That year, Laura Davies of England won a playoff victory over Ayako Okamoto of Japan and JoAnne Carner, the ageless U.S. wonder who claimed this title in 1971 and 1976. Women’s golf would not be the same. It would be more cosmopolitan, more varied, more colorful and more competitive.
The championship was played at Plainfield Country Club in New Jersey. While the course’s 6,284 yards did not make it an exceptionally long test, it brought two of the game’s biggest hitters to the playoff.
Davies, at age 23, was the tour’s longest player, with drives averaging 280 yards and more in regular tour events. With her strength, Laura tore at the golf ball like a man, taking large fairway divots and hitting one-iron shots as far as many men hit driver shots.
Through early 2001, she would win 19 LPGA tour events but none more important that or so much a benchmark as this U.S. Open.
Davies had a distinguished amateur career (much like Carner), including a Curtis Cup appearance. She came to this U.S. Open not yet a U.S. LPGA tour member, and she qualified for the tour later in 1987. (The LPGA changed its rule shortly after to allow any non-member professional who wins the U.S. Open title instant access to the tour.)
A year later, Davies was named a Member of the British Empire — M.B.E. — by Queen Elizabeth. It is one of the highest honors a British citizen can gain.
Carner held the distinction of longest player off the tee in the 1970s, a helpful tool in winning 43 time on tour. But her length off the tee never was as prodigious as Davies’.
Carner was a USGA favorite. Besides her two U.S. Open wins, she won the U.S. Women’s Amateur five times between 1957 and 1968 and won the U.S. Girls’ Junior crown in 1956.
She toyed with the idea of entering the “men’s” U.S. Open a couple of times but rationalized that she probably would miss some good LPGA win opportunities in the process. (“The U.S. Open” is not gender-specific.)
Okamoto, not long off the tee, was quite athletic, a Japanese softball player of note, who had a smooth, graceful swing. She won four LPGA events in 1987 and took Player of the Year honors at the end of 1987. She was the first international player to claim that jewel. In all, she would win 17 times on the LPGA tour.
Clearly, these were three international stars vying for the top title of the year.
Non-Americans were joining the U.S. tour in droves from Japan, Australia and all over Europe. While male golfers had viable professional tours to play on their home continents, the American LPGA tour was the only big game on the planet for women.
Americans Bonnie Lauer and Dot Germain took the first-round lead with 69 cards, three under par. Germain played out of Pine Needles in Southern Pines but lived near Greensboro.
Rain prevented completion of the second round on Friday, but not before Davies combined rounds of 72 and 70 for a 142 total. Carner was tied with Davies but had two holes to go when play was suspended. Next morning, her momentum gone, Carner finished the second round with a pair of bogeys.
Okamoto was one shot behind Davies, and Carner was two back, tied with Nancy Lopez.
Okamoto took the third-round lead with 70-213, one less than Davies, who shot 72.
Forty out of 68 competitors started Sunday’s fourth round before rain stopped play again for the rest of the day.
When play resumed Monday morning, Okamoto charged three ahead with early birdies. Her double bogey at nine, coupled with Davies birdie, left them in a tie with nine holes to go.
Carner caught them at the 15th hole with a birdie and took the lead at the 17th hole with yet another “bird.” She missed a five-foot par putt on the last hole of regulation play, however, to create a three-way playoff, extending the event to Tuesday, the Women’s Open that, seemingly, just wouldn’t end.
Davies jumped to an early lead in the 18-hole playoff. Carner caught her at the 10th hole but encountered bogeys at the 11th and 13th holes. Davies birdied the 14th and 15th holes to pull away. At day’s end, Davies had 71, Okamoto 73 and Carner 74.
Davies was the fourth foreign Women’s Open champion. Before Stephenson in 1983, Fay Crocker, an LPGA tour regular born in Uruguay, won in 1955. And Parisian Catherine Lacoste won in 1967 — the only amateur to win this championship.
After Davies, foreign players would, if not win the championship, contend for the title. Between 1995 and 2000, foreign-born players would win four out of six titles. And the two pre-event favorites for the 2001 title, defending champion Karrie Webb and defending Pine Needles champion (1996) Annika Sorenstam, are foreign-born.
Next: 2000 was Karrie’s year.
