U.S. Women’s Open by the Numbers

Golf history will be made here in the Hamptons when the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open tees off at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton on June 24. Just as the top players in the world are preparing for the oldest women’s major —established in 1946, it’s the only event that’s been recognized as a major by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) since it was founded in 1950—fans, too, are readying themselves for the most prestigious event in women’s golf.

And there’s plenty to get ready for. Walking the picturesque course created by the legendary Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak. Seeing the sport’s best compete from a vantage point close enough to feel the wind whip off a backswing. But before anyone pulls an iron out of her bag or lands one in the beach, 18 fascinating facts and figures inspired by the event come to the fore, one for each hole at Sebonack.

0: U.S. Women’s Open Championships held on Long Island in history…until now

2: Four-time Open Championship winners—Betsy Rawls (1951, 1953, 1957, 1960) and Mickey Wright (1958, 1959, 1961, 1964)

6: Ranking of Sebonack Golf Club in the Golfweek Top 100 Modern Courses (built since 1960). According to Golfweek, the raters “rank the courses using 10 criteria: Routing, Quality of Shaping, Overall Land Plan, Greens and Surrounds, Variety and Memorability of Par 3s, Variety and Memorability of Par 4s, Variety and Memorability of Par 5s, Tree and Landscape Management, Conditioning and what the publication calls a ‘Walk in the Park’ test, or how memorable the experience is for a golfer.”

7: LPGA Tour wins by Choi Na-Yeon, the defending U.S. Women’s Open champion

11: Women—including Louise Suggs and Babe Didrikson Zaharias—who founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1949

19: Age of youngest U.S. Women’s Open winner, South Korea’s Inbee Park, in 2008

50: Countries around the world who will be watching the action from Sebonack on ESPN and NBC Sports

72: Regulation holes to decide the Open Championship winner

156: Professional and amateurs golfers who will compete for the most prestigious title in women’s golf, including Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis

200: Yards in the trick-shot putt made famous by Dennis Walters, who’s bringing his Dennis Walters Clinic to golf fans in Southampton the day before the Championship play begins

272: Record score for 72 holes of play at the Open, held by Annika Sorenstam of Sweden (1996) and American Juli Inkster (1999). Inkster received a special exemption into this year’s Open, and will celebrate her 53rd birthday during the Open week events.

300: Acres across which the Sebonack Golf Club meanders

1,420: Record number of entries accepted for the 2013 U.S. Open

2,500: Volunteers being recruited to work the U.S. Open this year

$19,700: Purse at the first U.S. Women’s Open, in 1946—contributed to the event from slot machine proceeds by the Spokane Athletic Round Table, a fraternal organization

130,000: Spectators expected to attend the week’s worth of U.S. Open events

$3.25 Million: Purse at this year’s Open Championship—there is no higher purse up for grabs in women’s golf.

$20 Million: The projected economic impact to the greater Long Island community of the Open’s being played here in the Hamptons

For more information and tickets, visit 2013uswomensopen.com.