1995 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Scores

The U.S. Women's Open was played for the 50th time in 1995, and it was won for the first time by Annika Sorenstam. But Sorenstam, who had never before won on the LPGA Tour, had to come from five strokes back in the final round to get the win.

Winner: Annika Sorenstam, 278

Where it was played: The Broadmoor (East Course) in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Tournament dates: July 13-16, 1995

Leader after first round: Jill Briles-Hinton, 66

Leaders after second round: Jill Briles-Hinton, Jean Bartholomew, Pat Bradley, Dawn Coe-Jones, Dale Eggeling, Tammie Green, Leta Lindley and Annika Sorenstam, 138

Leader after third round: Meg Mallon, 205

What Happened in the 1995 U.S. Women's Open

Annika Sorenstam was the LPGA Tour's Rookie of the Year in 1994, but she earned that honor without posting any LPGA victories. The 1995 U.S. Women's Open was her coming-out party — her very first LPGA Tour win, the first of her eventual 72 LPGA wins, the first of her three USWO victories, and the first of her career 10 major championship titles.

Sorenstam went on to win two more times in 1995, finishing the year as the LPGA's leader in scoring average and earnings. And she won the first of her eight career LPGA Player of the Year awards.

Sorenstam opened the 1995 U.S. Women's Open with a round of 67. Following a second-round 71, she was one of eight golfers tied for the lead at 138. In the third round, Meg Mallon, the 1991 U.S. Women's Open winner, scored 66 to take the lead. Sorenstam, with a 72, fell to fourth, five strokes behind Mallon.

But Mallon made a triple bogey on No. 4 in the final round, opening the door for others. Sorenstam capitalized with a 68 that included birdies on holes 9, 10 and 11. Chasing her first win, Sorenstam was a little shaky down the stretch with bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16. But she held on to beat runner-up Mallon by one stroke.

Sorenstam's win after starting the day five strokes behind tied the tournament record for final-round comeback by a winner. Mallon did go on to win another USWO, however, in 2004.

Two former champs, Betsy King and Pat Bradley, tied for third place. For King, this was her final Top 10 finish in a U.S. Women's Open.

Sandra Palmer, the 1975 USWO champ, missed the cut in her final appearance. Future winner Cristie Kerr missed the cut in her first appearance. Another future major winner making her USWO debut was Grace Park, who tied for 63rd.

1995 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores

Annika Sorenstam67-71-72-68—278
Meg Mallon70-69-66-74—279
Betsy King72-69-72-67—280
Pat Bradley67-71-72-70—280
Leta Lindley70-68-74-69—281
Rosie Jones69-70-70-72—281
Tammie Green68-70-75-69—282
Dawn Coe-Jones68-70-74-70—282
Julie Piers68-71-68-75—282
Marianne Morris73-73-70-67—283
Patty Sheehan70-73-71-69—283
Val Skinner68-72-72-71—283
Dottie Pepper73-70-69-72—284
Kris Tschetter68-74-69-73—284
Kelly Robbins74-68-68-74—284
Christa Johnson71-70-74-70—285
Jill Briles-Hinton66-72-74-73—285
Tania Abitbol67-72-72-74—285
Dale Eggeling70-68-73-74—285
Michele Redman70-75-71-70—286
Liselotte Neumann70-71-75-71—287
Ayako Okamoto70-73-71-73—287
Alice Ritzman75-69-69-74—287
Carolyn Hill74-73-70-71—288
Joan Pitcock72-73-72-71—288
Laura Davies72-73-69-74—288
Mary Beth Zimmerman72-72-68-76—288
Amy Fruhwirth75-72-72-70—289
Brandie Burton72-74-73-70—289
Nancy Lopez72-73-74-70—289
Mayumi Hirase70-74-73-72—289
Colleen Walker69-73-75-72—289
Pamela Wright72-73-71-73—289
Debbi Koyama74-68-73-74—289
Jean Bartholomew67-71-77-74—289
Gail Graham71-72-71-75—289
Suzanne Strudwick75-70-73-72—290
Juli Inkster72-73-72-73—290
Hollis Stacy69-72-75-74—290
Helen Alfredsson69-75-78-69—291
Judy Dickinson75-70-74-72—291
Michelle McGann73-72-74-72—291
Alicia Dibos73-72-73-73—291
Carin Hjalmarsson70-71-77-73—291
Jane Geddes71-75-68-77—291
Katie Haley73-71-73-75—292
Laurel Kean69-75-76-73—293
Missie McGeorge75-71-73-74—293
Pat Hurst69-71-78-75—293
Alison Nicholas72-71-72-78—293
Sherri Turner74-73-75-72—294
Jan Stephenson73-75-73-73—294
a-Sarah LeBrun71-70-79-74—294
Kathryn Imrie76-71-73-75—295
Erika Hayashida70-72-78-75—295
Vicki Goetze-Ackerman77-69-73-76—295
Kristi Albers75-73-73-75—296
a-Wendy Ward72-73-76-75—296
Laurie Rinker70-75-76-75—296
Martha Nause72-74-74-76—296
a-Kellee Booth74-73-72-77—296
Karen Noble70-75-73-78—296
a-Grace Park69-78-78-72—297
Amy Alcott72-74-77-74—297
Elaine Crosby74-73-75-75—297
Amy Benz71-75-76-75—297
Maggie Will72-74-75-76—297
Lenore Rittenhouse72-75-72-78—297
Michelle Estill74-71-73-79—297
Shelly Rule75-73-77-73—298
Stephanie Brecht74-73-74-77—298
Caroline Keggi71-76-73-78—298
Barb Mucha73-74-75-77—299
Anna Acker-Macosko73-70-79-77—299
Margaret Platt-Klaus73-75-78-77—303
Alison Munt71-76-80-79—306

Previous and next:
1994 U.S. Women's Open - 1996 U.S. Women's Open

Sources:
Associated Press. "Sorenstam survives the Open," Spokane Spokesman-Review, July 17, 1995, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kmJWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vPEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1575%2C4840404
Garrity, John. "A major breakthrough: Little-known Swede Annika Sorenstam made the Women's Open her first pro victory in the U.S.," Sports Illustrated, https://web.archive.org/web/20160914060220/https://www.si.com/vault/1995/07/24/204946/a-major-breakthrough-little-known-swede-annika-sorenstam-made-the-womens-open-her-first-pro-victory-in-the-us
LPGA.com. U.S. Women's Open, Past Winners, https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/us-womens-open/results?filters=1995
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Records, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/u-s--women-s-open-records.html

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