Women’s Golf Takes Center Stage in Oregon This Month — Sport Oregon Voices

Top golfers gather to compete in Oregon for U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship, LPGA Portland Classic and Espon Tour Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic

There’s no shortage of professional women’s golf events to enjoy in our state this month, as many of the top golfers in the world will bring their talents to Oregon to take part in one of three top-level tournaments.

Portland’s Waverly Country Club will host the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship from Aug. 24-27. The tournament marks the eighth time Waverly has hosted a USGA championship, and it marks the first time the U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championships has been held in Oregon.

In terms of this year’s field, 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open champion (and one of the most successful golfers of all-time) Annika Sorenstam is schedule to participate. Additionally, Juli Inkster – a hall-of-fame golfer who won a U.S. Women’s Amateur at Waverly Country Club in 1981 – returns to Portland, while Waverly member Lara Tennant – a three-time USGA champion – looks to take advantage of her home course against this year’s talented field.

The event is open to professional females, and amateur females with a handicap not exceeding 7.4, who have reached their 50th birthday as of the first day of the championship. The field will include 120 players who earn entry into the championship via qualifying at various sites nationwide or through an exemption category.

According to Julia Pine, director of championship communications for the USGA, the Senior Women’s Open Championship is family friendly and offers many opportunities for fans to interact with the golf greats, even allowing fans to walk the fairways behind the players.

“It’s a really awesome opportunity for fans, and the women really appreciate having the support,” Pine said.

This year’s tournament is the fifth U.S. Senior Women’s Open and marks the 40th USGA championship, overall, to be held in the state of Oregon.

Tickets are available at www.usseniorwomensopen.com. For those unable to attend, weekend action will be broadcast on Peacock and Golf Channel.

A week later, the 52nd edition of the Portland Classic will take place at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland from Aug. 31-Sept. 3. As the longest-running, non-major LPGA tournament, the Portland Classic has produced some of the most memorable moments on tour, also serving as a dramatic launch point for breakout stars.

Many of the top LPGA players are scheduled to appear at this year’s tournament, including past Portland Classic champions Jin Young Ko (2021), Georgia Hall (2020), Hannah Green (2019), Marina Alex (2018), Stacy Lewis (2017), Brooke Henderson (2015, 2016) and Cristie Kerr (2008).

Of those scheduled to play, the Portland Classic field currently features eight of the top 10 players in the world, a group that includes top-ranked Nelly Korda in addition to Lydia Ko, Ruoning Yin, Lilia Vu, Atthaya Thitikul and Allisen Corpuz, who recently won the U.S. Open.

This year’s Portland Classic once again will feature a popular family fun zone, complete with free snow cones and interactive activities for fans of all ages. As a proud sponsor of the Portland Classic, Sport Oregon will have an active presence at the tournament, including a SHE FLIES informational tent. 

Daily admission for this year’s Portland Classic is just $10 for adults, with kids 17 and younger receiving free admission. Four-day passes are available online for $25. If you can’t make it out this year, live coverage of the Portland Classic begins Thursday at 3 p.m. PT on Golf Channel, which will carry all four days of the tournament from 3-6 p.m. each day.

Setting the stage out east, the Epson Tour’s 2023 Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic will be held in Pendleton from Aug. 14-20 at the Wildhorse Golf Course and the Golf Course at Birch Creek. An official event on the LPGA qualifying tour, the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic is the only Epson Tour event to be held in Oregon this year.

More than 130 professional golfers from upwards of 40 countries are expected to compete in the Pendleton event. As part of the seven-day event, players will participate in youth clinics for local kids and members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Golfers on the Epson Tour compete throughout the season, which runs from March through October, for a chance to play on the LPGA Tour.

The Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic includes the Pro-Am Tournament, Aug. 16-17, with a shotgun start beginning at 12 noon. The Ladies Golf Classic will take place Aug. 18-20, with tee times beginning at 7 a.m. and 11:50 a.m.

Tickets for the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic, starting as low as $5 per day, are available at www.wildhorseresort.com.