| 2018 U.S. Senior Women's Open | |
| Dates: | July 12–15, 2018 |
| Location: | Wheaton, Illinois, U.S. |
| Course: | Chicago Golf Club |
| Org: | USGA |
| Par: | 73 |
| Yardage: | Round 1: Round 2: Round 3: Round 4: |
| Field: | 120 players, 55 after cut |
| Cut: | 158 (+12) |
| Purse: | $1.0 million |
| Winners Share: | $180,000 |
| Champion: | Laura Davies |
| Score: | 276 (−16) |
| Next: | 2019 |
| Map: | USA#USA Illinois |
| Map Relief: | yes |
| Map Label: | Chicago GC |
| Coordinates: | 41.849°N -88.116°W |
The 2018 U.S. Senior Women's Open was the inaugural U.S. Senior Women's Open. It was a professional golf tournament organized by the United States Golf Association, open to women over 50 years of age. The championship was played at the Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, Illinois, from July 12 to 15 and was won by Laura Davies, England.[1] [2]
See main article: Chicago Golf Club. The 2018 U.S. Senior Women's Open was the 12th USGA Championship contested at Chicago Golf Club. The last previous championship contested here was the 2005 Walker Cup, when the U.S. team defeated Great Britain and Ireland by a single point. The club was one of the five founding members of the USGA. It was built in 1892, making it the oldest 18-hole course in the western hemisphere.
Preliminary length is shown. The final length came to differ between each round.
| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valley | 374 | 4 | 10 | Short | 136 | 3 | ||
| 2 | Road | 445 | 5 | 11 | Dogleg | 354 | 4 | ||
| 3 | Biarittz | 167 | 3 | 12 | Punchbowl | 464 | 5 | ||
| 4 | Long | 478 | 5 | 13 | Eden | 148 | 3 | ||
| 5 | Leven | 325 | 4 | 14 | Cape | 347 | 4 | ||
| 6 | Pope's Nose | 320 | 4 | 15 | Ginger Beer | 321 | 4 | ||
| 7 | Redan | 153 | 3 | 16 | Raynor's Prize | 517 | 5 | ||
| 8 | Narrows | 346 | 4 | 17 | Double Plateau | 373 | 4 | ||
| 9 | Pond | 389 | 4 | 18 | Home | 425 | 5 | ||
| Out | 2,997 | 36 | In | 3,085 | 37 | ||||
| Total | 6,082 | 73 | |||||||
The walking-only tournament was played over 72 holes of stroke play, with the top 50 and ties making the 36-hole cut.
The championship was open to any professional or amateur golfer who was age 50 years or over as of July 12 and had a handicap index not exceeding 7.4. The final field of 120 players included 57 players exempt through one of the exemption categories listed below, while 63 players earned their spots in the field via sectional qualifying at sites nationwide in the spring of 2018.
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]
1. Winners of the U.S. Women's Open (ten year exemption).
2. From the 2018 U.S. Women's Open, any player returning a 72-hole score.
3. Winners of the U.S. Women's Amateur who later turned professional (three year exemption).
4. Winners of the U.S. Women's Amateur who did not turn professional (five year exemption) and the 2017 runner-up.
5. Winners of the other LPGA majors (ten year exemption). This includes Canadian Women's Open champions prior to 2000.
6. The top 150 money leaders from the 2017 LPGA Tour all-time money list.
7. Winners of the LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals Championship (last five years) and the top five finishers from the most recent Championship.
