JoAnne Carner, 86, withdraws from U.S. Senior Women's Open after losing too much distance
"I said yeah, give me 20 more yards," cracked Carner.
This week's U.S. Senior Women's Open won't be the same without Carner in the field. The LPGA legend notified the USGA several weeks ago that she wouldn't be playing, telling Golfweek that her game "fell apart." To be more specific, Carner said she's lost about 30 yards since last year's championship, where she shot 85-80 in blistering heat at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh.
"I just got into some real bad habits," said Carner, a 43-time winner on the LPGA and two-time U.S. Women's Open champion.
The USGA recently announced that the champion's medal for the U.S. Women's Amateur would be renamed and redesigned to honor Carner. The five-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion boasts eight USGA championships, the most by any female golfer.
The seventh edition of the U.S. Senior Women's Open will be held Aug. 21-24 at San Diego Country Club, where Mickey Wright claimed her fourth U.S. Women's Open title in 1964. Carner hadn't even turned pro by then. She won the LPGA's Rookie of the Year title in 1970 at age 31. Her Women's Open titles came in 1971 and '76.
At the inaugural Senior Women's Open in 2018, the timeless Carner hit the first tee shot and shot her age, 79, without the use of a cart. In 2021, she broke the record for the oldest to play a USGA championship at age 82.
One of the coolest parts of the championship every year is watching to see if Carner can break her age. She's managed the feat eight times.
At last week's Standard Portland Classic, Juli Inkster had a chance to break Carner's record for the oldest to make the cut at an LPGA event. Carner set the record for 64 years, 26 days at the 2004 Chick-fil-A Charity Classic. Inkster, 65, shot 69-74 to miss the weekend in Portland by a single shot.
Carner followed along from her south Florida home and rooted for Inkster to one-up her.
"I frigging love JoAnne Carner," Inkster told the press as she made her run.
Carner will be following the live scoring in San Diego and watching the broadcast over the weekend. The LPGA and World Golf Hall of Famer noted that while she's healthy and still out practicing at home, it's difficult to do so without an immediate goal in mind.
Is there hope that she'll play in next year's championship?
The player known as "Big Mama" didn't hesitate: "Always."
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