1953 U.S. Women's Open: Betsy Rawls wins at Country Club of Rochester
Betsy Rawls won the 1953 U.S. Women's Open at Country Club of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States with 302 (+6), beating Jacqueline Pung in a playoff.
Updated October 23, 2026
Every year is on the U.S. Women's Open winners list.
- Dates
- June 25, 1953 to June 28, 1953
- Course
- Country Club of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States
- Edition
- 8th edition
- Counted as a major
- yes
- Format
- stroke play, 4 rounds
- Par
- 74 · 6,417 yards
- Entries
- 37
- Field
- 37
- Purse
- $7,500 · winner's share $2,000
- Champion
- Betsy Rawls · age 25 · United States · born Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States
- Champion's title
- 2nd title at this event · 3rd major
- Winning score
- 75-78-74-75 = 302 (+6)
- Runner-up
- Jacqueline Pung (302)
- 54-hole leader
- Patty Berg · Betsy Rawls was 3 strokes back
- Playoff
- 18-hole stroke-play playoff (Sunday June 28): Rawls 71, Pung 77; 18 holes; beat Jacqueline Pung; 18-hole total (Rawls 71, Pung 77)
- Low amateur
- Pat Lesser (315)
- Run by
- United States Golf Association
Winner and runner-up
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Betsy Rawls | 75 | 78 | 74 | 75 | 302 | +6 |
| 2 | Jackie Pung | 80 | 72 | 76 | 74 | 302 | +6 |
What happened at the 1953 U.S. Women's Open
Patty Berg opened with a course-record 71 and built an eight-stroke 36-hole lead, still a championship record, but went 80-79 on the 36-hole Saturday and finished third, one stroke out of the playoff.
Betsy Rawls beat Jacqueline Pung 71 to 77 in an 18-hole Sunday playoff to win the first Women's Open conducted by the USGA.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's U.S. Women's Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: womens-golf-majors_dataset_2026-10-20.json (GNN's women's majors research set, "master" row for this year, research dated October 20, 2026).
Also from GNN's U.S. Women's Open set (entries, runners-up round by round, values the majors set does not hold).