# 2018 U.S. Women's Open

The 2018 U.S. Women's Open was the 73rd U.S. Women's Open, played May 31 – June 3 at Shoal Creek Club in Shoal Creek, Alabama, a suburb southeast of Birmingham.
The U.S. Women's Open is the oldest of the five current major championships and the second of the 2018 season. It has the largest purse in women's golf at $5 million. The tournament was televised by Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports.
The championship was moved up in the schedule this year; it had been played in July for decades, with a few exceptions. Also, the playoff format was modified as part of USGA changes for the four U.S. Open championships in golf (Open, Women's Open, Senior Open, Senior Women's) in 2018, reduced from three to two aggregate holes, followed by sudden death.
Ariya Jutanugarn won the championship in a playoff over Kim Hyo-joo, which ended on the fourth extra hole.

## Qualifying and field

The championship was open to any female professional or amateur golfer with a USGA handicap index not exceeding 2.4. Players qualified by competing in one of 24 36-hole qualifying tournaments held at sites across the United States and at international sites in China, England, Japan, and South Korea. Additional players were exempt from qualifying because of past performances in professional or amateur tournaments around the world.

### Exempt from qualifying

Many players were exempt in multiple categories. Players are listed only once, in the first category in which they became exempt, with additional categories in parentheses next to their names. Golfers qualifying in Category 12 who qualified in other categories are denoted with the tour by which they qualified.
1. Winners of the U.S. Women's Open for the last ten years (2008–2017)
Chun In-gee (7,9,14,15), Paula Creamer, Ji Eun-hee (9,10,11,14,15), Brittany Lang (9), Inbee Park (4,5,9,10,11,14,15), Park Sung-hyun (8,9,11,14,15), Ryu So-yeon (6,8,9,14,15), Michelle Wie (9,10,11,14,15)
* Choi Na-yeon did not play
2. Winner and runner-up from the 2017 U.S. Women's Amateur; winner of the 2017 U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur (must be an amateur)
Kelsey Chugg (a), Sophia Schubert (a), Erica Shepherd (a), Albane Valenzuela (a)
3. Winner of the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal (Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking) (must be an amateur)
* Leona Maguire (a) did not play
4. Winners of the Women's PGA Championship for the last five years (2013–2017)
Brooke Henderson (9,10,11,14,15), Danielle Kang (9,14,15)
5. Winners of the Ricoh Women's British Open for the last five years (2013–2017)
Ariya Jutanugarn (9,10,11,14,15), In-Kyung Kim (9,11,14,15), Stacy Lewis (9,11,14,15), Mo Martin (9)
6. Winners of the ANA Inspiration for the last five years (2014–2018)
Lydia Ko (7,9,11,14,15), Brittany Lincicome (9,11,14,15), Pernilla Lindberg (9,10,11,14,15), Lexi Thompson (9,11,14,15)
7. Winners of the Evian Championship for the last five years (2013–2017)
Kim Hyo-joo (9), Anna Nordqvist (9,11,14,15)
* Suzann Pettersen (9,14,15) did not play
8. Ten lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place from the 2017 U.S. Women's Open
Choi Hye-jin (14,15), Carlota Ciganda (9,12-LET,14,15), Shanshan Feng (9,10,11,14,15), M. J. Hur (9,14,15), Kim Sei-young (9,14,15), Lee Jeong-eun (12-KLPGA,14,15), Mirim Lee (9,14,15), Amy Yang (9,14,15)
9. Top 75 money leaders from the 2017 final official LPGA money list
Marina Alex (14,15), Brittany Altomare (14,15), Nicole Broch Larsen, Ashleigh Buhai, Peiyun Chien, Chella Choi (14), Cydney Clanton, Jacqui Concolino, Austin Ernst, Jodi Ewart Shadoff (14,15), Sandra Gal, Hsu Wei-ling, Charley Hull (14,15), Karine Icher, Moriya Jutanugarn (10,11,14,15), Kim Kaufman, Cristie Kerr (11,14,15), Megan Khang, Katherine Kirk, Jessica Korda (10,11,14,15), Nelly Korda (14,15), Olafia Kristinsdottir, Candie Kung, Lee Jeong-eun, Lee Mi-hyang (11,14,15), Minjee Lee (11,14,15), Gaby López, Caroline Masson (15), Ally McDonald, Azahara Muñoz (12-LET,14), Haru Nomura, Su-Hyun Oh, Ryann O'Toole, Jane Park, Pornanong Phatlum, Madelene Sagström, Lizette Salas (14,15), Alena Sharp, Jenny Shin (14,15), Sarah Jane Smith, Jennifer Song (14,15), Angela Stanford, Ayako Uehara, Jing Yan, Angel Yin (15), Yoo Sun-young
* Laura Gonzalez Escallon, Jang Ha-na (14,15) and Gerina Piller did not play
10. Top 10 money leaders from the 2018 official LPGA money list, through the close of entries on April 25
Ko Jin-young (11,12-KLPGA,14,15)
11. Winners of LPGA co-sponsored events, whose victories are considered official, from the conclusion of the 2017 U.S. Women's Open to the initiation of the 2018 U.S. Women's Open
12. Top five money leaders from the 2017 Japan LPGA Tour, Korea LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour
Georgia Hall (14,15), Kim Ji-hyun, Lee Min-young (14,15), Teresa Lu (14,15), Klára Spilková, Ai Suzuki (14,15), Anne van Dam
* Kim Hae-rym (14,15), Kim Ha-neul (14), Oh Ji-hyun, and Jiyai Shin (14,15) did not play
13. Top three money leaders from the 2017 China LPGA Tour
Saranporn Langkulgasettrin, Lee Solar, Supamas Sangchan
14. Top 50 point leaders from the current Rolex Rankings and anyone tying for 50th place as of April 25
Nasa Hataoka (15)
15. Top 50 point leaders from the current Rolex Rankings and anyone tying for 50th place as of May 28
* Ahn Sun-ju did not play
16. Special exemptions selected by the USGA
Karrie Webb

