1996 U.S. Women's Open: Annika Sörenstam wins at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club
Annika Sörenstam won the 1996 U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States with 272 (−8), by 6 strokes over Kris Tschetter.
Updated October 23, 2026
Every year is on the U.S. Women's Open winners list.
- Dates
- May 30, 1996 to June 2, 1996
- Course
- Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States
- Edition
- 51st edition
- Counted as a major
- yes
- Format
- stroke play, 4 rounds
- Par
- 70 · 6,207 yards
- Entries
- 875
- Field
- 150
- Made the cut
- 62 (cut at 148)
- Purse
- $1,200,000 · winner's share $212,500
- Champion
- Annika Sörenstam · age 25 · Sweden · born Bro, Stockholm County, Sweden
- Champion's title
- 2nd title at this event · 2nd major
- Winning score
- 70-67-69-66 = 272 (−8) · won by 6 strokes
- Runner-up
- Kris Tschetter (278)
- 54-hole leader
- Annika Sörenstam
- Caddie
- Colin Cann
- Low amateur
- Cristie Kerr (291)
- Run by
- United States Golf Association
Winner and runner-up
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annika Sörenstam | 70 | 67 | 69 | 66 | 272 | −8 |
| 2 | Kris Tschetter | 70 | 74 | 68 | 66 | 278 | −2 |
What happened at the 1996 U.S. Women's Open
Annika Sörenstam closed with a 66 for 272, breaking the championship 72-hole scoring record, and won by six to defend her title.
It was the first U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles, and Sörenstam's $212,500 was the first winner's share of $200,000 or more in a women's major.
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).
Sources
- usga.org: 26USWomensOpen
- Wikipedia: 1996 U.S. Women's Open
- mediacenter.usga.org: 2026 U.S. Women's Open Fact Sheet V2
- Wikipedia: Women's major golf championships
- Wikipedia: U.S. Women's Open
- aigwomensopen.com: annika sorenstam
- Wikipedia: Annika Sörenstam
- golfcompendium.com: 1996 us womens open
- golfcompendium.com: low amateurs us womens open
- asapsports.com: show interview
- where2golf.com: annika sorenstam
- orlandosentinel.com: williams ties daniel atop open
- sun-sentinel.com: defending open champ sorenstam leads by 3
- orlandosentinel.com: sorenstam puts up good front
- orlandosentinel.com: us womens open 4