Brenda Williams Qualifies for First U.S. Senior Women’s Open

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WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. – Brenda Williams has already competed in two USGA events at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore., the 2000 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, and will now play a third in 2023 after earning medalist honors and the sole qualifying spot for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open Tuesday at Southview Country Club.

Williams was originally not intending to attempt to qualify but when she heard the championship was being held at Waverley Country Club, she decided to try.

“When I heard it was going to be there, I thought that would be really cool,” Williams reflected following the round.

She would go on to shoot a ten-over-par 81 to claim the qualifying spot by four shots over Shelley Finnestad of Leavenworth, Kan. Williams started with a par at that first that calmed her down and got the round off to a good start.

“I started off on one, I made a really slippery slider down the hill, about a 12-foot putt, and I thought to myself, ‘wow, that was kind of fun’ and it really got my day started.”

From there, Williams would make the turn at seven-over after a 43 on the front nine but would still be in the hunt. She started the back nine with three pars and would follow that with three bogeys to sit at ten-over-par going into the 16th hole and in a tight race with Shelley Finnestad and Kris Hanson.

She would make her sole birdie of the day on the 16th hole to separate herself from the field, which gave her even more confidence that she could finish the round off.

Going into the par-5 17th hole in control, she hit her third shot 25-feet above the hole, and with the greens being sloped and running quickly, hit it 15-feet below the hole near the front of the green. She stepped up and made the par save to inch closer to qualifying.

“That was a big save, but I had just birdied the previous hole [16], so I felt really good going into 17. And then when I made that comeback putt, I thought I had a pretty good chance.”

Williams would end with a bogey at the last but that was more than enough to qualify for her first U.S. Senior Women’s Open, one that will be special to her.

“It’s pretty crazy, I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to it,” Williams said after the round.

Shelley Finnestad earned the first alternate spot after shooting a 14-over-par 85 and Kris Hanson, of Tucson, Ariz., claimed the second alternate spot following her 16-over-par 87.

The 5th edition of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open is set to be played at Waverley Country Club from August 24-27. Notable past champions include Laura Davies (2018) and Annika Sorenstam (2021).