### Qualifiers

Additional players qualified through sectional qualifying tournaments which took place May 2–17 at sites in the United States, China, South Korea, England, and Japan.
May 2 at Canoe Brook Country Club, Summit, New Jersey
    Grace Na
    Evelyn Arguelles (a)
May 2 at Indiana Country Club, Indiana, Pennsylvania
    Olivia Cason (a)
May 3 at Industry Hills Golf Club, City of Industry, California
    Patty Tavatanakit (a)
    Elizabeth Wang (a)
May 4 at Sugar Mill Country Club, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
    Kris Tamulis
    Sarah Kemp
May 6 at Ka'anapali Golf Club, Lahaina, Hawaii
    Tiffany Chan
May 7 at Dunwoody Country Club, Dunwoody, Georgia
    Christine Song
    Ssu-Chia Cheng
    Katelyn Dambaugh
    Emma Talley
May 7 at Elgin Country Club, Elgin, Illinois
    Yujeong Son (a)
    Martina Edberg
May 8 at La Purisima Golf Club, Lompoc, California
    Emily Kristine Pedersen
    María Hernández
May 8 at Ohtone Country Club, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
    Fumika Kawagishi
    Minami Hiruta
    Kaori Takayama
    Kotono Kozuma
May 14 at Arizona Country Club, Phoenix, Arizona
    Giulia Molinaro
    Cheyenne Woods
May 14 at Contra Costa Country Club, Pleasant Hill, California
    Allisen Corpuz (a)
    Lucy Li (a)
May 14 at The Ranch Country Club, Westminster, Colorado
    Robyn Choi (a)
    Jillian Hollis
May 14 at Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Buckinghamshire, England
    Linn Grant (a)
    Catriona Matthew
    Mel Reid
    Sarah Schober
May 14 at TPC Prestancia, Sarasota, Florida
    Daniela Darquea
    Lei Ye (a)
    Daniela Holmqvist
May 14 at Dream Park Country Club, Incheon, South Korea
    Park Hyun-kyung
    Kim Hani did not play
May 14 at Stillwater Country Club, Stillwater, Minnesota
    Casey Danielson
    Celia Barquín Arozamena (a)
May 14 at Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, Texas
    Kaylee Benton (a)
    Dylan Kim (a)
May 14 at Deerwood Golf Club, Kingwood, Texas
    Kristen Gillman (a)
    María Fassi (a)
May 14 at Hermitage Country Club, Manakin-Sabot, Virginia
    Paula Reto
    Lin Xiyu
    Julieta Granada
    Gina Kim (a)
May 14 at Rainier Golf & Country Club, Seattle, Washington
    Becky Morgan
    Sophie Hausmann (a)
May 15 at Bermuda Run Country Club, Advance, North Carolina
    Nannette Hill
    Britney Yada
May 16 at Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai, China
    Yiyi Liu
May 16 at Cape Cod National Golf Club, Brewster, Massachusetts
    Celeste Dao (a)
    Céline Herbin
May 17 at Seagate Country Club, Delray Beach, Florida
    Jenny Suh
    Dana Williams (a)

