Lara Tennant Shoots 71, 2-under at U.S. Senior Women's Open

CHULA VISTA, Cal. - Lara Tennant of Portland, Oregon, and Waverley Country Club, a three-time U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Champion, shot at 71, 2-under at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at San Diego Country Club on Thursday.

It is Tennant’s seventh start in the championship after having withdrawn last year due to an injury. Her best finish came in 2022, when she finished tied for 38th.

Tennant, who just won her ninth straight Oregon Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in June, lost track of her score on the second nine holes.

“It was a solid round, obviously, but I sort of lost track of my score, so I was 2-over on the front side because I bogeyed 7 and 8, which was a little bit disappointing,” Tennant said. “Then on the back, I started with a chip-in on No. 11, and then just made some good putts, hit some good shots coming in and really had no idea I was under par.”

After two bogies on the front nine, Tennant got a boost with a chip-in on No. 11 and then made birdies on No. 14, 16, and 17.

“Oh, it's wonderful,” Tennant said. “I have four of my children here, and then of course other family members that tend to come to my tournaments, and really that's what it's all about. It's all about family for me. We have a lot of fun.”

Barb Moxness, who at 72 is the oldest player in the field, shot a 71 and is also at 2-under.

Annika Sorenstam, who won the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open as well as the U.S. Women’s Open in 1995, ’96 and 2006, started the day on No. 1 and made the turn at 3 under par as she began the round with two birdies and bookended it with another on No. 9. As she headed to No. 10 tee she was the leader.

“I'm very pleased with the first round,” Sorenstam said. “I felt pretty solid from tee to green. I think I ended up in some good approach shots on the right side of the flag, which is very helpful on this course, so thank my caddie for that advice.”

Sorenstam made her only bogey of the day on the par-5 14th hole, giving up sole possession of the lead, but regained the top spot when she rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 16.

“Even if you're close but you're on the wrong side, you're just going to be very tentative,” Sorenstam said about ball position on the greens. “I was trying to stay a little short of the hole or pin high just to make sure that I would be able to have the right speed and not be too cautious.”

Tennant talked about San Diego Country Club and whether it fit her game after her round of 71.

“Well, you know, it's a course that you have to hit good shots, but you definitely have to make the putts,” Tennant said. “I've always felt pretty good about my putting, and I'm just trying to really take one shot at a time and not overthink anything. At times you have to play pretty conservatively here, so I think I did a pretty good job of that too.”

The greens at San Diego Country Club are very fast with a variety of breaks, making it difficult for players to be above the hole.

“Just counting those yardages and making sure I hit my distances, but I did get above the hole a few times,” Tennant said. “Everybody is going to get above the hole, and you just have to navigate that.”

Trish Johnson, who won the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Waverley Country Club in Portland shot a 72, 1-under putting her two shots off the lead.

Leta Lindley shot a 73, even par, and she won the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Open.

Other prominent players in the Championship include a featured pairing of Karrie Webb, two-time runner-up Juli Inkster and 2022 champion Jill McGill.

There was a total of 10 USGA championships in that threesome: five by Inkster, three by McGill and two by Webb. Inkster drained a 50-foot eagle putt on her first hole, the par-5 10th, to open her pursuit of a sixth USGA title.

Inkster, who won the U.S. Women’s Amateur three times and the U.S. Women’s Open twice, and McGill, who won the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur at San Diego C.C., the 1994 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the 2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Open, are at two-over-par 75.

Webb, the last to win the U.S. Women’s Open in consecutive years (2000-01), shot even-par 73 in her first round ever in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. She’s in a knot of players that includes defending champion Leta Lindley, who grew up playing junior golf at San Diego C.C., and Liselotte Neumann, who won the U.S. Women’s Open in 1988.

“It was a scramble out there, but I piped it right down the middle on the first tee like a champ, so I was really proud of that,” said Lindley. “I did a lot of good things. The greens were tough. So I hung in there and don't feel like I hurt myself too much, and I'll just build from this.”

Last year Tennant won the California Senior Women’s Amateur, Irish Senior Women’s Open Championship, and Scottish Senior Women’s Open Championship.