1989 U.S. Women's Open Winner, Scores
The 1989 U.S. Women's Open was the 44th time the tournament was played. Betsy King recovered from stumbles late in the third round to pull away for the win in the final round.
Winner: Betsy King, 278
Where it was played: Indianwood Golf and Country Club (Old Course) in Lake Orion, Michigan
Tournament dates: July 13-16, 1989
Leader after first round: Betsy King, 67
Leader after second round: Betsy King, 138
Leader after third round: Betsy King, Patty Sheehan, 210
What Happened in the 1989 U.S. Women's Open
Betsy King held or shared the lead after each round of the 1989 U.S. Women's Open, in the end winning by four strokes over runner-up Nancy Lopez.King took the lead with an opening 67, and led by three following the second round. On the last four holes of the third round, though, King lost four strokes to par. That dropped her into a tie for the lead with Patty Sheehan.
But in the final round, King birdied four of the first nine holes. Sheehan, though, struggled to a 79 and fell to a tie for 17th place. She eventually won this major twice. King scored 68 in Round 4, a score matched by fellow stars Lopez and Pat Bradley, who finished second and tied third, respectively.
It was the third of four times that Lopez finished second in the U.S. Women's Open, a tournament she never won. Lopez was also runner-up in 1975, 1977 and 1997.
For King, it was the fifth of her eventual six LPGA wins on the year, and the 19th overall victory of her LPGA Tour career. This win made her the first golfer in LPGA Tour history to surpass $500,000 in single-season winnings. It was her second win a major (she ultimately won six majors). King won the U.S. Women's Open again the following year to become the fifth player in tournament history with back-to-back USWO victories.
Ayako Okamoto's 65 in the final round tied what was then the USWO's 18-hole scoring record. Sandra Haynie, winner of the 1974 U.S. Women's Open, tied for 38th in her final appearance in this major.
1989 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Betsy King | 67-71-72-68—278 |
| Nancy Lopez | 73-70-71-68—282 |
| Penny Hammel | 74-73-69-67—283 |
| Pat Bradley | 73-74-68-68—283 |
| Dottie (Pepper) Mochrie | 72-70-75-67—284 |
| Lori Garbacz | 71-70-73-70—284 |
| Vicki Fergon | 72-74-69-70—285 |
| Laura Davies | 73-71-75-66—285 |
| Colleen Walker | 72-69-71-74—286 |
| Jane Geddes | 70-72-72-72—286 |
| Ayako Okamoto | 76-72-74-65—287 |
| Marie-Laure Delorenzi-Taya | 68-74-71-74—287 |
| Myra Blackwelder | 76-68-71-72—287 |
| Danielle Ammaccapane | 73-70-74-70—287 |
| Marta Figueras-Dotti | 75-70-70-73—288 |
| Kim Bauer | 72-72-73-71—288 |
| Patty Sheehan | 74-67-69-79—289 |
| Gina Hull | 74-72-72-71—289 |
| JoAnne Carner | 76-69-71-73—289 |
| Kathy Postlewait | 77-70-70-73—290 |
| Liselotte Neumann | 71-71-75-73—290 |
| Caroline Keggi | 71-73-73-73—290 |
| Shirley Furlong | 74-75-73-68—290 |
| Beth Daniel | 73-73-71-73—290 |
| Donna Cusano-Wilkins | 71-72-71-76—290 |
| Kim Shipman | 74-69-74-74—291 |
| Sally Quinlan | 78-71-73-69—291 |
| Amy Alcott | 73-71-73-74—291 |
| Donna White | 75-73-74-70—292 |
| Nancy Taylor | 74-73-73-72—292 |
| Patti Rizzo | 77-69-73-73—292 |
| Debbie Massey | 71-72-75-74—292 |
| Chris Johnson | 73-73-75-71—292 |
| Jody Rosenthal | 80-69-76-69—294 |
| Cindy Rarick | 75-73-73-73—294 |
| Deborah McHaffie | 71-73-80-70—294 |
| Hollis Stacy | 78-70-73-74—295 |
| Sandra Haynie | 72-73-74-76—295 |
| Amy Benz | 71-76-76-72—295 |
| Kristi Albers | 71-73-75-76—295 |
| Lenore Rittenhouse | 73-72-72-79—296 |
| Linda Hunt | 71-72-74-79—296 |
| Maggie Will | 74-75-74-74—297 |
| Alice Ritzman | 71-75-74-77—297 |
| Missie McGeorge | 74-73-77-73—297 |
| Peggy Kirsch | 76-70-77-74—297 |
| Kathy Guadagnino | 76-74-74-73—297 |
| Tammie Green | 77-67-77-76—297 |
| Allison Finney | 74-74-76-73—297 |
| Lori West | 76-73-75-74—298 |
| Valerie Skinner | 78-72-74-74—298 |
| Alison Nicholas | 74-73-75-76—298 |
| Nancy Rubin | 75-73-77-74—299 |
| Deb Richard | 73-77-76-74—300 |
| a-Vicki Goetze | 73-75-77-75—300 |
| Kris Monaghan | 74-76-81-70—301 |
| Robin Walton | 71-78-79-75—303 |
| Angie Ridgeway | 71-79-79-74—303 |
| Michelle McGann | 72-75-79-77—303 |
| Rosie Jones | 72-78-77-76—303 |
| Pamela Wright | 78-70-80-76—304 |
Previous and next:
1988 U.S. Women's Open - 1990 U.S. Women's Open
Sources:
Stewart, John W. "King runs away from U.S. Open field," The Baltimore (Md.) Sun, July 17, 1989.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Past Champion, 1989, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144601/https://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1989.html.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Records, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/u-s--women-s-open-records.html.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open, Records & Results, 1989, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/history-timeline/scoring-and-stats/scoring.html#!&y=1989.