# 2021 U.S. Women's Open

The 2021 U.S. Women's Open was the 76th U.S. Women's Open, played June 3–6, 2021 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California.
The U.S. Women's Open is the oldest of the five current major championships and was the second of the 2021 season. It has the largest purse in women's golf at $5.5 million.
The winner was the Philippines' Yuka Saso, who defeated Japan's Nasa Hataoka on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff after both players had tied at 280 (4 under par). In third place was American Lexi Thompson, who had held a five stroke lead just before the midway point of the final round but dropped five strokes on the back-nine, including bogeys on each of the last two holes, to miss the playoff by one stroke.

## Venue

The 2021 U.S. Women's Open was played on The Olympic Club's Lake course, which had previously hosted the men's U.S. Open five times. It was the first time the tournament had been in California since 2016, when it took place at CordeValle Golf Club.

### Course layout

| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
| Yards | 528 | 382 | 209 | 396 | 432 | 420 | 263 | 154 | 380 | 3,193 | 392 | 411 | 398 | 171 | 410 | 137 | 563 | 485 | 326 | 3,293 | 6,486 |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 71 |

### Yardage by round

| Round | Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
| Round | Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
| 1st | Yards | 535 | 381 | 196 | 395 | 431 | 388 | 260 | 148 | 386 | 3,120 | 393 | 387 | 372 | 176 | 398 | 136 | 557 | 498 | 325 | 3,242 | 6,362 |
| 2nd | Yards | 528 | 389 | 188 | 403 | 422 | 379 | 269 | 162 | 381 | 3,121 | 394 | 417 | 384 | 134 | 406 | 144 | 565 | 484 | 334 | 3,262 | 6,383 |
| 3rd | Yards | 527 | 386 | 196 | 388 | 438 | 385 | 229 | 156 | 374 | 3,079 | 400 | 375 | 402 | 184 | 415 | 99 | 566 | 490 | 328 | 3,259 | 6,338 |
| Final | Yards | 534 | 375 | 191 | 402 | 426 | 419 | 271 | 147 | 384 | 3,149 | 384 | 415 | 376 | 144 | 412 | 132 | 558 | 441 | 314 | 3,176 | 6,325 |

## Field

The field for the U.S. Women's Open is made up of players who gain entry through qualifying events and those who are exempt from qualifying. The exemption criteria include provision for recent major champions, winners of major amateur events, and leading players in the Women's World Golf Rankings. 156 players will make up the field.

