Defending champ Sörenstam excited to play at NCR Country Club in U.S. Women’s Senior Open

“It reminds me so much of home,” she said, “because of the tree line. We felt comfortable being here, and it’s a really good challenge. Some greens are really big, and some are small so there are a lot of different whole location possibilities. I know the USGA will find all of them. It’s really a beautiful piece of property. I felt like every hole was just something different. The course is in fantastic shape, and I heard it’s been a tough spring. You cannot tell. It looks to be in U.S. Open shape already.”

Sörenstam won 72 LPGA events and 10 major championships in a career that stretched from 1992-2008. In one of her first tournaments after at 13-year break from golf, she made her senior debut at the age of 50 a year ago and won the U.S. Women’s Senior Open at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Conn. She plans to defend her championship at NCR Country Club, which will host its fifth United States Golf Association championship and first since the 2013 USGA Women’s State Team Championship.

Sörenstam fell in love with the course on the drive to the clubhouse but then was told that was the North Course she saw. She got to know the South Course while playing it.

“It puts a premium on most parts of the game,” she said. “I love the greens. We have to precise, which I don’t mind. It’s going to be fun. The USGA is the biggest championship in women’s golf and men’s golf as well. The course will be tricky. It’s going to be a true test. You have to be on your game from start to finish.”

Tickets for the event can be purchased at USSeniorWomensOpen.com. Daily grounds tickets cost $30. All juniors 18 and under can watch for free.

Qualifying for the event will take place from July 11 through Aug. 8 at 16 sites across the nation. A field of 120 golfers will be cut to the low 50 scores and ties after 36 holes. The U.S. Women’s Senior Open winner will receive approximately $180,000.

This will be the fourth U.S. Women’s Senior Open. Laura Davies won the inaugural championship in 2018. Helen Alfredsson won the tournament in 2019. The 2020 tournament was cancelled because of the pandemic.

By winning the Senior Open last year, Sörenstam earned a spot in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Pine Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C., and she will play in that event June 2-5. Playing at 51 gives Sörenstam a chance to show her children, Ava, 12, and Will, 11, what she can do.

“Our son’s a sport nut,” she said. “He knows everything about sports. He follows everything. When I started to talk about playing again, they interviewed him, and he said, ‘You know, it’s so neat to watch my mom play. I’ve only seen her on YouTube.’ It was probably black and white. So it’s neat for them to see what my living used to be. Our daughter is not so much into sports, but sometimes when I do play, she gets kind of into it. We were playing in Florida, and I was listening to her after the round. She called a friend and said, ‘We’ve made the cut.’”