www.montereycountyweekly.com july 6-12, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 21 Annika Sörenstam stepped away from competitive golf in 2008. She is in her 50s, looking at a field crowded with 20-somethings and teen phenoms. Why would she subject herself to the rigors of a major tournament? “Pebble Beach. The U.S. Open.” Sörenstam connects the two phrases with a tone of admiration, reverence and anticipation. In its storied history, the premier women’s tournament on the schedule has never before visited the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links. The legendary golfer with three Open titles to her name—as well as 10 championships in major tournaments and 72 career tour wins—was quick to accept the opportunity to join the field of 156 of the world’s best professionals and amateurs. The pairing of course and championship tournament resonated with others, as well. A record 2,107 golfers attempted to qualify for a slot in the Open, topping the previous mark of 1,874, set a year ago. Sörenstam speaks of the course and its history. She mentions Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and others—using first names only—recalling their feats, and it becomes clear who is missing. “Now it’s going to be LPGA [golfers],” she says, this time with a note of pride. “It gives respect to women’s golf.” The course has played host to six U.S. Opens for men, the most recent in 2019, as well as five U.S. Amateur championships. Pebble Beach is a fixture on the PGA Tour, and has been for more than 60 years—about the same length of time since a national women’s tournament played here. Grace S. Lenczyk won the 1948 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Pebble Beach. And the course featured in the first two seasons of the LPGA Tour, with Babe Didrikson Zaharias claiming the 1950 title, followed by Patty Berg in 1951. John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer for the USGA, the organization responsible for the U.S. Women’s Open, isn’t certain why women’s tournaments of that scale never returned to the course. But not long after he joined the organization 12 years ago, the USGA began to modify its schedule. “We felt it was important where players win,” he explains. “Going to Pebble Beach, to Pinehurst, to Oakmont will elevate the women’s game.” As USGA CEO Mike Whan tells the story, when he reached out regarding a partnership that would bring four men’s Opens to course over the next 25 years and a possible women’s event, Pebble Beach Company co-chair Heidi Ueberroth said she wasn’t interested in just one. “[They] knew I was a strong supporter of having the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach,” Ueberroth recalls. “We still might have surprised them when we asked them for four Women’s Opens, as well.” The championship will be back in 2035, 2040 and 2048. But the 2023 event, the 78th U.S. Women’s Open, is a marker—a transformational moment. In the run-up to the Open, the USGA brought Brandi Chastain and Kristi Yamaguchi, important figures in the history of women’s sports, to put the event in perspective. Yamaguchi, an Olympic gold medalist in figure skating, noted that the benefits of Title IX, the federal ruling to prevent discrimination based on gender in education programs and activities, began to strengthen women’s sports by the 1990s. Now, she says, “We’re here to stay.” “This place has been missing something,” adds Chastain, who helped make women’s soccer a national obsession. “We have a chance to change generations. This is a place where champions play.” Mina Harigae grew up in Monterey, but as a young golfer and through her LPGA career, she had no expectations of playing a tour event. “The women weren’t playing the same courses as the men,” she says. “When they announced it was coming to Pebble Beach, I was stoked. You look forward to the iconic venues.” Two weeks ago, Harigae finished in a tie for 24th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, held at Baltusrol, a storied course in New Jersey, again underscoring the importance of location. There is an understanding in golf that championships are measured by the venue, that the collective memory of those who follow the sport bestows greatness on those who rise to the demands of a place. Jack Nicklaus won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Oakmont and twice at Baltusrol—each a course steeped in history. David Normoyle, a golf historian with Normoyle Historical Consulting in Saratoga Springs, New York, and member of The Golf Heritage Society, observes that Nicklaus shares the record of four championships with several others, but that his accomplishment stands apart. He points out that Mickey Wright earned four women’s titles, sharing the mark with Betsy Rawls. As Normoyle explains it, Wright won her titles at Forest Lake, not Oakland Hills, which are both near Detroit; at Churchill Valley in Pittsburgh, not Oakmont; at San Diego Country Club, rather than Torrey Pines. “Only her victory at Baltusrol in 1961 stands out as a venue with equal public recognition to the men’s U.S. Open,” he points out. Wright’s name, not Rawls, is on the medal presented to the winner of the U.S. Open. “Now that the great championships are coming more frequently to the greatest courses, women’s golf is poised to attract even more world-class athletes to the game.” That’s why Sörenstam ticks off the names associated with Pebble Beach— Jack, Tom, Tiger. There’s a history, but until now no equal point of comparison. “That’s what makes it special,” she says. “If I was a young girl watching now, that would fire me up. It’s inspiration.” Open Spaces The first appearance of the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach is an important moment for women’s golf. By Dave Faries Left: Mina Harigae tees off at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open, held at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Below: Rose Zhang (foreground) and American Junior Golf Association player Yana Wilson show off their hardware after Zhang’s first Tour win. Bottom (left to right): Dick Ferris, John Bodenhamer of the USGA, Heidi and Peter Ueberroth at Pebble Beach in 2019. Kathryn Riley/USGA Elsa/Getty Images USGA / Pebble Beach Company
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