### Exemptions

This list details the exemption criteria for the 2021 U.S. Women's Open and the players who qualified under them; any additional criteria under which players are exempt is indicated in parentheses.
1. Recent winners of the U.S. Women's Open (2011–2020)
* Choi Na-yeon
* Chun In-gee (7,15)
* Ariya Jutanugarn (2,8,10,15)
* Kim A-lim (2,10,15)
* Brittany Lang
* Lee Jeong-eun (2,15)
* Inbee Park (2,9,10,15)
* Park Sung-hyun (6,15)
* Ryu So-yeon (5,9,15)
* Michelle Wie West
2. The leading ten players, and those tying for tenth place, in the 2020 U.S. Women's Open
* Moriya Jutanugarn (9,15)
* Megan Khang (15)
* Ko Jin-young (5,7,10,14,15)
* Amy Olson (9,15)
* Kaitlyn Papp (a)
* Hinako Shibuno (8,15)
3. The winner of the 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur
* Rose Zhang (a,13)
4. The runner-up in the 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur
* Gabriela Ruffels
5. Recent winners of the ANA Inspiration (2017–2021)
* Mirim Lee (10,15)
* Pernilla Lindberg
* Patty Tavatanakit (10,14,15)
6. Recent winners of the Women's PGA Championship (2017–2020)
* Hannah Green (15)
* Danielle Kang (9,10,14,15)
* Kim Sei-young (9,10,14,15)
7. Recent winners of Evian Championship (2016–2019)
* Anna Nordqvist (9,15)
* Angela Stanford (9,10)
8. Recent winners of Women’s British Open (2016–2020)
* Georgia Hall (9,10,15)
* In-Kyung Kim
* Sophia Popov (10,15)
9. The leading 30 players from the 2020 LPGA Race to the CME Globe final points standings
* Céline Boutier (15)
* Ashleigh Buhai (15)
* Carlota Ciganda (15)
* Austin Ernst (10,14,15)
* Jodi Ewart Shadoff
* Ally Ewing (10,15)
* Nasa Hataoka (15)
* Brooke Henderson (10,15)
* Stacy Lewis (10,15)
* Cheyenne Knight
* Lydia Ko (10,14,15)
* Nelly Korda (10,14,15)
* Jennifer Kupcho (15)
* Minjee Lee
* Gaby López (15)
* Yealimi Noh (15)
* Park Hee-young
* Mel Reid (10,15)
* Madelene Sagström (15)
* Jennifer Song (15)
* Thidapa Suwannapura
10. Winners of official LPGA Tour events from the originally scheduled date of the 2020 U.S. Women's Open to the start of the 2021 tournament
* Hsu Wei-Ling
* Kim Hyo-joo (15)
* Jessica Korda (14,15)
11. The winner of the 2021 Augusta National Women's Amateur
* Tsubasa Kajitani (a)
12. The winner of the 2020 Womens Amateur Championship
* Aline Krauter (a)
13. The winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal in 2020
14. The leading 10 players on the 2021 Race to CME Globe points standings as of April 14, 2021
* Lexi Thompson (15)
15. The leading 75 players on the Women's World Golf Rankings as of April 14, 2021
* Marina Alex
* Brittany Altomare
* Shanshan Feng
* Kristen Gillman
* Charley Hull
* M. J. Hur
* Ji Eun-hee
* Lee Da-yeon
* Lee Mi-hyang
* Liu Yu
* Nanna Koerstz Madsen
* Caroline Masson
* Emily Kristine Pedersen
* Lizette Salas
* Yuka Saso
* Angel Yin
* Amy Yang
* Choi Hye-jin and Ryu Hae-ran did not play.
16. The leading 75 players on the Women's World Golf Rankings not otherwise exempt as of May 17, 2021
* Lin Xiyu
* Jenny Shin
* Yuna Nishimura and Miyū Yamashita did not play.
17. The leading player from the 2020 China LPGA Tour order of merit not otherwise exempt as of April 14, 2021
* Yin Ruoning
18. The top four finishers in the 2020 South African Women's Open
* Nicole Garcia
* Leonie Harm
* Karolin Lampert
* Lee-Anne Pace
19. The leading two players from the 2020 LPGA of Korea Tour order of merit not otherwise exempt as of April 14, 2021
20. Special exemptions
* Paula Creamer
* Cristie Kerr

