U.S. Women's Open

The 1961 U.S. Women's Open featured the talents of a sweet swinging Californian named Mickey Wright. Coming into the Championship, Wright had already won the Open in 1958 and 1959, breaking Championship scoring records each time.

At the halfway point of the tournament, Wright was facing a four-stroke deficit because of a disappointing 80 in the second round. In the third round, however, she would fire a spectacular 69 and take a two-stroke lead over her good friend Betsy Rawls going into the final round of play. There, Wright added a solid 72, finishing six strokes ahead of Rawls to win the Championship.


 

1985 Women's U.S. Open

Long before play began on the Upper Course for the 1985 U.S. Open, the very charismatic and successful Nancy Lopez was everyone's favorite to win the Championship. Other popular players in the field included Betsy King, Amy Alcott, and three-time Open champion Hollis Stacy. Overshadowed and nearly overlooked was a 24-year-old South Carolina native name Kathy Baker.

With most of the media attention focused on Lopez, Baker would match her stroke-for-stroke in the first three rounds, and actually took a one-stroke-lead into the final round.

 

In all, a total of five women were within two strokes of the lead, setting the stage for a fabulous final round. In the end, the Championship would be decided between Baker and Judy Clark, with Baker finishing the day with a 70 and the tournament with a 280. Surprisingly, only three players finished under par for the tournament -- Baker, Clark, and second runner-up Vicki Alvarez.