Unlikely Common Thread Between the Only Two Teen U.S. Women’s Open Winners
BELLEAIR, FL - NOVEMBER 16: LPGA, Golf Damen golfer Nataliya Guseva plays her second shot on the first hole during the final round of The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican on November 16, 2025, at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire. GOLF: NOV 16 LPGA The ANNIKA EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon25111623
BELLEAIR, FL - NOVEMBER 16: LPGA, Golf Damen golfer Nataliya Guseva plays her second shot on the first hole during the final round of The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican on November 16, 2025, at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire. GOLF: NOV 16 LPGA The ANNIKA EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon25111623
The U.S. Women’s Open doesn’t hand out easy wins, even to the game’s biggest stars. But hidden in its history is a strangely specific overlap that links just two champions, years apart.
And that link connects Inbee Park and Yuka Saso. How? Even though the golfers were born decades apart, in different months and dates, their age while lifting the U.S. Open trophy was exactly the same – 19 years, 11 months, and 17 days. But did they have any other similarity?
Inbee Park, 2008 U.S. Women’s Open Champion
Park won the U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen Country Club in 2008. She finished nine under par for the victory. And this stint made her the youngest winner in championship history at the time.
This win also marked a career progression. She went on to win the U.S. Open for the second time in 2013. It also marked her third consecutive major title, along with the ANA Inspiration and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She claimed the Olympic gold in 2016 and won her career’s 21st LPGA Tour win back in 2021. By the end of her career, the South Korean star had amassed seven LPGA major championship wins and 31 professional wins.
Yuka Saso, 2021 U.S. Women’s Open Champion
Saso matched Park’s age record in 2021 at The Olympic Club. She finished four-under par and left Nasa Hataoka behind at the #2 spot in a sudden-death playoff, thereby securing her first U.S. Women’s Open title.
Furthermore, she also became the first player in the championship’s history to win while representing two different countries – Japan and the Philippines.
But her future wasn’t as bright as her South Korean counterpart’s. After missing a cut and finishing at T20, Saso won the U.S. Open again in 2024. But her stint in 2025 resulted in a missed cut. As a 24-year-old golfer, the Japanese star has won four professional events. As far as majors are concerned, she came really close (2nd and T3rd) at the 2023 Women’s PGA Championship and Evian Championship.
Only two teenagers have ever conquered the U.S. Women’s Open. Whether that precise age coincidence is ever repeated remains one of the tournament’s most intriguing unanswered questions.
Written by
Krushna Pattnaik
Edited by
Oajaswini Prabhu