The 80th annual United States Golf Association’s (USGA) U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills wrapped up on Sunday with a first major championship victory for Swedish pro Maja Stark.
Over the last six days, roughly 2,200 volunteers from Wisconsin and across the country helped set the stage and welcomed the tournament’s many “cheesehead” attendees, said Mike Whan, chief executive officer of the USGA, in his closing remarks to fans on Sunday evening.
Thousands of the tournament’s expected 50,000 to 70,000 total attendees arrived in hoards on Sunday for the final day of play as qualifying players hit the tees for a chance to take home a portion of the $12 million purse and the U.S Women’s Open trophy.
In the late afternoon, fans gathered at the 18th hole as Stark and her round partner Julia Lopez Ramirez played the final hole of the tournament. After sinking her final putt to finish at 7-under par and win the U.S. Women’s Open by two strokes, Stark celebrated alongside fans in the grandstands while two of her friends ran onto the green and showered her with bottles of Champagne.
“Being able to hit that putt at that time was the biggest thing I’ve ever done,” Stark said.
The U.S. Women’s Open was the second time that Erin Hills has hosted a major professional championship tournament, the other being the 2017 U.S. Open won by Brooks Koepka. The USGA has several amateur championship events planned for Erin Hills, including the 2035 U.S. Amateur, but no additional professional championship events have been scheduled for the course. Despite that, the USGA remains steadfast in its compliments of Erin Hills.
“While it remains to be seen whether Erin Hills will host another U.S. Open, one thing is certain: our relationship with this club and its leadership is incredibly strong,” said John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer for the USGA. “Erin Hills is a truly special place, and the partnership we share is deeply valued. With five more USGA championships scheduled here over the next 15 years, we’re excited about what’s ahead—and confident that our connection will continue well beyond that.”
The next time Erin Hills could host another U.S. Women’s Open would be in 2037 or another U.S. Open for men in 2043 as all dates prior have been booked elsewhere for those tournaments.
The 2025 U.S. Women’s Open had 26 hours of live television coverage, just one hour short of the Ryder Cup’s live coverage at Whistling Straits in 2021.
The USGA declined to comment Sunday on how many total attendees there were at this year’s tournament.
