The 1997 U.S. Women's Open was the 52nd U.S. Women's Open, held July 10–13 at the Witch Hollow course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club near North Plains, Oregon, northwest of Portland.
Alison Nicholas entered the final round with a three stroke lead and shot an even-par 71 to win her only major title, one stroke ahead of runner-up Nancy Lopez. In the final pairing, Lopez slid a downhill birdie putt past the 72nd hole while Nicholas sank a three-footer (0.9 m) for par to win at 274 (−10). Lopez, age 40 and in search of the title that eluded her, was the first-ever player to shoot four rounds in the 60s in the U.S. Women's Open.
Two-time defending champion Annika Sörenstam's attempt for an unprecedented third straight title came up short. Five-over-par after her first nine holes on Thursday, she carded 77-73 for 150 (+8) and missed the 36-hole cut by three strokes, fourteen strokes behind the lead. Through 2021, no one has won three consecutive U.S. Women's Opens.
The final round attendance on Sunday was a record 31,700 and the seven-day total was 123,850.
This was the first U.S. Women's Open at Pumpkin Ridge; the championship returned just six years later in 2003. It previously hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1996, the third straight victory by 20-year-old Tiger Woods in his final competition as an amateur.
Round summaries First round Thursday, July 10, 1997 Place Player Score To par 1 Liselotte Neumann 67−4 T2 Se Ri Pak68−3 Susie Redman Deb Richard Kelly RobbinsT6 Trish Johnson69−2 Lorie Kane Nancy Lopez Muffin Spencer-DevlinT10 Jenny Chuasiriporn (a) 70−1 Alicia Dibos Rosie Jones Alison Nicholas Pearl Sinn Source:
Second round Friday, July 11, 1997 Place Player Score To par 1 Alison Nicholas70-66=136−6 T2 Nancy Lopez69-68=137−5 Liselotte Neumann 67-70=137 Kelly Robbins68-69=137T5 Juli Inkster72-66=138−4 Deb Richard68-70=1387 Dawn Coe-Jones 72-67=139 −3 T8 Chris Johnson72-68=140 −2 Joan Pitcock71-69=140T10 Stefania Croce72-69=141 −1 Lisa Hackney71-70=141 Michele Redman74-67=141 Muffin Spencer-Devlin69-72=141 Source:
Third round Saturday, July 12, 1997 Place Player Score To par 1 Alison Nicholas70-66-67=203−10 2 Nancy Lopez69-68-69=206−7 3 Lisa Hackney71-70-67=208−5 4 Kim Williams71-71-67=209−4 5 Karrie Webb73-72-65=210−3 T6 Donna Andrews74-71-66=211 −2 Akiko Fukushima71-71-69=211 Michele Redman74-67-70=211 Deb Richard68-70-73=211 Kelly Robbins68-69-74=211 Source:
Final round Sunday, July 13, 1997 Place Player Score To par Money ($) 1 Alison Nicholas70-66-67-71=274−10232,500 2 Nancy Lopez69-68-69-69=275−9137,500 3 Kelly Robbins68-69-74-66=277−786,708 4 Karrie Webb73-72-65-68=278−660,432 T5 Lisa Hackney71-70-67-71=279−546,159 Stefania Croce72-69-71-67=279 T7 Michele Redman74-67-70-69=280−437,542 Tammie Green74-70-71-65=280 T9 Akiko Fukushima71-71-69-71=282−228,769 Chris Johnson72-68-73-69=282 Dawn Coe-Jones72-67-73-70=282 Donna Andrews74-71-66-71=282 Patty Sheehan72-71-71-68=282 Source:
References
External links U.S. Women's Open - past champions - 1997