The 1953 U.S. Women's Open was the eighth U.S. Women's Open, held June 25–28 at the

Country Club of Rochester The Country Club of Rochester (CCR) is a championship golf course in the towns of Brighton and Pittsford, in suburban Rochester, New York. History On January 1, 1885, members of the Genesee Valley Club founded the golf club, on a farm four mi ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

. It was the first U.S. Women's Open conducted by the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rule ...

(USGA), and the final two rounds were played on Saturday.

Betsy Rawls Elizabeth Earle "Betsy" Rawls (born May 4, 1928) is an American former LPGA Tour professional golfer. She won eight major championship and 55 LPGA Tour career events. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Early life and education Ra ...

won an 18-hole playoff on Sunday by six strokes over runner-up

Jackie Pung Jacqueline Nolte Liwai Pung (December 13, 1921 – March 15, 2017) was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. Pung was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother was Jacqueline Nolte. Her father was Jack Liwai, who was originall ...

, 71 to 77. It was the third of eight major championships for Rawls and the second of four U.S. Women's Opens.

Patty Berg Patricia Jane Berg (February 13, 1918 – September 10, 2006) was an American professional golfer. She was a founding member and the first president of the LPGA. Her 15 major title wins remains the all-time record for most major wins by a femal ...

set a course record with a 71 on Thursday and was the 36-hole leader on Friday evening, eight strokes ahead of the field. Her final two rounds of 80 and 79 on Saturday dropped her to solo third, one stroke out of the playoff. Notably absent was two-time champion

Babe Zaharias Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field. She won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summe ...

, who was recovering from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

surgery. She returned in 1954 and won by a record twelve strokes in her final U.S. Women's Open.

Final leaderboard

''Saturday, June 27, 1953'' Source:

Playoff

''Sunday, June 28, 1953'' Source:

References

External links

USGA final leaderboardU.S. Women's Open Golf Championship
– past champions – 1953
Country Club of Rochester
{{coord, 43.123, -77.537, type:event, display=title U.S. Women's Open Golf tournaments in New York (state) Women's sports in New York (state) Sports competitions in Rochester, New York U.S. Women's Open U.S. Women's Open U.S. Women's Open U.S. Women's Open