1993 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Scores
The 1993 U.S. Women's Open was the 48th time this oldest major championship of women's golf was played. The winner came from five strokes behind at the start of the final round.
Winner: Lauri Merten, 280
Where it was played: Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana
Tournament dates: July 22-25, 1993
Leader after first round: Helen Alfredsson, Ayako Okamoto, 68
Leader after second round: Michelle McGann, 136
Leader after third round: Helen Alfredsson, 207
What Happened in the 1993 U.S. Women's Open
Lauri Merten started the final round of the 1993 U.S. Women's Open five strokes behind leader Helen Alfredsson. Merten ended the final round with a one-stroke victory.Alfredsson's 69 in Round 3 gave her a two-stroke lead over second-place Hiromi Kobayashi. After scoring 71-71-70, Merten was in eighth place, five behind.
But in the final round, Merten scored 68 to Alfredsson's 74. Merten, playing several groups ahead of Alfredsson, ran off consecutive birdies on holes 8-10. Later she birdied two of the last three holes, including sinking a 70-foot chip shot on No. 16. After a par on the 17th, Merten knocked her approach shot into the 18th green to four feet from the cup. Then she sank the putt to post 8-under 280.
Alfredsson had a 15-foot putt on the last hole to force a playoff, but missed. She tied for second with Donna Andrews, who closed with a 71. Kobayashi scored 74 and dropped into a fourth-place tie with Pat Bradley.
Merten won once in her LPGA Tour rookie year of 1983, and won again in 1984. But her third victory didn't happen until she won here — and this turned out to be her last LPGA win.
Crooked Stick proved to be a welcoming course for the golfers, as multiple scoring records were set or tied by the field. The 38 sub-par scores posted by the field in the second round was the most in any round in USWO history to that point. The 3-over cutline was the lowest to this point in tournament history, as was the 30 eagles made during the event. (All those records were later lowered.) And Merten's five-stroke comeback to win tied the U.S. Women's Open record for final-round, come-from-behind victory.
1993 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Lauri Merten | 71-71-70-68—280 |
| Donna Andrews | 71-70-69-71—281 |
| Helen Alfredsson | 68-70-69-74—281 |
| Hiromi Kobayashi | 71-67-71-74—283 |
| Pat Bradley | 72-70-68-73—283 |
| Patty Sheehan | 73-71-69-71—284 |
| Ayako Okamoto | 68-72-71-74—285 |
| Michelle McGann | 70-66-78-71—285 |
| Nancy Lopez | 70-71-70-74—285 |
| Betsy King | 74-70-72-69—285 |
| Laura Davies | 73-71-69-73—286 |
| JoAnne Carner | 71-69-73-73—286 |
| Sherri Steinhauer | 73-67-75-72—287 |
| Chris Johnson | 71-75-69-72—287 |
| Nina Foust | 71-71-71-74—287 |
| Tina Barrett | 73-73-70-71—287 |
| Kris Tschetter | 73-71-69-75—288 |
| Barb Mucha | 75-69-71-73—288 |
| Dottie Mochrie | 72-71-74-71—288 |
| Gail Graham | 72-73-70-73—288 |
| Meg Mallon | 73-72-69-75—289 |
| Michele Redman | 75-71-72-72—290 |
| Allison Finney | 74-72-73-71—290 |
| Dawn Coe-Jones | 69-72-76-73—290 |
| Danielle Ammaccapane | 73-74-73-70—290 |
| Lori West | 73-73-73-72—291 |
| Kelly Robbins | 71-70-74-76—291 |
| Alice Miller | 73-68-78-72—291 |
| Cindy Mah-Lyford | 73-73-70-75—291 |
| Julie Larsen | 76-71-70-74—291 |
| a-Debbi Koyama | 70-74-72-75—291 |
| Shelley Hamlin | 74-68-73-76—291 |
| Laurie Brower | 73-73-72-73—291 |
| Dina Ammaccapane | 71-70-70-80—291 |
| Amy Alcott | 70-74-73-74—291 |
| Michelle Estill | 74-70-75-73—292 |
| Judy Dickinson | 74-73-72-73—292 |
| Michele Berteotti | 72-75-70-75—292 |
| Deb Richard | 73-71-76-73—293 |
| Cindy Rarick | 76-70-74-73—293 |
| Melissa McNamara | 74-73-73-73—293 |
| Juli Inkster | 71-72-76-74—293 |
| Elaine Crosby | 75-70-75-73—293 |
| Brandie Burton | 74-72-72-75—293 |
| Pam Wright | 73-73-74-74—294 |
| Lenore Rittenhouse | 73-74-70-77—294 |
| Nancy Ramsbottom | 71-76-71-76—294 |
| Missie McGeorge | 73-72-77-72—294 |
| Florence DeScampe | 71-75-73-75—294 |
| Lisa Walters | 75-72-76-72—295 |
| Vicki Goetze | 72-72-74-77—295 |
| Jane Geddes | 70-70-79-76—295 |
| Amy Read | 70-72-79-75—296 |
| Beth Daniel | 74-69-74-79—296 |
| Barb Bunkowsky | 72-75-77-73—297 |
| Kim Cathrein | 75-69-78-76—298 |
| Jody Anschutz | 73-69-76-80—298 |
| a-Sarah Ingram | 76-70-76-77—299 |
| Kathy Guadagnino | 73-73-78-75—299 |
| Amy Benz | 72-71-79-77—299 |
| Alison Munt | 76-71-78-76—301 |
| Liselotte Neumann | 77-70-79-77—303 |
| Jennifer Myers | 74-73-76-82—305 |
Previous and next:
1992 U.S. Women's Open - 1994 U.S. Women's Open
Sources:
Toledo (Ohio) Blade. "Merten ends dry spell," Associated Press, July 26, 1993, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BVdPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VQMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3671%2C7050328.
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 Past Champion, 1993, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063716/http://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1993.html.