The 1996 U.S. Women's Open was the 51st

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...

, held May 30 to June 2 at

Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club The Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club is a country club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The club's golf course was designed by Donald Ross. The club hosted the U.S. Women's Open in 1996, 2001, 2007, and 2022, and staged the last Titleholders Ch ...

in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Defending champion Annika Sörenstam retained the title, six strokes ahead of runner-up

Kris Tschetter Kris Tschetter (born December 30, 1964) is an American professional golfer, who played on the LPGA Tour. Amateur career Tschetter was born in Detroit, Michigan. As an amateur, she won the 1983 American Junior Golf Association Tournament of Champ ...

. It was the second of her ten

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titles; her third came nearly five years later. ESPN and

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televised the tournament. Sörenstam was the sixth of seven to win consecutive titles at the U.S. Women's Open, most recently accomplished by

Karrie Webb Karrie Ann Webb (born 21 December 1974) is an Australian professional golfer. She plays mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, and also turns out once or twice a year on the ALPG Tour in her home country. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, also at Pine Needles. The championship returned to the venue for a third time in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, won by

Cristie Kerr Cristie Kerr (born October 12, 1977) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She has 20 wins on the LPGA Tour, including two major championships, and over $19 million in career earnings. Kerr was the number one-ranked go ...

. This was the first women's major with a winner's share of $200,000 or more; the U.S. Women's Open became the tour's richest major this year, passing the

LPGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Source:

Missed the cut

Source:

Round summaries

First round

''Thursday, May 30, 1996'' Source:

Second round

''Friday, May 31, 1996'' Source:

Third round

''Saturday, June 1, 1996'' Source:

Final round

''Sunday, June 2, 1996'' Source:

References

External links

U.S. Women's Open
- past champions - 1996 Golf Observer final leaderboardU.S. Women's Open Golf Championship
-> {{coord, 35.197, -79.392, type:event, display=title U.S. Women's Open Golf in North Carolina Sports competitions in North Carolina

Women's sports in North Carolina