This week, the greatest players in the world of men’s golf have been playing, and getting tortured, by the brutal test that is Oakmont Country Club, one of the most famous courses in the world. The 122-year-old club isn’t just known for its men’s events though, it is also the site of two historic U.S. Women’s Opens.
The first U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont was won in 1992 by LPGA Hall-of-Famer Patty Sheehan, the third of her six major championships. This one was an absolute thriller.
After taking a tie for the first round lead at -2, Sheehan fell back to third place heading into the weekend after a +2 round. It was on Saturday that her and fellow Hall-of-Famer Juli Inkster started to separate from the field, sitting three strokes clear of the closest contenders.
Playing in the final group on Sunday, they shot matching -2 69s, setting up a playoff between two superstars from the historic San José State University women’s golf program. The playoff for the U.S. Women’s Open at the time was an 18-hole match to be played on Monday.
Sheehan took the early lead and maintained it throughout, at one point opening up a five-shot cushion with only two holes left to play. She did take her foot off the gas pedal on the final two holes, with bogeys on both, but still had a comfortable two-shot victory.
17-years-later, Sheehan received a call from young, up-and-coming superstar Paula Creamer, who said she wanted to know how to win at Oakmont.
Heading into the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open, Creamer was certainly not one of the favorites despite having eight-career wins at the age of 23. The issue? She had just taken roughly three months off from play, and had surgery on her thumb four months earlier. She wasn’t coming in with the best form with only one top-40 finish in her three events after returning from injury leading into Oakmont.
Creamer played well in the first round, sitting three strokes back of leader Brittany Lang at +1. She took a share of the lead with Japan’s Sakura Yokomine heading into the second. The weekend is where Creamer thrived though.
Creamer shot a -1 70 for the second day in a row, a round that allowed her to take a three-shot lead and be the only player in the field under par. She cruised through her final round, shooting a -2 69 with only two bogeys on the day. She had two clutch birdies on 14 and 15 that essentially ended the tournament, allowing her to have an easy four-shot victory at -3.
Considering the circumstances, the venue and the margin of victory, it is certainly one of the most impressive performances in women’s major golf history.
The U.S. Women’s Open is far from finished at Oakmont. It will return in 2028 and 2038.