### Qualifying

The championship is open to any female professional or amateur golfer with a USGA or World Handicap System index not exceeding 2.4. Players may qualify by competing in tournaments of over 36 holes held between April 21 and May 13, 2021, at 22 designated sites. The following table details the players who qualified.
| Date | Location | Venue | Field | Spots | Qualifiers |
| Apr 26 | Yokohama, Japan | Yokohama Country Club | 107 | 5 | Chihiro Kogure (a), Miname Katsu, Hikari Kawamitsu, Momoka Miyake, Natsumi Nakanish |
| Apr 26 | Woodburn, Oregon | Oga Golf Course | 53 | 2 | Luna Sobrón, Monica Vaughn (a) |
| Apr 26 | Ormond Beach, Florida | Oceanside Country Club | 56 | 2 | Kim Métraux, Megan Osland |
| Apr 26 | Half Moon Bay, California | Half Moon Bay Golf Links | 71 | 3 | Lucy Li, Kathleen Scavo, Kelly Tan |
| Apr 26 | Beaumont, California | Morongo Golf Resort | 76 | 5 | Pajaree Anannarukarn, Alison Lee, Wichanee Meechai, Sarah Jane Smith, Linnea Ström |
| Apr 27 | Alexandria, Virginia | Belhaven Country Club | 63 | 3 | Sarah Kemp, Emily Mahar (a), Aneka Seumanutafa (a) |
| Apr 28 | St. Peters, Missouri | Old Hickory Golf Club | 41 | 2 | Maja Stark (a), Emma Talley |
| Apr 29 | Dekalb, Illinois | Kishwaukee Country Club | 47 | 2 | Abbey Daniel (a), Céline Herbin |
| May 3 | Bradenton, Florida | Bradenton Country Club | 69 | 3 | Alyssa Lamoureux (a), Elizabeth Szokol, Karoline Tuttle (a) |
| May 3 | Mendota Heights, Minnesota | Somerset Country Club | 33 | 2 | Sarah Burnham, Isabella McCauley (a) |
| May 3 | Humble, Texas | Golf Club of Houston | 70 | 3 | Gurleen Kaur (a), Park Boh-yun (a), Tseng Tsai-Ching |
| May 3 | Novato, California | Marin Country Club | 50 | 2 | Rachel Heck (a), Jaclyn LaHa (a) |
| May 3 | Brentwood, California | Brentwood Country Club | 77 | 4 | Amari Avery (a), Jenny Coleman, Amelia Garvey (a), Haley Moore |
| May 3 | Atlanta, Georgia | Druid Hills Golf Club | 54 | 3 | Hung Jo-Hua (a), Alexandra Swayne (a), Ana Peláez Triviño (a) |
| May 4 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Shannopin Country Club | 49 | 2 | Jensen Castle (a), Allie White |
| May 4 | Southern Pines, North Carolina | Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club | 72 | 3 | Haylee Harford, Gina Kim (a), Lauren Stephenson |
| May 5 | Dedham, Massachusetts | Dedham Country & Polo Club | 38 | 2 | Christina Kim, Noemie Paré (a) |
| May 10 | Westminster, Colorado | The Ranch Country Club | 39 | 2 | Matilda Castren, Louise Stahle |
| May 10 | Honolulu, Hawaii | Oahu Country Club | 40 | 2 | Tiffany Chan, Claire Choi (a) |
| May 10 | Spring Lake, New Jersey | Spring Lake Country Club | 48 | 2 | Megha Ganne (a), Cheyenne Woods |
| May 10 | Corinth, Texas | Oakmont Country Club | 67 | 3 | Ingrid Gutiérrez Núñez, Kim Kaufman, Rebecca Lee-Bentham |
| May 11 | West Palm Beach, Florida | Banyan Cay Resort & Country Club | 61 | 3 | Chloe Kovelesky (a), Azahara Muñoz, María Parra |
| May 13 | Gold Canyon, Arizona | Superstition Mountain Golf Club | 63 | 6 | Mina Harigae, Amanda Linnér (a), Stephanie Meadow, Giulia Molinaro, Pornanong Phatlum, Sarah Schmelzel |

#### Alternates who gained entry

The following players gained a place in the field having finished as the leading alternates in the specified final qualifying events:
* Addie Baggarly (a, Ormond Beach)
* Cheng Ssu-Chia (Half Moon Bay)
* Daniela Darquea (St. Peters)
* Leigha Devine (a, Spring Lake)
* Muni He (Woodburn)
* Minori Nagano (a, Bradenton)
* Natalie Srinivasan (Southern Pines)
* Ayako Uehara (Beaumont)
* Britney Yada (Westminster)

