Players push to lower U.S. Senior Women's Open age minimum

The debate over who should be allowed to compete in the U.S. Senior Women's Open grew louder this week at Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where several of the game's biggest names argued that the championship's minimum age of 50 is too high.

The USGA launched the event in 2018 — 38 years after the men's U.S. Senior Open — and the late start meant a number of LPGA greats aged out before they ever got to play. A push to lower the minimum to 45 has gained momentum, and some players want it dropped further still.

Juli Inkster, the 66-year-old LPGA Hall of Famer who opened with a 70, said even 45 is too old and would prefer 40. She and others make a straightforward case: women's bodies change earlier than men's, making it difficult to rebuild competitive form a decade or more after leaving the tour. Karrie Webb, 51, backed a move to 45 for the health of the event.

Annika Sorenstam, who won the championship in her debut five years ago, has shifted her stance and now sees the merits of lowering the age. She pointed to an inconsistency between two senior circuits played weeks apart: the LPGA Legends events use a minimum of 45, while the USGA uses 50.

USGA CEO Mike Whan said the topic has surfaced repeatedly without agreement. "At this point, there hasn't been consensus to make a change," he said, adding that officials value the current strength and breadth of the field.

The backdrop is a women's game that trends younger every year. Angela Stanford, at 42, was the last player over 40 to win on the LPGA, at the 2020 Volunteers of America Classic, and only six players aged 35 or older have won on tour in the past decade. Dropping the senior minimum to 45 would open the door to the likes of Lorena Ochoa, Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen; a move to 40 would add Paula Creamer, Stacy Lewis and Brittany Lincicome.

For fans, the stakes are simple: a lower age limit would return more recognizable names to competitive fields, at an event that this week drew 120 players, 33 of them amateurs. Whether the USGA sees a problem worth fixing remains the open question.