sandra Gal, Wei-Ling Hsu, Charley Hull, Karine Icher, Moriya Jutanugarn, Kim Kaufman, Cristie Kerr, Megan Khang, Katherine Kirk, Jessica Korda, Nelly Korda, Olafia Kristinsdottir, Candie Kung, Lee Jeong-eun, Lee Mi-hyang, Minjee Lee, Gaby López, Caroline Masson, Ally McDonald, Azahara Muñoz, Haru Nomura, Su-Hyun Oh, Ryann O'Toole, Jane Park, Pornanong Phatlum, Madelene Sagström, Lizette Salas, Alena Sharp, Jenny Shin, Sarah Jane Smith, Jennifer Song, Angela Stanford, Ayako Uehara, Jing Yan, Angel Yin, Yoo Sun-young
10. Top 10 money leaders from the 2018 official LPGA money list, through the close of entries on April 25
Ko Jin-young
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, Kim Ji-hyun, Lee Min-young, Teresa Lu, Klára Spilková, Ai Suzuki, Anne van Dam
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. Top 50 point leaders from the current Rolex Rankings and anyone tying for 50th place as of May 28
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
May 2 at Indiana Country Club, Indiana, Pennsylvania
May 3 at Industry Hills Golf Club, City of Industry, California
May 4 at Sugar Mill Country Club, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
May 6 at Ka'anapali Golf Club, Lahaina, Hawaii
May 7 at Dunwoody Country Club, Dunwoody, Georgia
May 7 at Elgin Country Club, Elgin, Illinois
May 8 at La Purisima Golf Club, Lompoc, California
May 8 at Ohtone Country Club, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
May 14 at Arizona Country Club, Phoenix, Arizona
May 14 at Contra Costa Country Club, Pleasant Hill, California
May 14 at The Ranch Country Club, Westminster, Colorado
May 14 at Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Buckinghamshire, England
May 14 at TPC Prestancia, Sarasota, Florida
May 14 at Dream Park Country Club, Incheon, South Korea
May 14 at Stillwater Country Club, Stillwater, Minnesota
May 14 at Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, Texas
May 14 at Deerwood Golf Club, Kingwood, Texas
May 14 at Hermitage Country Club, Manakin-Sabot, Virginia
May 14 at Rainier Golf & Country Club, Seattle, Washington
May 15 at Bermuda Run Country Club, Advance, North Carolina
May 16 at Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai, China
May 16 at Cape Cod National Golf Club, Brewster, Massachusetts
May 17 at Seagate Country Club, Delray Beach, Florida

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, Hailee Cooper, Lindy Duncan, Andrea Lee, Lee Lopez, Wichanee Meechai, Olivia Mehaffey, Emilia Migliaccio, Song Gaeun, Luna Sobrón Galmés, Sophie Walker, Rumi Yoshiba

Nationalities in the field

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Missed the cut

Course layout

2018 yardages by round
RoundHole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Par445435434364543443543672
1Yards3743895054211664754221513833,2863995224291713703761995334043,4036,689
2Yards3663875134211544884151403923,2763865264051833633741705324083,3476,623
3Yards3803845144131774714221563843,3014074604021393793662105453943,3026,603
4Yards3793964924301614894091493853,2904015084311723613891975314163,4066,696

Source:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, May 31, 2018
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Ariya Jutanugarn67−5
T1Lee Jeong-eun67−5
T1Sarah Jane Smith67−5
T4Linn Grant 69−3
T4Danielle Kang69−3
T4Michelle Wie69−3
T7Luna Sobrón Galmés70−2
T7Kristen Gillman 70−2
T7Kim Hyo-joo70−2
T7Kim Ji-hyun70−2
T7Kim Sei-young70−2
T7Nelly Korda70−2
T7Su-Hyun Oh70−2
T7Inbee Park70−2
T7Emily Kristine Pedersen70−2
T7Mel Reid70−2
T7Madelene Sagström70−2
T7Patty Tavatanakit 70−2

Second round

Friday, June 1, 2018
Saturday June 2, 2018
Weather delayed the conclusion of the second round until Saturday.
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Sarah Jane Smith67-67=134−10
2Ariya Jutanugarn67-70=137−7
3Su-Hyun Oh70-68=138−6
T4Chella Choi71-70=141−3
T4Carlota Ciganda73-68=141−3
T4Linn Grant 69-72=141−3
T4Kim Ji-hyun70-71=141−3
T4Kim Sei-young70-71=141−3
T4Inbee Park70-71=141−3
T4Jenny Shin72-69=141−3
T4Michelle Wie69-72=141−3

Third round

Saturday, June 2, 2018
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Ariya Jutanugarn67-70-67=204−12
2Sarah Jane Smith67-67-74=208−8
3Kim Hyo-joo70-72-68=210−6
4Kim Ji-hyun70-71-70=211−5
T5Carlota Ciganda73-68-71=212−4
T5Inbee Park70-71-71=212−4
T5Madelene Sagström70-72-70=212−4
8Wei-Ling Hsu71-73-70=214−2
T9Ji Eun-hee73-72-70=215−1
T9Megan Khang72-74-69=215−1
T9Nelly Korda70-74-71=215−1
T9Ryu So-yeon73-70-72=215−1
T9Patty Tavatanakit 70-73-72=215−1

Final round

Sunday, June 3, 2018
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
T1Ariya Jutanugarn67-70-67-73=277−11Playoff
T1Kim Hyo-joo70-72-68-67=277−11Playoff
3Carlota Ciganda73-68-71-69=281−7349,790
4Danielle Kang69-77-70-69=285−3244,704
T5Wei-Ling Hsu71-73-70-72=286−2182,487
T5Sarah Jane Smith67-67-74-78=286−2182,487
T5Lexi Thompson71-75-70-70=286−2182,487
T5Patty Tavatanakit 70-73-72-71=286−20
9Inbee Park70-71-71-75=287−1145,919
T10Nasa Hataoka74-70-72-72=288E104,505
T10Charley Hull74-73-70-71=288E104,505
T10Megan Khang72-74-69-73=288E104,505
T10Kim Ji-hyun70-71-70-77=288E104,505
T10Nelly Korda70-74-71-73=288E104,505
T10Angela Stanford73-72-71-72=288E104,505
T10Michelle Wie69-72-76-71=288E104,505

Scorecard

Final round
Hole123456789101112131415161718
Par445435434454344354
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

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.
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Ariya Jutanugarn4-4-4-4=16E900,000
2Kim Hyo-joo3-5-4-5=17+1540,000