### Alternates added to field

The following players were added to the field before the start of the tournament when spots reserved for exemptions in various categories were not used and to replace players who withdrew from the tournament.
Jennifer Chang (a), Hailee Cooper (a), Lindy Duncan, Andrea Lee (a), Lee Lopez, Wichanee Meechai, Olivia Mehaffey (a), Emilia Migliaccio (a), Song Gaeun (a), Luna Sobrón Galmés, Sophie Walker, Rumi Yoshiba

## Course layout

2018 yardages 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 |
| | Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| 1 | Yards | 374 | 389 | 505 | 421 | 166 | 475 | 422 | 151 | 383 | 3,286 | 399 | 522 | 429 | 171 | 370 | 376 | 199 | 533 | 404 | 3,403 | 6,689 |
| 2 | Yards | 366 | 387 | 513 | 421 | 154 | 488 | 415 | 140 | 392 | 3,276 | 386 | 526 | 405 | 183 | 363 | 374 | 170 | 532 | 408 | 3,347 | 6,623 |
| 3 | Yards | 380 | 384 | 514 | 413 | 177 | 471 | 422 | 156 | 384 | 3,301 | 407 | 460 | 402 | 139 | 379 | 366 | 210 | 545 | 394 | 3,302 | 6,603 |
| 4 | Yards | 379 | 396 | 492 | 430 | 161 | 489 | 409 | 149 | 385 | 3,290 | 401 | 508 | 431 | 172 | 361 | 389 | 197 | 531 | 416 | 3,406 | 6,696 |
* Scoring average: 74.682
** by round: 74.705, 75.123, 73.921, 74.318
* Most difficult holes in relation to par: 12, 4, 18, 16
Source:

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, May 31, 2018
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 67 | −5 |
| T1 | Lee Jeong-eun | 67 | −5 |
| T1 | Sarah Jane Smith | 67 | −5 |
| T4 | Linn Grant (a) | 69 | −3 |
| T4 | Danielle Kang | 69 | −3 |
| T4 | Michelle Wie | 69 | −3 |
| T7 | Luna Sobrón Galmés | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Kristen Gillman (a) | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Kim Hyo-joo | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Kim Ji-hyun | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Kim Sei-young | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Nelly Korda | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Su-Hyun Oh | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Inbee Park | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Emily Kristine Pedersen | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Mel Reid | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Madelene Sagström | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Patty Tavatanakit (a) | 70 | −2 |

