Rib injuries sustained in a golf cart accident won’t stop Cristie Kerr from playing the U.S. Women’s Open.
HOUSTON – Cristie Kerr plans to tee it up in the 75th U.S. Women’s Open. The 20-time LPGA winner played the back nine of the Cypress Course at Champions Golf Club on Wednesday and plans to be on the tee Thursday for her 11:26 a.m. EST grouping with Brittany Lincicome and Gerina Piller.
“I actually played alright,” said Kerr, who was on her way to cryotherapy. “Hitting it a little bit shorter today but that’s because I’m being cautious. There’s pain.”
Kerr and her caddie last week, Matt Gelczis, spent several hours in the emergency room. Gelczis is now back home in Philadelphia, and she has her former caddie, Brady Stockton, on the bag this week in Houston.
Kerr said she dislocated three ribs in the accident. She came out on Monday and chipped and putted on Cypress for nine holes but said it was too painful to even hit a flop shot. On Tuesday, she walked all 18 on the Jackrabbit Course, just working on short game.
Wednesday was the first time she hit full shots on the golf course in a week.
“It was in the middle here,” said Kerr of the pain, “but now that I’ve stopped, it’s gone to the back … just gonna do the best we can. And yes, pain medication.”
Kerr, the oldest player in the field this week, won the first of her two major championships at the 2007 USWO at Pine Needles. This will be her 94th consecutive major championship dating back to the 1999 season. The mother of two hasn’t missed a Women’s Open since 1998.
Kerr said she didn’t want to get into the details of the accident.
“Probably best not to go into that right now,” she said.
Considering she has just two victories in 16 LPGA seasons, Brittany Lang certainly brings her best to this major.
The theory is a sound one – Brittany Lang, who already has one U.S. Women’s Open title under her belt, was reared in Texas, the state where this year’s event will be held starting Thursday. She’s certain to have an edge in terms of familiarity, right?
Not necessarily.
Although Lang graduated from McKinney High School, just outside Dallas, she didn’t spend much time at Champions Golf Club, which sits northwest of Houston.
But just because she hasn’t frequented the club founded by famous Texans Jackie Burke, Jr. and Jimmy Demaret, Lang isn’t stressed as she heads into her 16th U.S. Women’s Open.
“I am not super familiar with this golf course. I have been here. My caddie, however, is. He grew up playing here a little bit, which is helpful. I was supposed to come down and play it, and something was bothering me, my arm was bothering me, and I wasn’t able to come down,” Lang said.
“But I saw it today and it’s pretty straightforward.”
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The 2016 champ, who edged Anna Nordqvist in a playoff at the Bay Area’s CordeValle Golf Club, said she’s modified her approach when it comes to majors. There might have been a day when Lang would have stressed about a new or unfamiliar course, but this week she tried to get some rest to prepare for the rigors the Open throws at players.
“I didn’t play (Monday). I just drove up. Yeah, I was tired after Dallas. That was a grind. I was just really tired and I want to be fresh and my caddie knows the course and we get yesterday and today. It’s plenty for me,” she said.
“I think younger Brittany had a lot more energy, so she would have played it multiple, multiple times. But older Brittany is a little more tired … and that’s okay. Now that I’m a mother and I’m considered old out here, I’m going to take a breather.”
Considering she has just two victories in 16 LPGA seasons, Lang certainly brings her best to this major. Aside from the victory in 2016 — her last — she has two other top-10 finishes and has placed in the top 50 nine times at U.S. Women’s Opens while missing the cut just three times.
She’s hoping that magic continues this week, perhaps even breaking her four-year victory drought. Lang is certainly capable — she finished T-11 in Dallas last week.
“It’s crazy. I take pride in it. You know, it’s hard,” Lang said of her string of 16 U.S. Women’s Opens. “Watching Angela (Stanford) win last week (at the Volunteers of America Classic outside Dallas), that’s pretty special to have staying power like that. I take pride in it, even though I’m not quite to her level. But it’s really special.”
One thing she won’t be short on this week is support. Her husband, Kevin, is on hand as are her parents, her mother-in-law and her daughter. Still, she can’t get too caught up in playing well in her home state in front of family, something she said can lead you down a slippery slope.
“I try to lower my expectations because you get pretty excited. You have a lot of family and you want to win, you want to play so well and do well,” she said. “But I’ve learned to calm down a little bit and lower my expectations.
