She’s been here before. She knows the feeling. So this time, can she finally get it done?
In 2018, Amy Olson played in the final group at the ANA Inspiration and the Evian Championship. In California, she shot her worst round of the championship on Sunday to finish tied for ninth. In France, she led until the 72nd hole, where she ended with a double-bogey and gave away a trophy that she had firmly in her grasp.
Two years later, those moments still sting. But the North Dakota native can truly look for the positives in even the most trying times.
“Obviously, your mental fortitude and perspective is extremely important and you can never get too high, you can never get too low,” said Olson, who finished runner-up at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open back in February. “I've definitely had some times of adversity already this week and I'm proud of how I've bounced back and just never given up.”
Olson will add yet another final grouping in a major to her resume when she tees it up on Sunday at 9:35 a.m. CST alongside Hinako Shibuno and Moriya Jutanugarn. Her husband Grant Olson, the linebackers coach at their alma mater North Dakota State University, will be outside the ropes watching as she again tries for major glory. But Olson’s eyes? They’re focused on the shot immediately in front of her, not the finish line 18 holes away.
“It obviously would be a huge accomplishment, something that you dream about as a kid,” said Olson. “But obviously that's a long way away and my whole goal is to really stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself.
WITH A WIN
- The winner of the U.S. Women’s Open will receive $1,000,000; the Mickey Wright Medal; custody of the Harton S. Semple Trophy for the ensuing year; and an exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Women’s Open Championships
- Hinako Shibuno would join Se Ri Pak and In Gee Chun as the only players in history to win majors as their first two LPGA Tour titles; Pak won her titles at the 1998 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open, while Chun won the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2016 Evian Championship
- Hinako Shibuno or Ji Yeong Kim2 would be eligible to accept immediate LPGA Tour Membership
- Amy Olson would become the season’s fourth Rolex First-Time Winner, joining Ally Ewing (LPGA Drive On Championship – Reynolds Lake Oconee), Mel Reid (ShopRite LPGA Classic) and Madelene Sagstrom (Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio)
- Amy Olson would become the second LPGA Tour winner from North Dakota, joining Beverly Hanson, whose 17 LPGA Tour victories included three major titles
- Moriya Jutanugarn would join her sister Ariya Jutanugarn as a U.S. Women’s Open winner; they would become the third set of sisters to win USGA championships, joining Harriot (1906) and Margaret Curtis (1907, 1911, 1912) at the U.S. Women’s Amateur; and Hollis Stacy (1969, 1970, 1971 U.S. Girls’ Junior; 1977, 1978, 1984 U.S. Women’s Open) and Martha Leach (2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur)
- Yealimi Noh would be the youngest winner in U.S. Women’s Open history at 19 years, 4 months and 17 days old; Inbee Park was 19 years, 11 months and 17 days old when she won the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open
- Yealimi Noh would be the eighth teenager to win a major title and first since Brooke Henderson at the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
- Kaitlyn Papp would become the second amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open, joining Catherine Lacoste (1967), and just the third amateur to win any LPGA Tour major, along with Pat O’Sullivan (1951 Titleholders)
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