What to know for this week’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Fox Chapel Golf Club

Some of the most accomplished women’s golfers in the world will be in town this week to compete in the sixth U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship at Fox Chapel Golf Club.

A field of 120 golfers ages 50 and older will tee off in the opening rounds Thursday and Friday before the field is cut to the low 50 scorers and ties for the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday.

Here’s a look at some key information ahead of the USGA event:

The course

Designed by Seth Raynor, Fox Chapel Golf Club opened in 1923. It was renovated in 2001 and again in 2020 to include several original bunkers and greens.

It will play around 5,964 yards with a par of 71 (36-35).

The longest hole will be No. 18, which will play as a 534-yard par 5.

The shortest hole is the par-3 11th at 138 yards.

The course rating is 76.4, and the slope rating is 136.

• Fox Chapel Golf Club is hosting its fourth USGA championship, adding to the 1965 U.S. Senior Amateur, 1985 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2002 Curtis Cup.

Sewickley native Carol Semple Thompson, 75, a seven-time USGA champion in the field this week, clinched the Curtis Cup match by holing a 27-foot putt on the 18th green.

• Other championship events at Fox Chapel Golf Club include the 2012, ’13 and ’14 Senior Players Championship, the Pennsylvania State Women’s Amateur (1960, ’69, ’94), Pennsylvania State Amateur (1934, ’38, ’49, ’63, ’71, ’92, 2004) and Pennsylvania State Open (1947, ’80).

TribLive

The view from the No. 3 tee at Fox Chapel Golf Club.

The schedule

• Play is scheduled to begin at 7:15 a.m. from the ninth tee and 7:30 a.m. from the first tee for the first two rounds. The last groups are scheduled to begin play at 1:54 p.m. from the ninth tee and 2:09 p.m. from the first tee.

• For Saturday and Sunday, the first tee time will be between 7-8 a.m., with the last pairing teeing off between 2:30-3 p.m.

The contenders

• Trish Johnson: The 57-year-old from England is the defending U.S. Senior Women’s Open champion after finishing at 4-under-par 284. She also tied for second in 2019 and finished third in ’18. Johnson won the 2017 and 2021 Senior LPGA championship.

AP

Trish Johnson of England hits off the first tee during the final round of the U.S Senior Women’s Open golf tournament at the Chicago Golf Club, Sunday, July 15, 2018, in Wheaton, Ill.

• Leta Lindley: Last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open runner-up, Lindley, 52, won on the Legends of the LPGA Tour last year. The Florida native finished fifth at the U.S. Women’s Open in 1995.

AP

Leta Lindley plays the first round of the LPGA Tour Championship golf tournament in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010.

• Annika Sorenstam: One of the best women’s golfers in history, Sorenstam, 53, won the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open title and tied for fourth last year. She won 72 LPGA tournaments, including 10 majors, and has 97 professional victories. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

AP

Annika Sorenstam watches her tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions LPGA golf tournament in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024.

• Juli Inkster: A seven-time major champion, Inkster was the 1999 and 2002 U.S. Women’s Open champion and a runner-up in the 1992 U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

AP

U.S. captain Juli Inkster on the first tee during the start of the Solheim cup at Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Scotland, Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.

• Donna Andrews: The six-time LPGA Tour winner competed at the 1985 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Fox Chapel. She also finished third in the 1992 U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont.

AP

LPGA golfer Donna Andrews chips onto the 11th green on Sept. 5, 2003, at the Tulsa Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

• Jill McGill: The 2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Open champion also has the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1994 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links titles on her resume.

AP

Jill McGill watches her shot onto the 13th green during a practice round for the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament at the Pebble Beach Golf Links, Wednesday, July 5, 2023, in Pebble Beach, Calif.

• Kaori Yamamoto: The 50-year-old Japanese golfer shot 68 to win the Fort Worth, Texas, qualifier by six strokes.

• Cecilie Lundgreen: The Norway native won the qualifier in Richmond, Va., after shooting a 71. Lundgreen, 51, was a regular on the European Tour and Swedish Tour.

• Tonya Gill Danckaert: She shot 69 to win the qualifier in her home state of Georgia.

Tickets

Fans can purchase tickets in the Pittsburgh Pavilion or the gallery at USGA.org.

Gallery tickets are available for $16 each.

Pittsburgh Pavilion tickets are $35 and include access to an open-air sports bar-style facility with seating, championship coverage and executive restrooms.

Complimentary fan parking will be located at Fox Chapel High School. A complimentary shuttle will be available from the parking lot to the championship entrance. Shuttle services run from 7:15 a.m. until approximately one hour after play concludes.

Paul Schofield | TribLive

The U.S. Senior Women’s Open trophy on display at Fox Chapel Golf Club

How to watch

Peacock will stream the final two rounds from 2-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The broadcast will re-air on tape delay on Golf Channel from 8-11 p.m. each night.

Did you know?

• The U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship was established in 2015. Laura Davies won the first championship in 2018 with a 10-stroke victory over Inkster. Helen Alfredsson, Jill McGill, Sorenstam and Johnson also have won the event, which was canceled in 2020 because of covid.

• There were 404 entries for this year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Qualifying rounds were held at 16 sites across the country between June 4-July 11.

• If there is a tie for the lead after 72 holes, a two-hole aggregate playoff will be held immediately following the fourth round.