“It’s just fun to be in Texas.”
And as for what she’s seen of the course?
“I loved it,” she said. “A lot of drivers off the tee, which I think is great. A lot of character. Greens are massive, so a lot of long putts. And they’re fast … probably a lot of 10-feet-and-in putts for par and long lag putts.”
There’s a wall on the driving range at the U.S. Women’s Open, so Danielle Kang got a little creative to keep her warm-up routine.
HOUSTON – Danielle Kang likes to warm up hitting her wedges to head covers spaced out on the range. It’s tough to do that this week, though, because there’s a wall on the range roughly 30 yards in front of the players. It’s a strange look, but it’s there for good reason.
Both ends of the range at Champions Golf Club have to be used this week to accommodate a field of 156 players competing on two courses. With the entire field going off in the same wave (between 9:20 a.m. and 11:32 a.m. CST), the USGA needed to utilize every inch of the 300-yard range to make it happen. (Officials didn’t want drives from big hitters like Bianca Pagdanganan, Maria Fassi and Anne van Dam rolling up on the other end of the range.)
Kang, for one, is left to scout out positions where she can get her wedge work done.
“I’ve been going into tents and trying to hit wedges,” she said. “I went over there, behind the trees over there and tried to hit it. I went across the range. I’m trying to find places where I do it, because routine is very important for me, and I want to be able to hit wedges.”
Nasa Hataoka hits a shot in the practice area at Champions Golf Club, where a wall makes it possible to accommodate the full 156-player field. (Chris Keane/USGA)
There are a handful of spots that she has found to make it work. Playing golf in a pandemic requires a bit of creativity.
Kang, one of the hottest players in 2020, took a considerable amount of time off from the tour after finishing runner-up to Ally Ewing (nee McDonald) in October at the LPGA Drive On Championship in Georgia. She felt that her game was getting “a little bit titter tatter” at Reynolds Lake Oconee. She was only hitting her driver about 225 yards and her ball flight was getting lower.
When she came to Houston to preview Champions while boyfriend Maverick McNealy competed in the PGA Tour event in town, she knew she’d need more firepower in her bag to have success here, particularly on the Cypress Course. Kang wanted to find an extra 10 to 15 yards as well as more height on her approach shots. To get it, she’d need to focus on body work, technique and rest.
“My physio hasn’t been able to travel this entire year because of COVID, so it’s a bit different for me to have like no body work done,” she said. “It’s every day I try to do foam rolling and do the workouts. It’s shorter days, as well, so it’s harder for me to cram in all the workouts and the practices.
“So I tried to utilize the few weeks I had at home, and I guess it’s more technique, as well. Technique has to be pretty timed up, but your body has to be able to do it.”
Long breaks aren’t a cause for concern with Kang. Quite the opposite, in fact. She came back from a 166-day break on the LPGA schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic and won two consecutive tournaments in Toledo, Ohio.
McNealy is with Kang this week, carrying around the snacks during her practice rounds (peanut-butter filled pretzels, chocolate-covered pretzels and Oreos). He tied for 12th last week at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
“Actually, it’s really cool to have him around, jokes aside,” said Kang, “because he looks at all the greens for me, as well, and sees where they would be more grainy off the greens and try and hit this chip shot. I have him try and look at my lines. It’s just having another eye out there. It’s just helpful.
McNealy’s best advice for the week?
“Just relax,” she said. “It’s the U.S. Open; everyone is stressed out.”
Nelly Korda withdrew from the KPMG and hasn’t been seen until this week at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she’s taking things “step by step.”
HOUSTON – Nelly Korda did something “stupid” (her word) on the 13th hole of the first round at Aronimink Golf Club. She tried to crack her back, and it went into spasm. Korda said she doesn’t normally crack her back, but it was cold outside in the opening round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and she could feel it tightening up.
“I just made a little oopsie,” said Nelly, “which turned into a little bit longer of an oopsie.”
She withdrew from the October major and hasn’t been seen since – until this week at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she’s taking things “step by step.” She started practicing about a dozen days ago. Played 18 on Monday for the first time since the opening round of the Women’s PGA.
Both the Cypress and Jackrabbit courses are in use this week at Champions Golf Club as both tracks are needed to get 156 players around with limited daylight. On Tuesday, Korda played the front nine on the Jackrabbit course and chipped and putted on the back nine.
