2018 U.S. Women's Open

The 2018 U.S. Women's Open 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.

2018 U.S. Women's Open

Tournament information
Dates	May 31 – June 3, 2018
Location	Shoal Creek, Alabama 33.438°N 86.612°W
Course(s)	Shoal Creek Club
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	LPGA Tour
Statistics
Par	72
Length	6,732 yards (6,156 m)[1]
Field	156 players, 63 after cut
Cut	148 (+4)
Prize fund	$5.0 million
Winner's share	$900,000
Champion
Ariya Jutanugarn
277 (−11)
Location Map
Shoal Creek Location in the United States Shoal Creek Location in Alabama

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 (Open, Women's Open, Senior Open, Senior Women's) in 2018, reduced from three to two aggregate holes, followed by sudden death.[2]

Ariya Jutanugarn won the championship in a playoff over Kim Hyo-joo, which ended on the fourth extra hole.[3]

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.[4] 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 (2008–2017)

Chun In-gee (7,9,14,15), Paula Creamer, Ji Eun-hee (9,10,11,14,15), Brittany Lang (9), Inbee Park (4,5,9,10,11,14,15), Park Sung-hyun (8,9,11,14,15), Ryu So-yeon (6,8,9,14,15), Michelle Wie (9,10,11,14,15)

• Choi Na-yeon did not play

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 (must be an amateur)

Kelsey Chugg (a), Sophia Schubert (a), Erica Shepherd (a), Albane Valenzuela (a)

3. Winner of the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal (Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking) (must be an amateur)

• Leona Maguire (a) did not play

4. Winners of the Women's PGA Championship for the last five years (2013–2017)

Brooke Henderson (9,10,11,14,15), Danielle Kang (9,14,15)

5. Winners of the Ricoh Women's British Open for the last five years (2013–2017)

Ariya Jutanugarn (9,10,11,14,15), In-Kyung Kim (9,11,14,15), Stacy Lewis (9,11,14,15), Mo Martin (9)

6. Winners of the ANA Inspiration for the last five years (2014–2018)

Lydia Ko (7,9,11,14,15), Brittany Lincicome (9,11,14,15), Pernilla Lindberg (9,10,11,14,15), Lexi Thompson (9,11,14,15)

7. Winners of the Evian Championship for the last five years (2013–2017)

Kim Hyo-joo (9), Anna Nordqvist (9,11,14,15)

• Suzann Pettersen (9,14,15) did not play

8. Ten lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place from the 2017 U.S. Women's Open

Choi Hye-jin (14,15), Carlota Ciganda (9,12-LET,14,15), Shanshan Feng (9,10,11,14,15), M. J. Hur (9,14,15), Kim Sei-young (9,14,15), Lee Jeong-eun (12-KLPGA,14,15), Mirim Lee (9,14,15), Amy Yang (9,14,15)

9. Top 75 money leaders from the 2017 final official LPGA money list

Marina Alex (14,15), Brittany Altomare (14,15), Nicole Broch Larsen, Ashleigh Buhai, Peiyun Chien, Chella Choi (14), Cydney Clanton, Jacqui Concolino, Austin Ernst, Jodi Ewart Shadoff (14,15), Sandra Gal, Wei-Ling Hsu, Charley Hull (14,15), Karine Icher, Moriya Jutanugarn (10,11,14,15), Kim Kaufman, Cristie Kerr (11,14,15), Megan Khang, Katherine Kirk, Jessica Korda (10,11,14,15), Nelly Korda (14,15), Olafia Kristinsdottir, Candie Kung, Lee Jeong-eun, Lee Mi-hyang (11,14,15), Minjee Lee (11,14,15), Gaby López, Caroline Masson (15), Ally McDonald, Azahara Muñoz (12-LET,14), Haru Nomura, Su-Hyun Oh, Ryann O'Toole, Jane Park, Pornanong Phatlum, Madelene Sagström, Lizette Salas (14,15), Alena Sharp, Jenny Shin (14,15), Sarah Jane Smith, Jennifer Song (14,15), Angela Stanford, Ayako Uehara, Jing Yan, Angel Yin (15), Yoo Sun-young

• Laura Gonzalez Escallon, Jang Ha-na (14,15) and Gerina Piller did not play

10. Top 10 money leaders from the 2018 official LPGA money list, through the close of entries on April 25

Ko Jin-young (11,12-KLPGA,14,15)

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 (14,15), Kim Ji-hyun, Lee Min-young (14,15), Teresa Lu (14,15), Klára Spilková, Ai Suzuki (14,15), Anne van Dam

• Kim Hae-rym (14,15), Kim Ha-neul (14), Oh Ji-hyun, and Jiyai Shin (14,15) did not play

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)

15. Top 50 point leaders from the current Rolex Rankings and anyone tying for 50th place as of May 28

• Ahn Sun-ju did not play

16. Special exemptions selected by the USGA

Karrie Webb[5]

