Complete Guide to the U.S. Women's Open

National allegiance aside, the U.S. Women’s Open is the premier major in women’s golf. It’s the longest-running of the five LPGA major championships, holding major championship status since 1950.

In 2022 it awarded a milestone $10,000,000 purse, which went up to $11M in 2023, setting an extraordinary precident that the other women's majors have since strived to compete with. Let’s take a deep dive into the U.S. Women’s Open, from its humble, match-play beginnings to today’s lucrative eight-figure extravaganza.

U.S. Women’s Open History

The U.S. Women’s Open has grown significantly over the years. Here’s a timeline of some of the most notable highlights throughout U.S. Women’s Open history.

1946: Inaugural U.S. Women’s Open at Spokane CC determined via match play. Patty Berg beats Betty Jameson 5&4 to claim $5,600 winner’s share of the $19,700 purse. The $5,600 winner’s check would not be matched in the U.S. Women’s Open until 1972.

1946-48: The U.S. Women’s Open was conducted by the Women’s PGA.

1949-52: LPGA conducts the U.S. Women’s Open.

1950: U.S. Women's Open elevated to major championship status.

1953-Present: USGA takes over administration of the U.S. Women’s Open.

1955: Uruguayan Fay Crocker becomes the first non-American to win the U.S. Women’s Open.

1959: Mickey Wright becomes the first back-to-back U.S. Women’s Open Champion.

1960: Betsy Rawls sets the record with four U.S. Women’s Open titles. That mark was matched by Mickey Wright in 1964 but has never been surpassed.

1964: The U.S. Women’s Open is contested in the Pacific time zone for the first time since the inaugural championship in 1946 (San Diego Country Club).

1967: Catherine Lacoste becomes the first and only amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open.

1972: Susie Berning’s $6,000 winner’s check is the first to surpass Patty Berg’s inaugural payday of $5,600.

1978: The first six-figure purse in U.S. Women’s Open history, as Hollis Stacy takes home $15,000 of the $100,000 purse for her win at CC of Indianapolis.

1995: First $1,000,000 U.S. Women’s Open purse. Champion Annika Sorenstam collected $175,000 for her victory at Broadmoor GC.

1996: Sorenstam sets the scoring record (overall) at 272 and wins back-to-back U.S. Opens. Juli Inkster and In-gee Chun matched that mark in 1999 and 2015, respectively.

1999: Juli Inkster sets the to-par scoring record at -16 in her win at Old Waverly GC.

2014: U.S. Women’s Open contested at the same venue as the 2014 U.S. Men’s Open, Pinehurst, where Michelle Wie wins her only major championship.

2022: The U.S. Women’s Open offers the first $10,000,000 purse in women’s golf history, with a $1,800,000 winner’s share.

2023: The U.S. Women’s Open contested at Pebble Beach for the first time, where Allisen Corpuz won $2,000,000 from the $11,000,000 purse.

Harton S. Semple Trophy

There’s a lot that comes with winning the U.S. Women’s Open, including some hardware. Every year since 1953, the champion has taken home the two-handled, sterling silver Harton S. Semple trophy, which they hang on to for a year, or until somebody else wins it.

The Spokane Athletic Round Table donated the trophy taken home by the first U.S. Women’s Open champions from 1946 to 52. The group offered to continue providing the trophy when the USGA took over the event in 1953, but the USGA declined the offer, opting to create its own trophy instead. A replica replaced the USGA’s original trophy in July 1992.

In addition to the trophy, U.S. Women’s Open champions take home a gold medal. The U.S. Women’s Open runner-up takes home a silver medal, and the lowest amateur who completes 72 holes gets a gold medal as well.

U.S. Women’s Open Purse Through the Years

The first U.S. Women’s Open purse was $19,700, yielding a $5,600 winner’s check from the Women’s PGA to Patty Berg in 1946. However, the ensuing U.S. Women’s Opens could not match that payday. The purse dipped to $7,500 for three years, then again to $5,000 in 1950 before climbing again.

The purse continued to climb consistently, and between 1998 and 2002 it doubled from $1.5 million to $3 million, which coincided with Tiger Woods’ meteoric rise and a global golf boom.

The U.S. Women’s Open purse doubled again between 2017 and 2022, as the already nice $5,000,000 purse increased to $10,000,000, rivaling some men’s major purses, thanks to a long-term USGA partnership agreement with ProMedica.

Making the U.S. Women’s Open Field

Open championships are part of what makes golf great. Amateur women and girls with a handicap index of 2.4 or lower, and professionals, who aren't already exempt, are free to try to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. Exemptions are also given to winners and the top players in professional women's golf.

Read More: U.S. Women's Open Qualifying and Exemptions Explained

U.S. Women’s Open Cut Rules

While 156 skilled and fortunate players start the U.S. Women’s Open, not all of them will finish it. After two days and 36 holes of play, the U.S. Women’s Open field is cut to the top 60 players, plus ties, who advance to compete in the final two rounds and – as long as they are professional – take home a paycheck. This is identical to the men’s U.S. Open cut rule.

U.S. Women’s Open Playoff Rules

If two or more players are tied through 72 holes, the U.S. Women’s Open a two-hole aggregate playoff is used to determine the winner.

Complete History of Winners, Scores & Paydays

The inaugural U.S. Women’s Open was contested at Spokane Country Club in Spokane, Washington in 1946. That championship is still to this day the only U.S. Open, men’s or women’s, to be determined by match play, as Patty Berg beat Betty Jameson 5&4. 

Over the years, two women have won four U.S. Women’s Opens - Betsy Rawls and Mickey Wright, while four others have won three.

The first U.S. Women’s Open included a $19,700 purse with a $5,600 winner’s check, numbers that went unmatched until the 1970s. However, today’s U.S. Women’s open includes an eight-figure purse that rivals those of men’s majors, and rewards the champion with a $1.8 million payday.

Future U.S. Women’s Open Venues

The USGA has made it a point to get out ahead of its scheduling, with U.S. Opens on the books into the 2050s. Here are the future U.S. Women’s open sites that have been confirmed by the USGA.