Most 2nd-Place Finishes in U.S. Women's Open

Finishing second in the U.S. Women's Open is an achievement — just not the one (winning) that every golfer wants. Still, as you'll see in the list below, finishing runner-up most-often in this major championship is a very good indication that the golfer is an LPGA legend.

The two golfers who share the record are Louise Suggs and JoAnne Carner, eaching finishing second five times. Each was also a 2-time U.S. Women's Open winner, Suggs in 1949 and 1952, Carner in 1971 and 1976. But despite that, you have to suspect that finishing second five times in this biggest tournament in women's professional golf had to sting.

The List: Most U.S. Women's Open Runner-Up Finishes

These are all the golfers who finished second at least three times in the U.S. Women's Open:

• 5 times — Louise Suggs (1951, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1963)
• 5 times — JoAnne Carner (1975, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1987)
• 4 times — Nancy Lopez (1975, 1977, 1989, 1997)
• 3 times — Sandra Haynie (1963, 1970, 1982)
• 3 times — Patty Sheehan (1983, 1988, 1990)

Suggs' second-place finishes went like this: In 1951, she finished solo second five back of Betsy Rawls; in 1955, Suggs tied second, four behind Fay Crocker; in 1958, it was solo second, five behind Mickey Wright; in 1959, solo second two behind Wright; and in 1963, Suggs tied second three strokes behind Mary Mills. In that 1963 U.S. Women's Open, Suggs, in her final runner-up finish, tied another golfer on the list, Haynie, who was recording her first runner-up finish in this major.

Carner's U.S. Women's Open runners-up: In 1975, tied second, four behind Sandra Palmer; 1978, tied second one back of Hollis Stacy; 1982, tied second, six behind Janet Anderson; 1983, tied second one back of Jan Stephenson; and 1987, lost in a playoff to winner Laura Davies. Carner's first USWO second-place finish in 1975 was also the first of Nancy Lopez's four seconds in this major.

And speaking of Lopez ... While the other four golfers on the list all won the U.S. Women's Open, Lopez never did. She was still an amateur at the time her first USWO runner-up in 1975. In 1977, she finished two behind Hollis Stacy and in 1989, four back of Betsy King. In the 1997 U.S. Women's Open, Lopez finished one behind Alison Nicholas despite being the first player in USWO history to play all four rounds in the 60s.

Related articles:

• Golfers with most wins in U.S. Women's Open
• Largest final-round comebacks to win USWO
• Youngest winners of U.S. Women's Open

Sources:
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Championship 81st Record Book, 2026, Tournament Records.