Asked if she feels a little anxious going into a major with so little preparation, the 22-year-old said, “A little, yeah. I mean, you kind of don’t know what’s going to happen. I mean, your feel is not 100 percent there. Like yesterday when I was putting, I was hitting them like 10 feet by.”
Korda, now No. 3 in the Rolex Rankings, is on the short list of best players without a major, joined by the likes of Minjee Lee and Nasa Hataoka. She lost in a playoff earlier this year to Mirim Lee at the ANA Inspiration and took a share of third last year at the KPMG at Hazeltine. Her best finish at a USWO, a share of 10th, came in 2018.
Korda, who played practice rounds with older sister Jessica this week, was 14 years old when she debuted at the USWO with her dad on the bag. Petr Korda will be here this week too, walking outside the ropes. Nelly tied for 64th in 2013 at Sebonack in her dream week.
“That’s kind of where I decided this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she said.
The U.S. Women’s Open will be the final major of 2020. Check out pairings and tee times for the first round, as well as how to watch.
The final major of 2020 has arrived: the U.S. Women’s Open. In a year when every one of these things feels like a gift, the U.S. Golf Association put women’s golf in the anchor position with this championship. It will be the fourth and final USGA event of the season, following the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open.
With little winter daylight and still a full 156-player field, the USGA will utilize both the Cypress Creek and Jackrabbit courses at Champions Golf Club in Houston to pull it off. Players will play one round on each to start the tournament, and after the 36-hole cut is made, the second half of the Women’s Open will play out solely on Cypress Creek.
The Women’s Open field includes 41 players making their debut and 24 amateurs. There are nine past champions in the field and 25 past USGA champions.
Last week’s LPGA winner Angela Stanford will be in the first group off Cypress Creek’s first tee on Thursday morning.
NBC and Golf Channel are teaming up to provide 25 hours of live coverage from Houston of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, the final major of 2020.
NBC and Golf Channel are teaming up to provide 25 hours of live television coverage of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, the final major in golf for the 2020 calendar year.
For the first time in U.S. Women’s Open history, the championship will be staged on two golf courses. With reduced daylight due to the move to December and with 156 players still in the field, both Cypress Creek Course and the Jackrabbit Course at Champions Golf Club in Houston will split up the action in the first and second rounds. The third and final rounds will then be at Cypress over the weekend.
The tournament was originally scheduled for June 4-7. This is the first-ever December U.S. Women’s Open and the second time it will be played in Texas.
Champions Golf Club previously hosted the 1967 Ryder Cup, the 1969 U.S. Open and the 1993 U.S. Amateur.
In the event there’s a tie after four rounds, a two-hole aggregate playoff will take place immediately following the final round, followed by sudden death, if necessary.
Jeongeun Lee6 is the defending champion. The winner of the U.S. Women’s Open earns $1 million.
The 12th hole of Champions Golf Club Cypress Creek in Houston. Photo by Russell Kirk/USGA
Wednesday, Dec. 9
Practice round, 2-3:30 p.m., Golf Channel
Thursday, Dec. 10
First round, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Peacock
Golf Central Pre Game, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Golf Channel
Every major feels like a miracle in this year of uncertainty, Beth Ann Nichols writes. Golf should take this opportunity to celebrate women.
In the afterglow of victory at the Volunteers of America Classic, 43-year-old Angela Stanford referred to her seventh career LPGA title as a “bright spot.”
In this year of overwhelming hardship and uncertainty, we cling tighter than ever to bright spots. It’s the silver linings that are keeping us sane.
On Wednesday of last week, Stanford’s mother, Nan, finished radiation for a spot found on her liver. Nan has battled breast cancer for more than half of Stanford’s 20-year career. While Angela’s father, Steve, watched every shot at the Old American Golf Club, Nan was there when it was over, waiting just off the 18th green with a warm embrace. It marked the first time Stanford’s parents have been able to watch her win on the LPGA in person, and it happened just down the road from their Saginaw, Texas, home.
It’s hard to imagine a better scene than that one unfolding on the eve of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, the crown jewel of women’s golf. Every major that takes place these days feels like some kind of miracle. The USGA’s commitment to provide an opportunity for 156 women to compete for a purse of $5.5 million, life-changing paychecks in some cases, as a global pandemic rages on is no small thing. I am reminded of Sarah Jane Smith, who decided after a fifth-place payday of $182,487 at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open that she felt financially secure enough to start to a family.
There are no automatics in women’s golf. No guarantees.