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, June 3, 2021
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Megha Ganne (a) | 67 | −4 |
| T1 | Mel Reid | 67 | −4 |
| T3 | Brooke Henderson | 68 | −3 |
| T3 | Megan Khang | 68 | −3 |
| T3 | Angel Yin | 68 | −3 |
| T6 | Shanshan Feng | 69 | −2 |
| T6 | Yuka Saso | 69 | −2 |
| T6 | Lexi Thompson | 69 | −2 |
| T9 | Marina Alex | 70 | −1 |
| T9 | Austin Ernst | 70 | −1 |
| T9 | Ko Jin-young | 70 | −1 |
| T9 | Jennifer Kupcho | 70 | −1 |
| T9 | Lee Jeong-eun | 70 | −1 |
| T9 | Wichanee Meechai | 70 | −1 |
| T9 | Lauren Stephenson | 70 | −1 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, June 4, 2021
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Yuka Saso | 69-67=136 | −6 |
| 2 | Lee Jeong-eun | 70-67=137 | −5 |
| T3 | Megan Khang | 68-70=138 | −4 |
| T3 | Megha Ganne (a) | 67-71=138 | −4 |
| 5 | Shanshan Feng | 69-70=139 | −3 |
| T6 | Inbee Park | 71-69=140 | −2 |
| T6 | Lexi Thompson | 69-71=140 | −2 |
| T6 | Mel Reid | 67-73=140 | −2 |
| T9 | Nasa Hataoka | 72-69=141 | −1 |
| T9 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 71-70=141 | −1 |
| T9 | Maja Stark (a) | 71-70=141 | −1 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, June 5, 2021
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Lexi Thompson | 69-71-66=206 | −7 |
| 2 | Yuka Saso | 69-67-71=207 | −6 |
| T3 | Megha Ganne (a) | 67-71-72=210 | −3 |
| T3 | Lee Jeong-eun | 70-67-73=210 | −3 |
| 5 | Shanshan Feng | 69-70-72=211 | −2 |
| T6 | Nasa Hataoka | 72-69-71=212 | −1 |
| T6 | Megan Khang | 68-70-74=212 | −1 |
| 8 | Inbee Park | 71-69-73=213 | E |
| T9 | Angel Yin | 68-79-67=214 | +1 |
| T9 | Kim Hyo-joo | 72-70-72=214 | +1 |
| T9 | Maja Stark (a) | 71-70-73=214 | +1 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, June 6, 2021
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T1 | Yuka Saso | 69-67-71-73=280 | −4 | Playoff |
| T1 | Nasa Hataoka | 72-69-71-68=280 | −4 | Playoff |
| 3 | Lexi Thompson | 69-71-66-75=281 | −3 | 381,974 |
| T4 | Shanshan Feng | 69-70-72-71=282 | −2 | 245,394 |
| T4 | Megan Khang | 68-70-74-70=282 | −2 | 245,394 |
| 6 | Angel Yin | 68-79-67-70=284 | E | 197,751 |
| T7 | Brooke Henderson | 68-78-69-70=285 | +1 | 147,265 |
| T7 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 71-70-74-70=285 | +1 | 147,265 |
| T7 | Ko Jin-young | 70-74-72-69=285 | +1 | 147,265 |
| T7 | Lin Xiyu | 72-74-72-67=285 | +1 | 147,265 |
| T7 | Inbee Park | 71-69-73-72=285 | +1 | 147,265 |
Source:

#### Scorecard

| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Saso | −6 | −4 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −4 | −4 |
| Hataoka | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | E | −1 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −1 | −1 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −4 | −4 | −4 |
| Thompson | −8 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | -5 | −4 | −3 |
| Feng | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −2 | −2 |
| Khang | −1 | E | −1 | −1 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −2 | −3 | −2 |
| Yin | E | E | E | E | E | E | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −1 | −1 | −1 | E | E | E |
| Henderson | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 |
| Jutanugarn | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Ko | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Lin | +4 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +4 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +1 |
| Park | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
    Eagle Birdie Bogey Double Bogey
Source:

### Playoff

| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Yuka Saso | 4-4-3=11 | −1 | 1,000,000 |
| 2 | Nasa Hataoka | 4-4-4=12 | E | 536,500 |
* Two-hole aggregate playoff on holes 9 and 18 before a sudden-death playoff on hole 9

#### Scorecard

| Hole | 9 | 18 | 9 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Saso | E | E | −1 |
| Hataoka | E | E | E |
Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par Source: