One Year Removed from History, With Plenty More Ahead
With a rich, championship history spanning more than a century, the greats of the game have made their indelible mark on Pebble Beach. Each time players come through, they are reminded of this fact as they make their way to the first tee and see the icons of the game – Nicklaus, Watson, Woods – looming on the Wall of Champions. The most recent addition to this decorated group is Allisen Corpuz who punctuated a week that was historic in every sense of the word – the first-ever U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Momentum behind women’s sports is at an all-time high. Caitlin Clark has brought unprecedented attention to the ‘W.’ Nelly Korda went on a run of historic proportions with six wins earlier this season. And now, venues are beginning to match the buzz around women’s sports. Clark’s Indiana Fever are selling out arenas, Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team filled the football stadium, and in golf, venues that have long served as the backdrops for some of men’s golf’s greatest moments, are doing the same for women. This has never been more true than last July.
Even before the opening tee shots pierced the Monterey Peninsula air, the look and certainly the feel of the U.S. Women’s Open was different. Golf Channel’s popular ‘Live From’ show set up camp throughout the week, ShotLink tracers were placed around the course, and NBC slotted their weekend coverage into prime time so that all eyes were fixed on the best in the women’s game at Pebble. Entering the week, the phenom Rose Zhang, had the golf world’s attention coming off an individual NCAA title and parlaying that into a win in her first LPGA TOUR start as a professional. Although it wasn’t on an official scorecard, she created – even if accidentally – a viral moment on the famed 7th hole with an impressive shot, only outdone by a tee flip into her back pocket.
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While the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open was the first at Pebble Beach, there are plenty to be decided in the years ahead with the championship set to return in 2035, 2040 and 2048. Perched just up the hill from Pebble Beach Golf Links, is the Tiger Woods designed par-3 course The Hay, and on championship eve, titans from the worlds of sport and business converged to go All In on the future of women’s golf.
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Juniors from across the country joined the likes of soccer legend Mia Hamm, World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam and NFL standout Larry Fitzgerald – all in the name of raising $1.5 Million to benefit the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf Program.
And who knows… perhaps the 2035 champion will emerge from the talent at the inaugural event.
When Thursday morning rolled around, a noticeable shift took place as the mood pivoted from celebratory to unwavering focus and intensity as 156 women set out to join the esteemed list of USGA Champions at Pebble Beach Golf Links with legends like Michelle Wie West and Annika Sorenstam, joined by Angela Zhang, who at 14 years old, was the youngest competitor in the field.
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As play wound down on Friday, Wie West and Sorenstam strolled the famed 18th together in what would be each of their final holes in a U.S. Women’s Open. The gallery gave them a hero’s welcome as they approached the final green where Wie West would deliver one more signature moment before riding off into the sunset.
Finishing in style! @MichelleWieWest gives the gallery one more memory. #USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/DADSgBGXuA
— U.S. Women’s Open (@uswomensopen) July 8, 2023
With the cut having been made, the vision of being the U.S. Women’s Open Champion at Pebble Beach began to come into focus for those towards the top of the leaderboard. as winds kicked into gear, north of 25 miles per hour, only one player posted a score under 70, that being Nasa Hataoka who navigated the difficult conditions and pressure packed atmosphere to the tune of a stellar bogey-free 66. Meanwhile, a relatively unknown Allisen Corpuz made bogey on the 18th to fall one shot back of Hataoka’s lead.
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After a week packed with what felt like a season’s worth of drama, Championship Sunday rolled around with the biggest stage in women’s championship golf history, providing the canvas for the field to paint their final-round picture. It didn’t take long for the fireworks to commence, as In Gee Chun etched her name into the Pebble Beach record books becoming the first woman to card a hole-in-one at a Pebble Beach major championship when she aced the par-3 fifth.
Meanwhile, pop-culture sensation Charley Hull was making a strong charge, one that matched her personality perfectly. The Englishwoman fired a 6-under 66 to take the clubhouse lead, finishing in style with a mighty lash at a 3-wood at the 18th from under the cypress tree, evoking visions of Tiger Woods back in 2010.
Shy kids don’t get sweets. 🍭
A shot and a conversation to remember from @HullCharley at Pebble Beach. #USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/SVFijjyYee
— U.S. Women’s Open (@uswomensopen) July 10, 2023
In the end, there was no amount of flash, power, or any other element that was going to stand between Corpuz and her first major championship. The Hawaiian methodically made her away around Pebble for a 3-under 69 to give her a comfortable three-shot victory and a place in the Pebble Beach history books.
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It was simply a matter of time before the U.S. Women’s Open came to one of the grandest stages in golf. While the buzzsaw that is women’s sports continues to move forward, these hallowed Links patiently wait for the next wave of great women golfers to walk in the footsteps of those who made history here 12 months ago.
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