News

2007 U.S. Women’s Open Preview

Story lines abound as the LPGA prepares for their third major of the year, the U. S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Golf Club in North Carolina. Will Ochoa win her first major? Can Annika bounce back from injury to defend her title? Can Wie make the cut?

Published

19 years ago

Jun 27, 2007

D Grannan

The 2007 U.S. Women’s Open Championship returns to Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, June 28-July 1, this the third time in 11 years. Pine Needles has been recently renovated and now packs 300 more yards for this year’s competitors, tipping out at 6,664 yards and par 71.

There are a myriad of intriguing stories at this year’s Women’s U.S. Open including a 12 year old qualifier, a wrist injury, an emerging superstar, a defending champion looking to return to form, and the new number one coming to Pine Needles fresh off of her first playoff victory.

The biggest story thus far has to be the 12 year old qualifier, Alexis Thompson. Thompson who hails from Coral Springs, Florida will not graduate high school until 2013, yet this week she will be competing on the grandest golf stage in the world. She became the youngest qualifier for the open ever, edging out Morgan Pressel, by 7 months and 20 days. There will definitely be a buzz around this young potential superstar this week; the only question will be whether she is ready for the test?

Morgan Pressel who was the youngest player to ever qualify for a Women’s Open, before Thompson, comes to Pine Needles looking for major number two, after winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship earlier this year. She returns to Pine Needles, six years removed from when she was the story of the week, and the young phenom. Now established as one of the favorites and emerging stars on the LPGA Tour, Pressel can reflect on what she did 6 years ago. "I remember looking down the fairway and thinking, ‘Wow, this is wild,’" Pressel said. "I was so nervous, but excited. It’s so beautiful there," Pressel said. "It’s a special place." Maybe Pine Needles is ready to let her complete the journey that she started here 6 years ago.

Michelle Wie enters this year’s Open coming off of one of her poorest performances as a professional, and amidst a firestorm of controversy, stemming from an early withdrawal at The Ginn Tribute, an early exit that some saw as an escaping of the “88 Rule”. The wrist injury also hampered her the following week at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship where she finished dead last at 21 over par. She has been working in Orlando with swing coach David Leadbetter, and assuming that her wrist is healed, should be in better form here this week at Pine Needles. She still does have her sense of humor though, when asked about what she heard about Pine Needles, Wie replied “That there are a lot of pine trees.” Let’s hope that her golf game is back on par with her sense of humor.

Annika Sorenstam goes to Pine Needles as not only a previous winner there, but as the defending champion of the U.S. Women’s Open, winning in a playoff at Newport Country Club, by seven strokes, against Pat Hurst. Sorenstam has been a little off form this year, due primarily to a bulging disk in her back and ruptured disk in her neck; injuries that have kept her sidelined since April. "Pine Needles has a special place in my heart for several reasons," Sorenstam told reporters yesterday. "I love that whole area … and I love coming back." The US Women’s Open would not be the same without her. Let’s just hope that her back and neck allow her to compete the way that she has for her entire hall of fame career.

The world’s number one player, Lorena Ochoa comes into this week’s major red hot, winning last week at the Wegmans LPGA, beating South Korean rookie In-Kyung Kim in a playoff. Ochoa was quite positive after the win saying, "This is really a good turning point winning a playoff," adding that "I like my chances for next week [at the U.S. Women’s Open]." Despite her struggles in the final round of majors in recent years, Ochoa remains the favorite this week, entering the tournament fresh off of a win and as the number one ranked player in the world. Ochoa has 3 wins this season and also 9 top ten finishes, including three second place finishes.

Television Coverage

Date                Network        Broadcast Hours
June 27            ESPN2           5:30-6 p.m. (Preview Show)
June 28            ESPN             2-6 p.m.
June 29            ESPN             2-6 p.m.
June 30            NBC               3-6 p.m.
July 1               NBC               3-6 p.m.

News

5 Things we Learned: Thursday at the U.S.. Women’s Open

Published

23 hours ago

Jun 5, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Gone are the days when the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Scenic Hills or Churchill Valley. Fine courses that they are (or were, as Churchill Valley went bankrupt a decade ago) there is something to be said for the venue. Not all Women’s Open playings need to take place on Men’s Open venues, but some should. This week in Los Angeles, the Women’s Open visits Riviera Country Club for the first time. Down the road, we will visit Inverness, Oakmont, Interlachen, Oak Hill, Chicago Golf, and Merion. That is quite the murderer’s row (1927 Yankees reference) of golf clubs.