### Second round

Friday, June 1, 2018 Saturday June 2, 2018
Weather delayed the conclusion of the second round until Saturday.
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Sarah Jane Smith | 67-67=134 | −10 |
| 2 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 67-70=137 | −7 |
| 3 | Su-Hyun Oh | 70-68=138 | −6 |
| T4 | Chella Choi | 71-70=141 | −3 |
| T4 | Carlota Ciganda | 73-68=141 | −3 |
| T4 | Linn Grant (a) | 69-72=141 | −3 |
| T4 | Kim Ji-hyun | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| T4 | Kim Sei-young | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| T4 | Inbee Park | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| T4 | Jenny Shin | 72-69=141 | −3 |
| T4 | Michelle Wie | 69-72=141 | −3 |

### Third round

Saturday, June 2, 2018
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 67-70-67=204 | −12 |
| 2 | Sarah Jane Smith | 67-67-74=208 | −8 |
| 3 | Kim Hyo-joo | 70-72-68=210 | −6 |
| 4 | Kim Ji-hyun | 70-71-70=211 | −5 |
| T5 | Carlota Ciganda | 73-68-71=212 | −4 |
| T5 | Inbee Park | 70-71-71=212 | −4 |
| T5 | Madelene Sagström | 70-72-70=212 | −4 |
| 8 | Wei-Ling Hsu | 71-73-70=214 | −2 |
| T9 | Ji Eun-hee | 73-72-70=215 | −1 |
| T9 | Megan Khang | 72-74-69=215 | −1 |
| T9 | Nelly Korda | 70-74-71=215 | −1 |
| T9 | Ryu So-yeon | 73-70-72=215 | −1 |
| T9 | Patty Tavatanakit (a) | 70-73-72=215 | −1 |

### Final round

Sunday, June 3, 2018
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T1 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 67-70-67-73=277 | −11 | Playoff |
| T1 | Kim Hyo-joo | 70-72-68-67=277 | −11 | Playoff |
| 3 | Carlota Ciganda | 73-68-71-69=281 | −7 | 349,790 |
| 4 | Danielle Kang | 69-77-70-69=285 | −3 | 244,704 |
| T5 | Wei-Ling Hsu | 71-73-70-72=286 | −2 | 182,487 |
| T5 | Sarah Jane Smith | 67-67-74-78=286 | −2 | 182,487 |
| T5 | Lexi Thompson | 71-75-70-70=286 | −2 | 182,487 |
| T5 | Patty Tavatanakit (a) | 70-73-72-71=286 | −2 | 0 |
| 9 | Inbee Park | 70-71-71-75=287 | −1 | 145,919 |
| T10 | Nasa Hataoka | 74-70-72-72=288 | E | 104,505 |
| T10 | Charley Hull | 74-73-70-71=288 | E | 104,505 |
| T10 | Megan Khang | 72-74-69-73=288 | E | 104,505 |
| T10 | Kim Ji-hyun | 70-71-70-77=288 | E | 104,505 |
| T10 | Nelly Korda | 70-74-71-73=288 | E | 104,505 |
| T10 | Angela Stanford | 73-72-71-72=288 | E | 104,505 |
| T10 | Michelle Wie | 69-72-76-71=288 | E | 104,505 |

#### Scorecard

Final round
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Jutanugarn | −13 | −12 | −13 | −13 | −14 | −15 | −15 | −15 | −16 | −13 | −13 | −12 | −12 | −12 | −12 | −13 | −12 | −11 |
| Kim | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −11 |
| Ciganda | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −7 |
| Kang | −1 | −1 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −4 | −3 |
| Smith | −8 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −7 | −7 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −3 | −2 | −2 | −2 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
    Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+
Source:

### Playoff

In the first year of the new USGA two-hole aggregate playoff format, the playoff was held on holes 14 and 18, both par fours. Jutanugarn parred both while Kim went birdie-bogey to stay tied and it moved to sudden-death, using the same holes only. Both parred the 14th hole, but Kim again made bogey at the 18th hole while Jutanugarn made another par and won the championship.
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 4-4-4-4=16 | E | 900,000 |
| 2 | Kim Hyo-joo | 3-5-4-5=17 | +1 | 540,000 |