The 2007 U.S. Women’s Open Championship returns to Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, June 28-July 1, this the third time in 11 years. Pine Needles has been recently renovated and now packs 300 more yards for this year’s competitors, tipping out at 6,664 yards and par 71.

There are a myriad of intriguing stories at this year’s Women’s U.S. Open including a 12 year old qualifier, a wrist injury, an emerging superstar, a defending champion looking to return to form, and the new number one coming to Pine Needles fresh off of her first playoff victory.

The biggest story thus far has to be the 12 year old qualifier, Alexis Thompson. Thompson who hails from Coral Springs, Florida will not graduate high school until 2013, yet this week she will be competing on the grandest golf stage in the world. She became the youngest qualifier for the open ever, edging out Morgan Pressel, by 7 months and 20 days. There will definitely be a buzz around this young potential superstar this week; the only question will be whether she is ready for the test?

Morgan Pressel who was the youngest player to ever qualify for a Women’s Open, before Thompson, comes to Pine Needles looking for major number two, after winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship earlier this year.  She returns to Pine Needles, six years removed from when she was the story of the week, and the young phenom. Now established as one of the favorites and emerging stars on the LPGA Tour, Pressel can reflect on what she did 6 years ago. "I remember looking down the fairway and thinking, ‘Wow, this is wild,’" Pressel said. "I was so nervous, but excited. It’s so beautiful there," Pressel said. "It’s a special place." Maybe Pine Needles is ready to let her complete the journey that she started here 6 years ago.

Michelle Wie enters this year’s Open coming off of one of her poorest performances as a professional, and amidst a firestorm of controversy, stemming from an early withdrawal at The Ginn Tribute, an early exit that some saw as an escaping of the “88 Rule”. The wrist injury also hampered her the following week at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship where she finished dead last at 21 over par. She has been working in Orlando with swing coach David Leadbetter, and assuming that her wrist is healed, should be in better form here this week at Pine Needles. She still does have her sense of humor though, when asked about what she heard about Pine Needles, Wie replied “That there are a lot of pine trees.” Let’s hope that her golf game is back on par with her sense of humor.

Annika Sorenstam goes to Pine Needles as not only a previous winner there, but as the defending champion of the U.S. Women’s Open, winning in a playoff at Newport Country Club, by seven strokes, against Pat Hurst.  Sorenstam has been a little off form this year, due primarily to a bulging disk in her back and ruptured disk in her neck; injuries that have kept her sidelined since April. "Pine Needles has a special place in my heart for several reasons," Sorenstam told reporters yesterday. "I love that whole area … and I love coming back." The US Women’s Open would not be the same without her. Let’s just hope that her back and neck allow her to compete the way that she has for her entire hall of fame career.

The world’s number one player, Lorena Ochoa comes into this week’s major red hot, winning last week at the Wegmans LPGA, beating South Korean rookie In-Kyung Kim in a playoff. Ochoa was quite positive after the win saying, "This is really a good turning point winning a playoff," adding that "I like my chances for next week [at the U.S. Women’s Open]." Despite her struggles in the final round of majors in recent  years, Ochoa remains the favorite this week, entering the tournament fresh off of a win and as the number one ranked player in the world. Ochoa has 3 wins this season and also 9 top ten finishes, including three second place finishes.

Television Coverage

Date                Network        Broadcast Hours
June 27            ESPN2           5:30-6 p.m. (Preview Show)
June 28            ESPN             2-6 p.m.
June 29            ESPN             2-6 p.m.
June 30            NBC               3-6 p.m.
July 1               NBC               3-6 p.m.