The list of future venues for the U.S. Women’s Open is stacked, but there is currently a glaring omission.
All week at the U.S. Women’s Open, signs lining the 1st fairway displayed the winners and previous venues of championships in the past decade-plus. As you walked around the chipping green and in through the main fan entrance off the 10th fairway, those pathways were lined with displays of the U.S. Women’s Open’s future venues.
It’s clear there’s been a massive shift.
Over the past 20 years, the U.S. Women’s Open has visited just four courses (Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, Oakmont and Olympic) that are stables of the present-day rota for the men’s U.S. Open. The winds have already started to change with Pebble hosting the best women in the world for the first time last year. Through the next 12 years, the venues lack not for prestige.
But missing from the schedule is last week’s host, Lancaster Country Club.
After a thrilling finish and setting attendance records at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open, the first USGA championship held at the 1920 William Flynn design set in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, the track delivered again last week, producing the hardest U.S. Open test in a decade and a worthy champion in now-two-time U.S. Women’s Open winner Yuka Saso.
Last week’s event was the most attended U.S. Women’s Open since 2015, beating tournament officials’ expectations and scoring a 4.83 out of 5 for fan satisfaction, the highest since the USGA began tracking data, according to a USGA spokesperson.
The spokesperson also said the tournament tied for its best hospitality sales of any U.S. Women’s Open and was the best year ever for U.S. Women’s Open merchandise sales.
“When people talk about Lancaster, they say, man, that’s a hidden gem,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan at the trophy presentation. “Well, you ain’t hidden anymore. You are a gem.”