The Open Returns to Eden

Back in 1995, when the U.S. Women’s Open celebrated its 50th Anniversary at The Broadmoor, I remember thinking how special that we were having it at such a beautiful place. The mountains, the history, the course, the hotel, the weather—everything combined to make it perfect setting for our national championship.

Appropriately enough, it turned out to be a pretty historic tournament as well, as this young girl won it named Annika. 

Annika shot 2-under, which shows you how tough the course played. Having won a USGA championship and having played in 14 U.S. Women’s Opens, I know the kind of premium they place on accuracy and why you have to take your medicine when you miss the fairway. But that’s the way it should be for the national championship. I can only imagine how challenging it will be with some 700 more yards than there were in 1995. 

At that length you’d think the big hitters like Michelle Wie, Yani Tseng and Brittany Lincicome would have an advantage. But just about every player will be hitting hybrids high and soft into the greens, not the long irons that we had to hit back in the day. (I still carry a 3-iron and hit it high and soft, by the way.) 

The player that’s going to win won’t be the longest hitter or the most aggressive player. It will be the player with the most patience who’s going to think her way around the course. It’s as much about temperament as it is about talent. That’s why Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer have won the event. There won’t be a lot of birdies flying around out there; the USGA will see to that. The Open is four days of grinding. Don’t expect to see any pace-of-play records set, especially on the first two days, with all the qualifiers in the field (with the obvious exception of LPGA Hall of Famer Betsy King, who will play as a qualifier this year.)

And don’t be surprised if some of the LPGA players seem a little rusty. They’ll have had a week off before the Open, which can be tough for players accustomed to the weekly routine of competition. The week off means nobody’s going to have momentum coming in. Everyone’s in the same boat. 

Besides requiring creative shotmaking—which is so different from the kind of target golf played in “golf communities” in Florida, Arizona and California—and the great, wonderfully supportive galleries, what I remember most about The Broadmoor was how tough the greens were. I can already hear the commentators talking about them. I won the 1987 USGA Junior Girls Championship on a Donald Ross course (the Orchards in Massachusetts), so I kind of knew what to expect—you can hit 18 greens and take a zillion putts. But these were really quick. You have to put the ball in the right position and try to keep the pin between the ball and the mountain to have any chance at birdie.

That said, like any tournament, whoever has the hottest putter is going to win. And because the greens are so difficult to read, the players and caddies will have their work cut out for them. The thing is, putting has always been one of those things that varies from week to week. What Paula did last year on the greens at Oakmont was surreal. Sophie Gustafson is probably the most consistent putter on the LPGA Tour, but when Suzann Pettersen gets her putter rolling, she’s unstoppable, as are Yani Tseng, Juli Inkster and just about every other player. It’s just one week of the year. Anything can happen—and usually does.