LPGA Hall of Famer Karrie Webb told some of the younger players on tour that if a pandemic had shut down the world earlier in her career, there probably wouldn’t have been any kind of LPGA season. That’s a testament to LPGA commissioner Mike Whan and the kind of relationships that exist between the tour and its sponsors.
A first-ever December U.S. Women’s Open presents a unique opportunity for the women’s game. This year the championship, to be played Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, isn’t competing against a marquee PGA Tour event or backed up to a men’s major. It’s an ideal time for the golf world to hype up the women’s tour. Make it the talk of twitter and top-of-mind on television segments and websites rather than just an afterthought.
Let the women lead this week.
USGA social channels have been promoting a #womenworthwatching hashtag and shining light on a stat that makes something we all know to be true look even worse than we thought.
Only 4 percent of sports coverage includes women’s sports or female athletes. Yet, according to Minnesota’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, 40 percent of all sports participants are female.
We believe that women's golf is worth watching.
From powerful stories, to inspirational performances, to unforgettable moments, join us, and help show the world that the these are #WomenWorthWatching.@USWomensOpen@TeamSheIs
Not when the best story in golf this year came from Sophia Popov, the little-known German who scripted that unbelievable tale at Royal Troon. The wiry player who oozes personality backed up that AIG Women’s British Open victory too, making six straight cuts and posting three top-25 finishes since then.
Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa are among the PGA Tour players who have tweeted their support for the Women’s Open. This simple act from male athletes can’t be done enough, and should be done by all influencers until the stars of this tour are household names.
The USGA’s switch from Fox back to NBC benefits the women’s game most. TV ratings for last year’s final round of the U.S. Women’s Open were the worst on record. Golf Channel’s coverage of the event not only tournament week but also in the weeks leading in are critical to drive interest. The U.S. Women’s Amateur ratings last August, for example, were the highest in history, up nearly 300 percent versus 2019 on FS1.
While there’s no men’s major to compete with, there is football. And, as the Masters showed us, nothing can compete with the NFL’s monster ratings.
But there’s still a chance for something special to happen this week. There’s still reason to blow up the golf space with wall-to-wall women’s coverage and try to lure in some of the new golfers who have caused participation rates to soar in 2020. The National Golf Foundation says recreational golf hasn’t enjoyed a surge this big (around 50 million rounds) since Tiger Woods burst on the scene in 1997.
Women’s golf doesn’t have the luxury of an iconic American player like Woods to send interest and purses into another galaxy. Not yet anyway.
Instead, it will take the purposeful actions of an army of supporters to turn the story of a pitiful 4 percent coverage rate into something meaningful for future generations.
In December, the 75th U.S. Women’s Open will be played at Jack Burke’s Champions, continuing the club’s rich history of championship play.
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During World War II, Jack Burke Jr. served in the Marine Corps, where the pro golfer and martial arts instructor turned combat trainer used the skills of balance and timing to deal with hand grenades. In the Mojave Desert, he built a jump stadium so that U.S. pilots could prepare for jumping off an aircraft carrier after a kamikaze attack.
“(The Japanese) would run their airplanes right into our boat,” said Burke. “The only way off an aircraft carrier is to jump, and that’s about 70 feet or more.”
To help those who were skittish, Burke jumped too.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a member of the Greatest Generation still shows up to work each morning at age 97.
“Every day is opening day” is Burke’s mantra at Champions Golf Club, which he co-founded with his former babysitter, three-time Masters champion Jimmy Demaret, in 1957.
In December, Champions will host the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, continuing a rich history of championship play that includes the 1969 U.S. Open, 1967 Ryder Cup (captained by Ben Hogan), five PGA Tour Championships (won by the likes of Tiger Woods and David Duval) and the Houston Champions International (now the Vivant Houston Open), won by Arnold Palmer, Roberto De Vicenzo and Hubert Green.
It has been years since Burke, the oldest living Masters champion, has made the trip to Augusta National. Burke turns 98 on Jan. 29 and shares a locker with Woods.
“I used to tell him to leave some of those crumpled up $100 bills in the locker,” said Burke. “Tiger’s pretty tight with that money.”
Burke’s wife, Robin, would love for him to attend another Champions Dinner, maybe even take part in the ceremonial tee shot alongside Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
“I work on him every year,” said Robin, who notes that her husband still likes to get on the range and a pop a few drives, especially when the weather gets cooler. Of course, he likes to putt too.