What can we expect from the 2026 tournament? Greatness and uncertainty. Unlike the PGA Tour, which visits Riviera each February, the LPGA does not, so the women will not have nearly the body of work over the George C. Thomas layout. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe they’ll play #10 smarter than the men do. Maybe they’ll figure some things out that their male counterparts can not. For today, we’ll try to find five things to learn, and share them with you.

First, this ain’t your momma’s U.S. Open course

How do we know? Well, so far, only one previous champion currently sits inside the top thirty. That would be Minjee Lee, the 2022 winner at Southern (NC) Pines. Lee made par on her first nine holes, the inward side at Riviera. She dropped birdie putts on the first and ninth holes (ten and eighteen for her day) and tallied another seven pars, for 69. She sits three shots off Jennifer Kupcho’s opening 66. Don’t worry about Kupcho; we’ll get to her. After Lee, defending champion Maja Stark ranks T30 at even par, joined by three other, former winners.

What Minjee did, is the sort of thing that wins U.S. Open titles. She guided her ship safely past swells, and made a move when the waters calmed. The fewer the bogeys, the more likely Minjee figures in the outcome on Sunday evening in Pacific Palisades. Off the tee, Lee was unmatched. She hit 14 of 14 fairways. Her iron play was a bit loose in comparison. She putted for birdie on 12 of 18 holes, which meant that her recovery short game was on point. Lee was ten yards longer on measured driving holes than the field average, and was below the field average (a good thing) in putting.

Second, the amateurs beat a loud drum

Three of the world’s top amateur golfer posted 70, placing them four off the lead, in a tie for 14th place. Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, Spain’s Paula Francisco Llaño, and Colombia’s Maria José Marin, showed the professional world that their game is strong. Both Deng and Francisco Llaño collected five birdies on the day. Should they match that output on day two, and minimize the foozles, they’ll be the topic of conversation on Saturday morning. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and an NCAA team semifinalist last week, played a game similar to Minjee Lee: few mistakes and few taken risks.

The last amateur to post the low medal score for 72 holes was Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998. She lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak, who matched her plus-six effort at Blackwolf Run. The last amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Catherine Lacoste in 1967. The amateurs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but the professionals have not allowed them to close the gap. A victory by one of the college set would be a cannon shot heard round the world. Could it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not at all.

Third, let’s talk Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won three times on tour in 2022, including the Chevron, a major title. She won a fourth event in 2025, but has not established the winning credentials projected on her after 2022’s marvelous coming-out.

Kupcho hails from Colorado, and spent four years in the Carolina Piedmont, at Wake Forest Universtiy. Neither of those locales cries out I’ll be at home at Riviera, but here we are, after a seven-birdie performance. Kupcho posted birdie on each of her first three holes, and added four more (against two bogeys) to assume a one-shot advantage over Korea’s Sei Young Kim.

Kupcho drove the ball decently, approached moderately well, but putted lights out on Thursday. Her 26 putts were tied for best in show on day one. There might just be something about the putting surfaces at Riviera that aligns with Kupcho’s vibe. If that is the case, just get the ball on the green, anywhere, and let the flatstick do the lifting.

Fourth, how young is Sei Young?

Sei (pronounced “So”) Young Kim won a dozen times from 2015 to 2020. She took time off from winning until 2025, shen she captured a thirteenth LPGA title. Like Kupcho, Kim has hardware from one major event, the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship. How to explain the five years away from victory? No idea. When Sei Young was in contention during the prime of her career, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

What to expect over the next three days at Riviera? Anyone’s guess. It might be the 2015-2020 Sei Young, or it could be the 2021-2025 version. Kim began her day with birdies at 10 and 11, then settled into a stretch of pars before her solitary bogey at the 4th (her 13th) hole. Kim regained her composure and reeled in three birdies to close the front nine. Her four-under performance trails Kupcho alone, and there is a real chance that Sei Young will produce a second score in the 60s and take a bit of control of the tournament.

Fifth, we’re giddy for Gaby

Although I cannot place my finger on why, it seems that each year, Gaby Lopez pops up on the U.S. Open leaderboard. She hasn’t figure out how to remain in contention, but here we are, in 2026, and Lopez is once again in the mix. The three-time champion on the LPGA circuit had a stunning first nine holes, turning in minus-five. She reached six deep at her tenth hole, but then gave three shots back coming home. Which Gaby will show up on Friday, and for how long? If back-nine Gaby can somehow channel front-nine Gaby, all outcomes are within reach. If the loose play continues, Lopez’ wiki page will add one more T41 to her majors column.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

3 days ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

General Albums

WITB Albums

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

5 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

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WITB Albums