The U.S. Women's Open will be contested for the 64^th time this week, on the Old Course at Saucon Valley Country Club.  SVCC will be hosting its first Women's Open but its sixth USGA championship including the 1992 and 2000 U.S. Senior Opens.  Inbee Park won her first career LPGA title last year, by four shots over Helen Alfredsson.

6740 yards makes for a long course in LPGA terms.  Add to that the typical U.S. Open setup of thick rough (lots of rain in the area recently) and slick greens plus par of 71 - we may not see anybody under par by the end of the day Sunday.

The Open field is a strong one of course, but is notable for a few absentees.  Michelle Wie, Natalie Gulbis and Wendy Ward all rank in my current Top 30 but they failed to qualify.  USGA officials reduced the number of current-year money list entrants from 35 to 10 because of the shortage of events on the early-season LPGA schedule.  Of the seven major championships where I've calculated it, the Field Score for this U.S. Open is the lowest (albeit only one point less than the '09 KNC).  Hopefully both the change in the qualifying criteria along with the reason for changing it will be reversed in 2010.

Of the missing three, Wie would have been a lock for my Top 12 though I probably wouldn't have put her in the top half.  Gulbis probably wouldn't have been a pick and Ward certainly wouldn't have.  Enough about who isn't here - let's focus on who is.  As of this writing Paula Creamer is playing but with a balky thumb and/or rustiness from resting it, I can't spend a pick on her chances.  I think this is the week that Lorena Ochoa's lock on World Number One takes its biggest hit yet.