Jack and Robin Burke in 2016. (Golfweek/Tracy Wilcox)
The LPGA’s mantra “act like a founder” pays tribute to the women of Burke’s era who built the LPGA 70 years ago. Burke spent a good deal of time around one legendary woman who carried the LPGA in those early years, Babe Zaharias.
In fact, Zaharias took lessons from Jack Burke Sr., at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, where Burke was the head pro.
“When taking a lesson from my dad,” said Jack, “he would make you throw clubs, just like you would throw a stone. I had to go pick them up – there was 26 of them. Babe used to throw those clubs like a man would; she was really strong.”
After the lesson, Zaharias would say to the 9-year-old boy, “Come on Jackie, I’m going to beat your little butt.” And off they’d go to play nine holes.
It was an early introduction to the women’s game that carried on deep into his personal life when Burke married Robin, who he’s quick to note is a nine-time city champion in Houston. She was also runner-up at the 1997 U.S. Women’s Amateur and a past Curtis Cup player (1998) and captain (2016).
Jack, a 16-time winner on the PGA Tour, captained Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Billy Casper to victory at Muirfield in the 1973 Ryder Cup and told his wife to follow the familiar Frank Sinatra tune and lead by doing it her way – not that he’s ever short on opinion.
Robin first met Jack for a putting lesson while she was in college at the University of Texas. The ’56 Masters and PGA champ beat her in a putting contest that day by rolling the ball with his foot.
The lessons have continued throughout their marriage, with Jack convincing Robin to quit holding the club like a rattlesnake.
“I was tense for a lot of years,” she explained.
Robin and Jack Burke in 2016. (Golfweek/Tracy Wilcox/
There are roughly 800 members at Champions, including social memberships. Many like to go into Jack’s wood-paneled office, which basically doubles as a museum, to look at pictures and listen to stories. Three Champions members have walked on the moon.
“We made a golf club for Alan Shepard,” Jack said proudly as he gave a virtual tour, “and he took it on the moon and hit a shot with it.”
Half the membership at Champions are single-digit handicaps. They encourage play of all levels, Robin said, but if you’re a member at Champions, it’s about getting better.
Prospective members are interviewed by Jack, even Stacy Lewis, who noted his emphasis on knowing the game’s rules.
“Everybody knows if you want to play with the best players (in Houston),” said Lewis, “that’s where you go.”
The 36-hole facility will offer a unique test to the 156 players who compete in next month’s Women’s Open. At Cypress, enormous greens are the course’s defense. Lag putting will be crucial. The Jackrabbit Course, by contrast, features smaller greens, tighter fairways and more doglegs.
Lewis said it wouldn’t be surprising for a player to hit 17 greens at Cypress and still shoot over par.
“A lot of tournaments I’ve played there where I thought it hit pretty close,” said PGA champ Hal Sutton, a Champions member, “and I get up there and I’m 15 to 20 feet.”
Cypress has undergone a facelift of sorts, with upgraded bunkering and more elevated greens. Robin believes it now plays even more difficult.
During U.S. Women’s Open week, Burke will be easy to find. Most likely he’ll be near the putting green and range. His passion for the game, Robin says, remains unlike anything she’s ever seen. Come to work and make every day exciting, Jack preaches. Don’t look tired or worn down.
There’s a tournament within a tournament at the Symetra Tour Championship that could ultimately mean more than the LPGA card itself.
There’s a tournament within a tournament at this week’s season-ending Symetra Tour Championship that could ultimately mean more than the LPGA card itself.
The top five on the Symetra Tour money list at the conclusion of this week’s event earn LPGA status for 2021. It’s worth noting, however, that this group’s status will be significantly lower on the priority list than previous years, dropping from Category 9 to 19. (Category 19 is typically reserved for the Class A/Veteran International players who have been active on the tour for at least 10 consecutive years. Category 19 sits below Nos. 125-150 on the money list.)
It’s basically like an LPGA card lite.
The other carrot dangling on the horizon?
A start in the 75th U.S. Women’s Open next month. The top five on the money list also earn a spot at Champions Golf Club Dec. 10-13 in Houston. And on a tour where only 38 players have crossed the $10,000 mark in earnings – for the year – the USWO’s $5,500,000 purse is a mega-opportunity.
“Today was big for me,” said rookie Sierra Brooks of a 3-under 69 that vaulted her into a tie for third. “I knew coming into this week that there was maybe an outside chance of me winning to sneak into the top five there.
