5th U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship – Fact Sheet

Waverley Country Club will host the 5th U.S. Senior Women's Open championship next week and will be set up at 6,104 yards and play to a par of 36-36–72.

Like many in the field of 120, including past U.S. Senior Women’s Open champions Laura Davies, Helen Alfredsson, Annika Sorenstam and Jill McGill, Ward and Sorenstam have their names in golf’s record book. Like everyone competing at Waverley C.C., they relish this opportunity to compete at the game’s highest level.

WAVERLEY COUNTRY CLUB HOLE BY HOLE

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total

Par         4 4 4 4 5 3 4 5 3 36

Yards 330 347 362 395 463 156 366 528 124 3,071 

Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total

Par         4 3 4 5 3 4 3 5 5 36

Yardage 371 140 372 491 132 344 199 485 499 3,033

Note: Yardages subject to change.

ABOUT WAVERLEY COUNTRY CLUB

Waverley Country Club, located in Northeast Oregon along the Willamette River, is Portland’s only riverfront country club. It features just one golf course, an H. Chandler Egan design originally laid out in 1898 and restored by Gil Hanse in the early 2010s. Egan is credited with historic designs along the west coast, including Baywood, Chastain Park and Green Hills. The Blyth Tournament, one of the oldest international golf matches in the United States, has been held at Waverley since 1897, when it was played on the club’s original course in a Richmond neighborhood, several miles northeast.

WHO CAN ENTER

The championship is open to any female professional or amateur who is 50 years of age on or before the first day of the championship and whose Handicap Index does not exceed 7.4. The USGA accepted 412 entries, the most since the inaugural championship in 2018. Entries closed on July 6.

QUALIFYING

In 2023, qualifying was conducted over 18 holes at 13 sites nationwide between July 12 and Aug. 10. Qualifying took place in 15 states, including two in California.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD

A starting field of 120 players will be cut after 36 holes to the low 50 scorers and ties.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY

Eighteen holes of stroke play are scheduled each day from Thursday, Aug. 24, through Sunday, Aug. 27. In the case of a tie after 72 holes, a two-hole aggregate playoff will commence immediately following the conclusion of the fourth round.

Thursday, Aug. 24 (18 holes, stroke play)

Friday, Aug. 25 (18 holes, stroke play)

Saturday, Aug. 26 (18 holes, stroke play)

Sunday, Aug. 27 (18 holes, stroke play) 

PURSE

The total purse for the 5th U.S. Senior Women’s Open is $1 million. The winner will receive approximately $180,000.

TICKETS

Tickets for the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Open are available for purchase at usseniorwomensopen.com. Daily grounds tickets are available for $30, or two packs for $50. All juniors age 17 and under receive complimentary admission with a ticketed adult.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

The USGA announced the establishment of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open on Feb. 6, 2015. In 2018, World Golf Hall of Famer Laura Davies, of England, rolled to a 10-stroke victory over Juli Inkster in the inaugural championship at historic Chicago Golf Club. The following year, Helen Alfredsson, of Sweden, took home the trophy at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club. The championship was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, three-time U.S. Women’s Open Champion Annika Sorenstam claimed victory in wire-to-wire fashion at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Conn., in her first year of eligibility.

In 2022, Jill McGill carded a final-round 73 to post a one-stroke victory over Leta Lindley at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio. McGill, a past U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, became the first American in four iterations of the competition to claim the title.

WHAT THE CHAMPION RECEIVES

The winner of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open receives a championship exemption for the next 10 years or through age 65 (whichever yields the higher number of exemptions), exemption into the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club, a gold medal and custody of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open Trophy for one year.

CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY

The U.S. Senior Women’s Open was announced in 2015 in recognition of the growth of women’s golf and the increasing number of worthy age-eligible competitors from around the world. Made of sterling silver, the trophy celebrates the accomplishments of its competitors as well as the opportunity this championship represents. Its design elements include olive leaves, which symbolize intergenerational inspiration; the USGA seal, marking the organization’s longstanding commitment to the game of golf; a pineapple crown, signifying that the championship is open to all; and round beads encircling the base that denote femininity and honor the significant role women have played in the game’s history. Designed and produced by Nicholas Winton, Ltd., of Cheshire, England, the trophy stands 22 inches tall, is 12 inches from handle to handle and weighs 13 pounds, making it the heaviest of the four USGA Open championship trophies.

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT WAVERLEY COUNTRY CLUB

Waverley Country Club has hosted a USGA championship each of the last eight decades.

1952 U.S. Women's Amateur (Jacqueline Pung)

1964 U.S. Senior Amateur (William D. Higgins)

1970 U.S. Amateur (Lanny Wadkins)

1981 U.S. Women’s Amateur (Juli Inkster)

1993 U.S. Junior Amateur (Tiger Woods)

2000 U.S. Women’s Amateur (Marcy Newton)

2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (Judith Kyrinis)

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN OREGON

The 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be the 40th USGA championship held in Oregon. The Beaver State most recently hosted the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort won by Wenyi Ding. The state will next host the 2025 U.S. Women's Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

MOST USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS HOSTED BY VENUES IN OREGON (Including 2023)

8 – Bandon Dunes, Bandon

8 – Waverley C.C., Portland

6 – Pumpkin Ridge G.C., North Plains

6 – Eugene C.C., Eugene