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.[4]

May 2 at Canoe Brook Country Club, Summit, New Jersey

Grace Na

Evelyn Arguelles (a)

May 2 at Indiana Country Club, Indiana, Pennsylvania

Olivia Cason (a)

May 3 at Industry Hills Golf Club, City of Industry, California

Patty Tavatanakit (a)

Elizabeth Wang (a)

May 4 at Sugar Mill Country Club, New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Kris Tamulis

Sarah Kemp

May 6 at Ka'anapali Golf Club, Lahaina, Hawaii

Tiffany Chan

May 7 at Dunwoody Country Club, Dunwoody, Georgia

Christine Song

Ssu-Chia Cheng

Katelyn Dambaugh

Emma Talley

May 7 at Elgin Country Club, Elgin, Illinois

Yujeong Son (a)

Martina Edberg

May 8 at La Purisima Golf Club, Lompoc, California

Emily Kristine Pedersen

María Hernández

May 8 at Ohtone Country Club, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Fumika Kawagishi

Minami Hiruta

Kaori Takayama

Kotono Kozuma

May 14 at Arizona Country Club, Phoenix, Arizona

Giulia Molinaro

Cheyenne Woods

May 14 at Contra Costa Country Club, Pleasant Hill, California

Allisen Corpuz (a)

Lucy Li (a)

May 14 at The Ranch Country Club, Westminster, Colorado

Robyn Choi (a)

Jillian Hollis

May 14 at Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Buckinghamshire, England

Linn Grant (a)

Catriona Matthew

Mel Reid

Sarah Schober

May 14 at TPC Prestancia, Sarasota, Florida

Daniela Darquea

Lei Ye (a)

Daniela Holmqvist

May 14 at Dream Park Country Club, Incheon, South Korea

Park Hyun-kyung

Kim Hani did not play

May 14 at Stillwater Country Club, Stillwater, Minnesota

Casey Danielson

Celia Barquín Arozamena (a)

May 14 at Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, Texas

Kaylee Benton (a)

Dylan Kim (a)

May 14 at Deerwood Golf Club, Kingwood, Texas

Kristen Gillman (a)

María Fassi (a)

May 14 at Hermitage Country Club, Manakin-Sabot, Virginia

Paula Reto

Lin Xiyu

Julieta Granada

Gina Kim (a)

May 14 at Rainier Golf & Country Club, Seattle, Washington

Becky Morgan

Sophie Hausmann (a)

May 15 at Bermuda Run Country Club, Advance, North Carolina

Nannette Hill

Britney Yada

May 16 at Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai, China

Yiyi Liu

May 16 at Cape Cod National Golf Club, Brewster, Massachusetts

Celeste Dao (a)

Céline Herbin

May 17 at Seagate Country Club, Delray Beach, Florida

Jenny Suh

Dana Williams (a)

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

Nationalities in the field

North America (61)	South America (2)	Europe (32)	Oceana (8)	Asia (51)	Africa (2)
Canada (3)	Ecuador (1)	England (5)	Australia (7)	China (5)	South Africa (2)
Mexico (3)	Paraguay (1)	Northern Ireland (1)	New Zealand (1)	Hong Kong (1)
United States (55)		Scotland (1)		Japan (9)
		Wales (1)		South Korea (24)
		Austria (1)		Taiwan (5)
		Czech Republic (1)		Thailand (7)
		Denmark (2)
		France (2)
		Germany (3)
		Iceland (1)
		Italy (1)
		Netherlands (1)
		Spain (5)
		Sweden (6)
		Switzerland (1)

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Inbee Park	South Korea	2008, 2013	70	71	71	75	287	−1	9
Michelle Wie	United States	2014	69	72	76	71	288	E	T10
Ji Eun-hee	South Korea	2009	73	72	70	74	289	+1	T17
Ryu So-yeon	South Korea	2011	73	70	72	75	290	+2	23
Chun In-gee	South Korea	2015	74	73	75	74	296	+8	T41
Cristie Kerr	United States	2007	73	75	70	80	298	+10	T52

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Brittany Lang	United States	2016	77	73	150	+6
Karrie Webb	Australia	2000, 2001	75	75	150	+6
Paula Creamer	United States	2010	77	76	153	+9
Park Sung-hyun	South Korea	2017	76	77	153	+9

Course layout

2018 yardages by round

Round	Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
	Par	4	4	5	4	3	5	4	3	4	36	4	5	4	3	4	4	3	5	4	36	72
1	Yards	374	389	505	421	166	475	422	151	383	3,286	399	522	429	171	370	376	199	533	404	3,403	6,689
2	Yards	366	387	513	421	154	488	415	140	392	3,276	386	526	405	183	363	374	170	532	408	3,347	6,623
3	Yards	380	384	514	413	177	471	422	156	384	3,301	407	460	402	139	379	366	210	545	394	3,302	6,603
4	Yards	379	396	492	430	161	489	409	149	385	3,290	401	508	431	172	361	389	197	531	416	3,406	6,696