“I needed a day like today to have a good run at it for the last two days.”
This week’s Symetra Tour Championship at River Run Country Club in Davidson, North Carolina, offers a first-place check of $26,250. At the start of the tournament, 34 players had a chance to finish in the top five. Money leader Fatima Fernandez Cano hopes to hang on to one of those spots from her hotel room in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she’s currently quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 for a second time this season
Charlotte native Laura Wearn sits tied with Sweden’s Frida Kinhult at the midway point at 5-under 139. Wearn came into the week 10th on the money list and must finish solo seventh or better to have a chance. She’s sleeping in her own bed this week, 45 minutes from the course, and trying her best not to think about what’s at stake.
“I’ve just done a good job of staying in the moment,” she said of her second-round 67.
A strong finish at Champions Golf Club could go a long way toward eliminating the financial strain of a Symetra season that included only 10 starts. The original purse for the Symetra Tour finale was slated to be $250,000 but has since dropped to $175,000. A tour official said purses this year were fluid up until the start of the event, “as economics allowed.”
“At the end of the day, what the purse is is completely out of my control,” said Wearn. “If it’s $175,000 and that means we get another tournament in, that’s fantastic.”
It’s worth noting too that the purse for the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship will also be down from last year’s $5 million payout to $3 million.
No tour was spared.
Kinhult has competed in one ANA Inspiration and two Women’s British Opens but hopes to make her first start in the U.S. Women’s Open next month alongside several of her former Swedish national teammates.
“I know the only thing I can do to try to make that happen is to get the win,” she said.
There’s actually a third carrot on the line for Kinhult: If she wins an event, her family promised she’d get a TrackMan.
To get that done, Kinhult will need to keep working on an area that 2020 has forced her to address.
“I like to have control over everything,” she said, “which has really been tested this year.”
Stacy Lewis highlights a group of 10 players added to the field for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, the USGA announced.
Houston resident and two-time major winner Stacy Lewis highlights a group of 10 players added to the field for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, the USGA announced. The contest’s 75th edition is set for Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston. With qualifying rounds canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire 156-player field is made of up exempt players.
The 10 spots were filled using the 2020 LPGA money list (top 10 players, not otherwise exempt). Those players are: No. 7 Jasmine Suwannapura, No. 10 Stacy Lewis, No. 25 Jodi Ewart Shadoff, No. 33 Cydney Clanton, No. 37 Andrea Lee, No. 40 Mina Harigae, No. 42 Kelly Tan, No. 46 Perrine Delacour, No. 48 Xiyu Lin and No. 54 Lindsey Weaver.
WOO-HOO! I’M IN! So proud to share the news that I have officially EARNED an exemption into the field for the 75th @uswomensopen ! My first US Open since 2015! @tkreiter12 & I are so thankful to everyone who’s helped get us to here & we’re ready to take on another major!! 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/3cz0zhsEA1
Lewis, 35, won the Ladies Scottish Open in a playoff earlier this year for her 13th career LPGA title and first since giving birth to daughter Chesnee. This marks her 14th U.S. Women’s Open appearance. She tied for third as a newly-minted pro in 2008 and finished runner-up to Michelle Wie in 2014.
Lee, a rookie on the LPGA, will make her fourth USWO appearance and first as a pro. The 2019 Mark H. McCormack Medal winner made the cut as an amateur at the 2019 Women’s Open at Charleston Country Club. The 22-year-old Stanford standout has two top-10 finishes in 2020’s abbreviated LPGA season.
Delacour will make her USWO debut this December. The Frenchwoman has posted three top 10s in 2020, including a third place at the 2020 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
Weaver has made headlines since July for playing most of the season without a caddie. She was on the leaderboard well into the weekend at the AIG Women’s British Open, using a push cart in trying conditions at Royal Troon. The Dallas resident ultimately tied for 19th. This will be Weaver’s third USWO appearance, with her first coming in 2015 as an amateur.
Lindsey Weaver hits her approach shot on the 4th hole during the final round of the Marathon LPGA Classic at Highlands Meadows Golf Club. (Photo: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports)
In Houston, Weaver will have two tracks to learn in short order with both the Cypress Creek Course and Jackrabbit Course being used for the championship due to reduced daylight.
Last month, the USGA announced that the Women’s Open would not have fans on site due to the ongoing pandemic.