8. Winners of official LPGA Tour events from the last five years and the current year.
9. Top five leaders of the 2017 Ladies European Tour and 2017 LPGA of Japan Tour career money lists.
10. Playing members of the last five Solheim Cup teams.
11. Low ten and ties from the 2017 Senior LPGA Championship.
12. Top 30 points leaders from the 2016 and 2017 Legends Tour Performance Points list.
13. Winners of Legends Tour events from the last two years and the current year (36-hole minimum).
14. Winners of U.S. Senior Women's Amateur from the last two years and the 2017 runner-up.
15. Winners of the 2016 and 2017 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur.
16. Playing members of the two most current Curtis Cup and U.S. Espirito Santo Trophy teams.
17. Winner of the 2017 Ladies' Senior British Open Amateur and Canadian Women's Senior Amateur.
18. Special exemptions granted by the USGA.
Additional players qualified through sectional qualifying tournaments which took place Jun 4–20 at sites across the United States.[4]
| Date | Location | Venue | Qualifiers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4 | Alta Mesa Golf Club | Lori Atsedes, Anne Marie Palli, Yuko Saito, Liz Waynick (a) | ||
| Jun 4 | Newport Beach Country Club | Akemi Nakata Khaiat (a), Kathy Kurata (a), Cindy McConnell (a), Evelyn Orley (a), MK Thanos-Zordani (a) | ||
| Jun 5 | Margaret Leef (a), Brenda Pictor (a) | |||
| Jun 6 | Sally Austin, Suzy Green-Roebuck, Luanne Cherney | |||
| Jun 6 | Springfield Golf & Country Club | Joy Bonhurst, Sofia Grönberg-Whitmore, Amy Ellertson (a) | ||
| Jun 12 | Olympic Club (Ocean Course) | Tina Barker (a), Dana Dormann, Kathryn Imrie, Suzy Whaley, Julie Wirth (a) | ||
| Jun 12 | Commonground Golf Course | Sherry Andonian-Smith, Patricia Beliard, Marilyn Hardy (a), Janet Moore (a) | ||
| Jun 12 | Bent Creek Golf Club | Leigh Klasse (a), Susan West (a) | ||
| Jun 12 | Whippoorwill Club | Angela Aulenti, Dana Bates, CJ Reeves, Maggie Will | ||
| Jun 14 | Helene Chartrand (a), Catherine Panton-Lewis, Laura Shanahan Rowe | |||
| Jun 14 | Fairwood Golf & Country Club | Patricia Ehrhart (a), Debby King, Lara Tennant (a) | ||
| Jun 18 | LPGA International (Jones Course) | Barb Bunkowsky, Laura Carson (a), Laurel Kean, Therese Quinn (a), Nancy Taylor | ||
| Jun 18 | Elaine Crosby, Annette Deluca, Jamie Fischer, Eriko Gejo, Maureen Sheehan (a), Kaori Shimura | |||
| Jun 18 | Missie Berteotti, Marlene Davis, Cheryl Fox, Martha Leach (a) | |||
| Jun 18 | Northampton Country Club | Debby Murphy, Janie Sirmons, Marie-Therese Torti (a), Holly Vaughn | ||
| Jun 18 | Laurie Brower, Lisa DePaulo, Susie Kirk, Kelley Nittoli (a), Loretta Young | |||
| Jun 20 | Richland Country Club | Sue Ginter, Suzanne Strudwick |
The championship was won by 54-year-old Laura Davies, England, with a 16 under par score of 276, 10 strokes ahead of runner-up Juli Inkster, United States.
Marta Leach, United States, finished law amateur tied 10th with a 6 over par score of 298.
Davies won both of the two senior ladies major championships in 2018, the U.S. Senior Women's Open and, three months later, the Senior LPGA Championship, completing the "senior slam".
Sunday, July 15, 2018
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71-71-66-68=276 | −16 | 180,000 | |
| 2 | 73-72-68-73=286 | −6 | 108,000 | |
| 3 | 71-71-73-73=288 | −4 | 68,650 | |
| 4 | 75-71-71-74=291 | −1 | 48,110 | |
| 5 | 76-71-73-74=294 | +2 | 40,071 | |
| T6 | 72-79-73-71=295 | +3 | 33,782 | |
| 71-76-76-72=295 | ||||
| T8 | 76-75-79-67=297 | +5 | 26,192 | |
| 77-73-71-76=297 | ||||
| T10 | 75-75-74-74=298 | +6 | 22,806 | |
 Martha Leach (a) | 78-75-72-73=298 |