• Scoring average: 74.682
  • by round: 74.705, 75.123, 73.921, 74.318
• Most difficult holes in relation to par: 12, 4, 18, 16

Source:[6]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Ariya Jutanugarn	Thailand	67	−5
	Lee Jeong-eun	South Korea
	Sarah Jane Smith	Australia
T4	Linn Grant (a)	Sweden	69	−3
	Danielle Kang	United States
	Michelle Wie	United States
T7	Luna Sobrón Galmés	Spain	70	−2
	Kristen Gillman (a)	United States
	Kim Hyo-joo	South Korea
	Kim Ji-hyun	South Korea
	Kim Sei-young	South Korea
	Nelly Korda	United States
	Su-Hyun Oh	Australia
	Inbee Park	South Korea
	Emily Kristine Pedersen	Denmark
	Mel Reid	England
	Madelene Sagström	Sweden
	Patty Tavatanakit (a)	Thailand

Second round

Friday, June 1, 2018
Saturday June 2, 2018

Weather delayed the conclusion of the second round until Saturday.

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Sarah Jane Smith	Australia	67-67=134	−10
2	Ariya Jutanugarn	Thailand	67-70=137	−7
3	Su-Hyun Oh	Australia	70-68=138	−6
T4	Chella Choi	South Korea	71-70=141	−3
	Carlota Ciganda	Spain	73-68=141
	Linn Grant (a)	Sweden	69-72=141
	Kim Ji-hyun	South Korea	70-71=141
	Kim Sei-young	South Korea	70-71=141
	Inbee Park	South Korea	70-71=141
	Jenny Shin	South Korea	72-69=141
	Michelle Wie	United States	69-72=141

Third round

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Ariya Jutanugarn	Thailand	67-70-67=204	−12
2	Sarah Jane Smith	Australia	67-67-74=208	−8
3	Kim Hyo-joo	South Korea	70-72-68=210	−6
4	Kim Ji-hyun	South Korea	70-71-70=211	−5
T5	Carlota Ciganda	Spain	73-68-71=212	−4
	Inbee Park	South Korea	70-71-71=212
	Madelene Sagström	Sweden	70-72-70=212
8	Wei-Ling Hsu	Taiwan	71-73-70=214	−2
T9	Ji Eun-hee	South Korea	73-72-70=215	−1
	Megan Khang	United States	72-74-69=215
	Nelly Korda	United States	70-74-71=215
	Ryu So-yeon	South Korea	73-70-72=215
	Patty Tavatanakit (a)	Thailand	70-73-72=215

Final round

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Ariya Jutanugarn	Thailand	67-70-67-73=277	−11	Playoff
	Kim Hyo-joo	South Korea	70-72-68-67=277
3	Carlota Ciganda	Spain	73-68-71-69=281	−7	349,790
4	Danielle Kang	United States	69-77-70-69=285	−3	244,704
T5	Wei-Ling Hsu	Taiwan	71-73-70-72=286	−2	182,487
	Sarah Jane Smith	Australia	67-67-74-78=286
	Lexi Thompson	United States	71-75-70-70=286
	Patty Tavatanakit (a)	Thailand	70-73-72-71=286		0
9	Inbee Park	South Korea	70-71-71-75=287	−1	145,919
T10	Nasa Hataoka	Japan	74-70-72-72=288	E	104,505
	Charley Hull	England	74-73-70-71=288
	Megan Khang	United States	72-74-69-73=288
	Kim Ji-hyun	South Korea	70-71-70-77=288
	Nelly Korda	United States	70-74-71-73=288
	Angela Stanford	United States	73-72-71-72=288
	Michelle Wie	United States	69-72-76-71=288

Scorecard

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	4	5	4	3	5	4	3	4	4	5	4	3	4	4	3	5	4
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

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Triple bogey+

Source:[7]

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.

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Ariya Jutanugarn	Thailand	4-4-4-4=16	E	900,000
2	Kim Hyo-joo	South Korea	3-5-4-5=17	+1	540,000

References

1. "U.S. Women's Open: Course Info". LPGA. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
2. "U.S. Open abandons 18 holes for 2-hole playoff". ESPN. Associated Press. February 26, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
3. "Ariya Jutanugarn wins U.S. Women's Open on fourth playoff hole". ESPN. Associated Press. June 3, 2018.
4. "73rd U.S. Women's Open Championship – Entry Form" (PDF). USGA. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
5. "Karrie Webb gets special exemption to U.S. Women's Open". ESPN. Associated Press. March 20, 2018.
6. "73rd U.S. Women's Open Championship – Course Stats". USGA.
7. "U.S. Women's Open". USGA. Retrieved September 3, 2018.

External links

• Official website
• United States Golf Association website