Leta Lindley, who had knocked on the door twice at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, finally gained entry to the winner’s circle on Sunday with a sizzling final-round, 7-under-par 64 at demanding Fox Chapel Golf Club to win the championship by two strokes over Kaori Yamamoto. Lindley’s 72-hole winning score was 9-under-par 275.
Beginning the final round five strokes behind Yamamoto, who led after each previous round, Lindley made birdies on five of the first eight holes to pull two strokes ahead. By the time play entered the treacherous back nine, Lindley was at 7 under par and Yamamoto at 6 under with no one else closer than five strokes, essentially becaming a two-woman race down the stretch.
Yamamoto drew even at 7 under when she knocked her approach shot to 5 feet on the par-5 11th hole, but when she three-putted for bogey on No. 13 and Lindley birdied No. 14, the lead became two again. Lindley, 52, the runner-up in the past two U.S. Senior Women’s Opens, sealed the title with three consecutive clutch putts: a 5-foot par save on No. 13, a 40-foot birdie on No. 14 and a 20-foot birdie on No. 15.
“It sounds amazing,” Lindley said when asked how it felt to be introduced as the champion of the U.S Senior Women’s Open. “Amazing. There's no words. I've been dreaming about this day for so long, three years now before I turned 50, and I've imagined myself hoisting this trophy and winning this championship, and I dared to dream big. It's just so satisfying to stand here now as your champion.”
Lindley was simply magnificent in her seven-birdie, no-bogey performance, hitting 12 of 14 fairways, all 18 greens and needing just 29 putts. For the week, she hit 64 of 72 greens, tied with Juli Inkster for best in the field. She was also first in the field in putts with 127. In 44 U.S. Women’s Open rounds, Lindley never bettered 68.
Her final-round score shattered the 18-hole championship record by two strokes, previously owned by four others, including 2018 champion Laura Davies and 2023 winner Trish Johnson.
“That's amazing,” said Lindley when asked about the 18-hole scoring record. “I don't know that anybody would have thought to write that kind of story for me. I've always been an underdog player, sneaky, under the radar. I have dared to dream so much bigger this season than I did when I was playing on the LPGA Tour.
“That's a pretty amazing feat, and I'm proud. I knew if I played like I was capable of that I would possibly hold this trophy one day. I felt like as each year ticked by, there would be a new group of 50-year-old rookies coming out, and it would just get tougher and tougher, so third time is a charm, and I'm excited to go back to San Diego Country Club (in Chula Vista, Calif.) where I grew up in San Diego and to be the reigning champion and play there next year.”
Kizawa finished third at 281 with 2021 champion and three-time U.S. Women’s Open winner Annika Sorenstam at 282, Mikino Kubo at 283 and Inkster at 284.
Yamamoto began Sunday with her nearest challengers five strokes back, a foursome that included her playing partner, Kubo, also of Japan, Sorenstam and Inkster, both winners of multiple USGA championships, and Lindley. No one else was within seven strokes of Yamamoto going into Sunday.
Yamamoto made bogeys on Nos. 5 and 6, then birdies on Nos. 8 and 11 to right the ship. But on this day, Lindley’s play was simply too much to overcome. When the final round commenced, it seemed as if the even-par 71 Yamamoto shot in the final round would be good enough to win. Lindley, however, changed the narrative.
“I did get a big boost with this experience being second in such a prestigious tournament here, and I am very grateful that I was able to compete in this,” said Yamamoto, who posted the best finish by a qualifier in the championship’s brief history. “I am pledging that as long as I am healthy physically and as long as my bank account agrees, I would love to continue playing next year, the following year, [and] the following year. As long as everything is there mentally, physically and financially, I will be challenging [at] this tournament.”
The second-place finish by Yamamoto capped an incredible year for Japanese golfers in USGA Open championships. Yuka Saso and Hinako Shibuno finished first and second in the U.S. Women’s Open. Hiroyuki Fujita lost in a playoff at the U.S. Senior Open. And Hideki Matsuyama finished sixth in the U.S. Open. On the same Sunday when Yamamoto was second in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, Matsuyama captured the bronze medal in men’s Olympic golf in France.
The U.S. Senior Women’s Open has now been contested six times with six different winners from three countries: Laura Davies and Trish Johnson from England; Helen Alfredsson and Sorenstam from Sweden; Jill McGill and Lindley from the United States
What the Champion Receives
A gold medal
Custody of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open Trophy for one year
Exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Senior Women’s Opens
Exemption into the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills, in Erin, Wis.
Name engraved on the 2024 USGA champions’ plaque that will reside in the Hall of Champions inside the USGA Museum in Liberty Corner, N.J.
Notable
While the wave of golfers from the Republic of Korea began with the victory by Se Ri Pak in the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open, and that group has yet to age-qualify for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, women from Japan have enjoyed a long presence in golf. Two are in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Chako Higuchi, who turned pro in 1967, was the first Japanese player to win an LPGA Tour major, taking the 1977 LPGA Championship. She won twice on the LPGA and 69 times on the Japan LPGA. Ayako Okamoto had 17 LPGA victories and won 44 times on the JLPGA after turning pro in 1975.
Michele Redman made a hole-in-one with a 5-iron from 143 yards on No. 3 in Sunday’s final round. It was the seventh ace of the championship.
Terrill Samuel, of Canada, closed with an even-par 71 to finish at 8-over-par 292 to be low amateur among the seven who made the cut from the 33 who started the week. Tied for second were 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Sarah Jones Gallagher and Judith Kyrinis, twice the low amateur in the championship, at 296.
Katie Miller Gee, who served as the non-competing marker with Sherry Andonian in Sunday’s final round, is a Western Pennsylvania golf legend. In 2002 she won her third consecutive Pennsylvania girls individual high school championship. She’s played in 18 USGA championships including the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball and the USGA Women’s State Team Championship. Her husband, Devon Gee, is the head pro at Oakmont Country Club, site of next year’s U.S. Open.
Quotable
“Well, first of all, it's great to be here. Sad that the championship is over, but I'd like to congratulate Leta Lindley on an amazing performance today. I had front-row seats, as you know. She played incredible, especially around the front, and then just kept the momentum going. It was a beautiful showing. I'm super happy for her. I'm disappointed in myself, but having said that, she played extremely well today.” – Annika Sorenstam after finishing fourth
“Yeah, I'm very proud of how I played for the four days. It's a super honor to be the low am. I never expected it, so it's quite a great surprise and an honor to be low am at the tournament.” – Terrill Samuel, who closed with birdies on 16 and 17 to earn low-amateur honors
“Yeah, started off pretty well. Made eagle on 2 and then birdied 3 and kept going from there. Had one bad hole where it was a three-putt, but I don't know what my stats are. I hit a lot of greens today, so that helps, and the putting was much better today.” – Pat Hurst after shooting a 66 that initially matched the 18-hole scoring record until Leta Lindley shattered it hours later
“This tournament for the Japanese senior ladies is something that we look forward to challenge. I’m already thinking about San Diego next year, and I look forward to going to [California] next year.” – Nobuko Kizawa after finishing third
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