The 1997 U.S. Women's Open was the 52nd

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 July 10–13 at the Witch Hollow course of

Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club is a championship golf club in the northwest United States, located in North Plains, Oregon, northwest of Portland. The award-winning 36-hole club opened in 1992 and has hosted several major golf tournaments, including t ...

near North Plains,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, northwest of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Alison Nicholas Alison Nicholas, (born 6 March 1962) is an English professional golfer. Amateur career Nicholas was born in Gibraltar. She was educated at the School of St Mary and St Anne (now Abbots Bromley School for Girls). She enjoyed a very successful ...

entered the final round with a three stroke lead and shot an even-par 71 to win her only

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

title, one stroke ahead of runner-up

Nancy Lopez Nancy Marie Lopez (born January 6, 1957) is an American former professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three major championships. Amateur career Lopez won the New Mexico Women's ...

. In the final pairing, Lopez slid a downhill birdie putt past the 72nd hole while Nicholas sank a three-footer (0.9 m) for par to win at 274 (−10). Lopez, age 40 and in search of the title that eluded her, was the first-ever player to shoot four rounds in the 60s in the U.S. Women's Open. Two-time defending champion

Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer. She is regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 90 inter ...

's attempt for an unprecedented third straight title came up short. Five-over-par after her first nine holes on Thursday, she carded 77-73 for 150 (+8) and missed the 36-hole cut by three strokes, fourteen strokes behind the lead. Through

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, no one has won three consecutive U.S. Women's Opens. The final round attendance on Sunday was a record 31,700 and the seven-day total was 123,850. This was the first U.S. Women's Open at Pumpkin Ridge; the championship returned just six years later in

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. It previously hosted the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

in 1996, the third straight victory by 20-year-old

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

in his final competition as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

Round summaries

First round

''Thursday, July 10, 1997'' Source:

Second round

''Friday, July 11, 1997'' Source:

Third round

''Saturday, July 12, 1997'' Source:

Final round

''Sunday, July 13, 1997'' Source:

References

External links

U.S. Women's Open
- past champions - 1997 Golf Observer final leaderboardU.S. Women's Open Golf Championship
-> {{coord, 45.614, -123.002, type:event, display=title U.S. Women's Open Golf tournaments in Oregon Women's sports in Oregon