1997 U.S. Women's Open Winners and Scores
Alison Nicholas held off fan favorite Nancy Lopez to win this, the 52nd playing of the U.S. Women's Open. The 1997 tournament was Lopez's last charge at a trophy she never won.
Winner: Alison Nicholas, 274
Where it was played: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (Witch Hollow Course) in North Plains, Oregon
Tournament dates: July 10-13, 1997
Leader after first round: Liselotte Neumann, 67
Leader after second round: Alison Nicholas, 136
Leader after third round: Alison Nicholas, 203
What Happened in the 1997 U.S. Women's Open
Nancy Lopez had been the biggest name in women's golf since 1978, the biggest of the LPGA Tour stars. But she had never won the U.S. Women's Open. In the 1997 tournament, Lopez made what turned out to be her final charge at claiming that title. In the end, though, she came up one stroke short of winner Alison Nicholas.Nicholas had 12 wins on the Ladies European Tour and two on the LPGA Tour prior to this tournament. She moved into the lead with a 66 in the second round. With a 67 in Round 3, Nicholas' 203 total was a then-tournament record for 54 holes, and she held a three-stroke lead over Lopez.
Playing together in the final pairing, Lopez pursued Nicholas throughout the final round. Lopez, 40 years old, was the clear favorite of the crowd, with fans loudly encouraging her. On the 72nd tee, Nicholas led Lopez by one.
It came down to the final green, where Lopez missed a 15-foot birdie putt. After that, Nicholas sank a three-foot par putt for the victory.
Nicholas' 274 total was 10-under par, making her the first golfer in USWO history to finish at double digits under par. At the time, Lopez's 275 was the lowest score ever posted by a non-winner, a record that wasn't beaten until 2015. Lopez also finished second despite becoming the first golfer in U.S. Women's Open history to play all four rounds in the 60s.
It was the last of four times Lopez was runner-up in the U.S. Women's Open, which had first happened when she was an amateur in 1975. But it proved to be her final Top 10 finish in any major.
Two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam did not fare well in her attempt to become the first person to win this trophy three consecutive years. Sorenstam scored 77-73 and missed the cut by three strokes.
1997 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Alison Nicholas | 70-66-67-71—274 |
| Nancy Lopez | 69-68-69-69—275 |
| Kelly Robbins | 68-69-74-66—277 |
| Karrie Webb | 73-72-65-68—278 |
| Stefania Croce | 72-69-71-67—279 |
| Lisa Hall | 71-70-67-71—279 |
| Tammie Green | 74-70-71-65—280 |
| Michele Redman | 74-67-70-69—280 |
| Patty Sheehan | 72-71-71-68—282 |
| Christa Johnson | 72-68-73-69—282 |
| Dawn Coe-Jones | 72-67-73-70—282 |
| Donna Andrews | 74-71-66-71—282 |
| Akiko Fukushima | 71-71-69-71—282 |
| Brandie Burton | 73-72-69-70—284 |
| Dottie Pepper | 72-70-72-70—284 |
| Juli Inkster | 72-66-76-70—284 |
| Liselotte Neumann | 67-70-76-71—284 |
| Deb Richard | 68-70-73-73—284 |
| Trish Johnson | 69-74-71-71—285 |
| Kim Williams | 71-71-67-76—285 |
| Kelli Kuehne | 72-73-74-67—286 |
| Karen Weiss | 74-72-72-68—286 |
| Se Ri Pak | 68-74-75-69—286 |
| Pat Hurst | 72-74-70-70—286 |
| Luciana Bemvenuti | 73-71-72-70—286 |
| Caroline McMillan | 71-71-73-71—286 |
| Catriona Matthew | 76-69-70-72—287 |
| Sherrin Smyers | 71-71-75-71—288 |
| Pat Bradley | 72-71-73-72—288 |
| Kathryn Imrie | 72-71-73-72—288 |
| Betsy King | 74-72-69-73—288 |
| Joan Pitcock | 71-69-75-73—288 |
| Dale Eggeling | 71-74-76-70—291 |
| Elizabeth Makings | 72-73-75-71—291 |
| Vicki Fergon | 72-75-71-73—291 |
| Marianne Morris | 75-69-74-73—291 |
| Rosie Jones | 70-74-73-74—291 |
| Pearl Sinn-Bonanni | 70-73-74-74—291 |
| Michelle McGann | 73-70-73-75—291 |
| Catrin Nilsmark | 76-70-69-76—291 |
| Alicia Dibos | 70-75-74-73—292 |
| Jill McGill | 71-74-72-75—292 |
| Nanci Bowen | 74-73-75-71—293 |
| Missie McGeorge | 77-70-73-73—293 |
| Meg Mallon | 74-72-73-74—293 |
| Jenny Lidback | 73-71-75-74—293 |
| Erika Wicoff | 72-73-73-75—293 |
| Jan Stephenson | 71-73-79-71—294 |
| Helen Alfredsson | 76-70-75-73—294 |
| Lorie Kane | 69-75-76-74—294 |
| Becky Iverson | 72-73-78-72—295 |
| Barb Mucha | 72-74-73-76—295 |
| Emilee Klein | 75-71-75-75—296 |
| Jackie Gallagher-Smith | 74-73-73-76—296 |
| Muffin Spencer-Devlin | 69-72-75-80—296 |
| Tracy Hanson | 75-72-78-72—297 |
| a-Jenny Chuasiriporn | 70-74-78-75—297 |
| Susie Redman | 68-75-78-76—297 |
| Dana Dormann | 73-74-78-73—298 |
| Nancy Harvey | 75-72-76-75—298 |
| Mitzi Edge | 72-73-81-73—299 |
| Robin Walton | 74-72-76-77—299 |
| a-Brenda Corrie Kuehn | 71-74-79-78—302 |
| a-Page Halpin | 75-72-79-77—303 |
Previous and next:
1996 U.S. Women's Open - 1998 U.S. Women's Open
Sources:
LPGA.com. U.S. Women's Open, Past Winners, https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/us-womens-open/results?filters=1997
Pennington, Bill. "Lopez fails to get Shorty," New York Times via Spokane Spokesman-Review, July 14, 1997, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=95xjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dvEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4990%2C3491221
Shipnuck, Alan. "Open and Shut," Sports Illustrated, July 21, 1997, https://web.archive.org/web/20161106155336/https://www.si.com/vault/1997/07/21/229649/open-and-shut-playing-like-her-old-self-nancy-lopez-had-a-chance-to-win-the-elusive-us-womens-open-title-but-then-little-alison-nicholas-slammed-the-door
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
