Karrie Webb’s name will always be synonymous with the AIG Women’s Open. The two are forever linked in women’s golf history, as several of Webb’s most iconic moments have come at this championship over the years.

The Australian collected the first of her 41 titles at what was then known as the Weetabix Women’s British Open in 1995, winning by six strokes over Jill McGill and Annika Sorenstam at Woburn, a victory that effectively jumpstarted Webb’s Hall-of-Fame LPGA Tour career.

She then picked up her seventh win at the same event just a couple of years later in 1997, that time beating American Rosie Jones by a whopping eight shots at Sunningdale.

But it was her third triumph at the Women’s British Open on Aug. 11, 2002, that furthered Webb’s already legendary status, making her one-of-one in the LPGA Tour record books.

That year’s edition of the tournament was contested at Turnberry in Ayrshire, Scotland, one of Webb’s favorite links venues. It was her first time playing the Women’s British Open in front of a Scottish crowd, and through three rounds, she trailed 54-hole co-leaders Carin Koch and Jennifer Rosales by three strokes, sitting in a five-way tie for fifth at 9-under overall.

“I had a good pairing playing with Janice Moodie – she was a top Scot at the time – and Laura Davies. We had a really good first two-round pairing,” Webb recalled. “What I really remember was going into Sunday, I was a few shots behind, but the weather was really bad to start the day. I knew if I could get off to a good start and catch up some of those shots before the leaders teed off, I'd have a really good shot. And that plan went well.”

In dogged pursuit of those at the top of the leaderboard, Webb dug deep and fired a 6-under 66 in the final round, a Sunday effort that lifted her to a 72-hole total of 15-under and a two-stroke victory over her fellow Aussie Michelle Ellis and Spain’s Paula Marti. It was her third time hoisting what’s now known as the AIG Women’s Open trophy and her first time winning the event since it was designated as a major tournament in 2001.

It also marked Webb’s sixth career major victory on the LPGA Tour, as she had won the 1999 du Maurier Classic, what was considered a major until 2000; the 2000 Nabisco Championship, now known as The Chevron Championship; the 2000 and 2001 U.S. Women’s Opens; and the 2001 McDonald’s LPGA Championship, currently referred to as the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, before her triumph at Turnberry.

But most significantly, her 2002 AIG Women’s Open victory was the fifth different major title she had collected throughout her LPGA Tour career, making Webb the first woman to finish what the LPGA considers to be the Super Career Grand Slam in the organization’s history.

“I think we'd all love that our four majors had remained the same throughout the 75 years, but we haven't been that fortunate. To put my name on five different trophies is very special,” said Webb of the significance of the Super Career Grand Slam. “At the end of the day, a lot of your career is ranked on how you've done in the majors. To have won on many different golf courses and all those different majors, it does feel like quite the achievement.”

Webb is still the only woman to have won five different major championships on the LPGA Tour and remains the only athlete from Australia to have finished the Career Grand Slam, doing so in 2001 with her win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at DuPont Country Club.

Her seventh and last major championship victory came at the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship, a tournament that Webb won in a playoff over Lorena Ochoa after famously holing out for eagle on her closing hole in regulation at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

But even after everything she has accomplished as both an athlete on the golf course and an advocate for growing the game off it, Webb will always be tied to the AIG Women’s Open, as she has authored some of the most legendary moments in this championship’s illustrious, decades-long history.

Australia’s Karrie Webb Reflects on Super Slam Moment at 2002 AIG Women’s Open

Related Articles