It was the second U.S. Women's Open, and 15th overall USGA championship (8 U.S. Open and 5 U.S. Amateur championships also; a 16th has since been hosted) held at Oakmont, which hosted 18 years earlier in 1992; Patty Sheehan won that year, in an 18-hole playoff over Juli Inkster. The Tournament was televised by ESPN and NBC Sports.
Qualifying and field
For the first time since 2001, qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open took place in a single sectional qualifying tournament stage, rather than in a two-stage process of local and sectional qualifying tournaments. Twenty separate sectional qualifying tournaments took place from May 2 through June 3 in 16 states across the United States.[3]
Exempt from qualifying
Players in eleven categories were exempt from qualifying. Players are listed only once in the first category in which they qualify, with additional categories in parentheses ( ) next to their names. Golfers qualifying in Category 10 who qualify by more than one method are also denoted with the tour by which they qualified.
2. Winner and runner-up from the 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship (must be an amateur) Jennifer Johnson
(The winner, Jennifer Song, turned professional on June 17, 2010, and lost her exemption in this category. She remains exempt in Category 6 below.)
'8. From the 2010 official LPGA money list, the top 10 money leaders through the close of entries on May 5
9. Winners of LPGA co-sponsored events, whose victories are considered official, from the conclusion of the 2009 U.S. Women's Open Championship to the initiation of the 2010 U.S. Women's Open Championship Bo Bae Song2
11. Special exemptions selected by the USGA
none offered
1Both Sörenstam and Ochoa have announced their retirement, but are officially listed by the LPGA as "inactive". 2Bo Bae Song was not an LPGA Tour member when she won the Mizuno Classic in 2009. This means that her victory and prize money are not included in LPGA career statistics. However, since the Mizuno Classic is sanctioned by the LPGA as an official money event, Song's victory is considered "official" for purposes of U.S. Women's Open entry. 3Mallon announced her retirement from competitive golf on July 7, 2010, and withdrew from the tournament. She was replaced by alternate Nicole Vandermade.[4]
Qualifiers
The following players qualified for the 2010 U.S. Women's Open through one of the sectional qualifying tournaments. At sites with multiple qualifiers, players are listed in order of qualifying scores, from lowest score to highest.[5]
May 17 at White Bear Yacht Club, White Bear Lake, Minnesota Martha Nause
Courtney Ellenbogen – the first alternate from the Sanford, North Carolina qualifier with a score of 77-68=145 was added to the field when the last three winners on the LPGA Tour—Meaghan Francella, Ai Miyazato and Cristie Kerr—already had qualified for the tournament, opening up additional spots.[6]
Nicole Vandermade – replaced Meg Mallon who announced her retirement from golf and withdrew from the tournament on July 7. Vandermade was the first alternate from the Richmond, Texas qualifier with a score of 74-71=145.[4][5]
Sara-Maude Juneau – replaced Chie Arimura. Juneau was the first alternate from the St. Louis qualifier with a score of 75-71=146.[5]
