1953 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Betsy Rawls, 302
Where it was played: Country Club of Rochester in Rochester, New York
Tournament dates: June 25-28, 1953
Leader after first round: Patty Berg, 71
Leader after second round: Patty Berg, 144
Leader after third round: Patty Berg, 224
What Happened in the 1953 U.S. Women's Open
Unlike every other national championship tournament run today by the United States Golf Association, the U.S. Women's Open was created by a different organization. This major was created in 1947 by the Women's Professional Golf Association (WPGA), the short-lived predecessor to the LPGA. When the LPGA Tour arrived in 1950, the LPGA took over running this tournament. But in 1953, the LPGA passed running this major to the USGA.So when Betsy Rawls defeated Jackie Pung in an 18-hole playoff to win the 1953 U.S. Women's Open, she became the tournament's first USGA champion even though it was her own second time winning the title. Rawls previously won in 1951, and later won in 1957 and 1960 to become the first 4-time USWO winner.
Patty Berg was the story of the first three rounds. She built an 8-stroke lead at the halfway point, still today tied for the largest 36-hole lead in U.S. Women's Open history. After the third round, though, her lead was down to three strokes.
In the final round, Berg scored 79 to post 303. But Pung shot 74 to get in at 302, then Rawls came with a 75 to tie Pung and force the playoff. The 18-hole playoff was a bit anticlimactic, as Rawls won by six strokes, 71 to 77. (In Rawls' victory at the 1957 U.S. Women's Open, Pung was the apparent winner at 298. But there was an error on Pung's scorecard, and she was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard, making Rawls the champion.)
The 302 final score remains the highest winning score in USWO history. Only 37 golfers entered the tournament, the smallest field in the event's history, and just 17 of those were professionals. Only 31 completed all four rounds, and the golfer who finished 31st failed to break 90 in any round.
1953 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Betsy Rawls | 75-78-74-75—302 (71) |
| Jackie Pung | 80-72-76-74—302 (77) |
| Patty Berg | 71-73-80-79—303 |
| Betty Jameson | 79-76-77-80—312 |
| Marilynn Smith | 78-74-82-79—313 |
| a-Patricia Lesser | 82-75-78-80—315 |
| Beverly Hanson | 79-80-77-79—315 |
| Betty Bush | 80-78-76-81—315 |
| Alice Hagge | 83-79-78-76—316 |
| Louise Suggs | 75-81-79-82—317 |
| a-Mae Murray | 79-83-78-78—318 |
| Marlene Bauer | 80-83-78-79—320 |
| Peggy Kirk | 75-78-85-84—322 |
| Betty Hicks | 81-79-84-78—322 |
| a-Patricia O'Sullivan | 82-79-84-78—323 |
| Betty MacKinnon | 82-82-80-81—325 |
| Shirley Spork | 74-84-84-85—327 |
| a-Polly Martin | 80-79-82-86—327 |
| Bonnie Randolph | 77-86-84-82—329 |
| a-Patricia Devany | 81-89-80-81—331 |
| Mrs. Herbert Breault | 87-79-83-85—334 |
| a-Shirley Smith | 80-85-88-82—335 |
| a-Mrs. George Trainor | 79-89-84-84—336 |
| a-Edith Flippin | 86-79-85-86—336 |
| a-Ann Rutherford | 84-87-82-89—342 |
| a-Ethel Benson | 81-87-87-88—343 |
| a-Ann Richardson | 84-88-93-81—346 |
| a-Jean Hopkins | 85-86-84-91—346 |
| a-Mrs. Herbert Astmann | 80-97-89-88—354 |
| a-Mrs. Charles Keating | 84-93-88-94—359 |
| a-Mrs. Richard Guelich | 97-93-98-98—386 |
Sources:
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Past Champions, 1953, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144601/https://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1953.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, 1953, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/history-timeline/scoring-and-stats/scoring.html#!&y=1953.
