Five things to know about the 2024 U.S. Senior Women's Open, where LPGA greats like Annika Sorenstam, Juli Inkster still inspire

The field for the sixth U.S. Senior Women's Open reads like a who's who in women's golf. There are six World Golf Hall of Fame members in Pittsburgh, along with seven U.S. Women's Open champions, eight U.S. Women's Amateur champions, 30 USGA champions, 14 Curtis Cup players and six NCAA Division I champions.

But of the 120 participants, perhaps none are more intriguing than 85-year-old JoAnne "Big Mama" Carner, who owns eight USGA titles. Carner's goal for the week is to make the cut.

As the action gets set to begin on Thursday at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, here are five things to know:

First-timers

Among the 22 first-timer participants this week is two-time major winner Sherri Steinhauer, who has spent a lot of time playing pickleball in recent years. The eight-time LPGA winner, now 61, claimed major titles at the 1992 du Maurier Classic and 2006 Women’s British Open. She won two more Women's British Open titles before the championship became a major.

Two-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion Vicki Goetze-Ackerman is also making her debut. The 51-year-old competed on the tour from 1994 to 2009 and now works for the tour as the LPGA Player President.

Gail Graham, a two-time winner on the LPGA and member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, went through qualifying to earn her spot this week. The 60-year-old now works as Director of Instruction at Esplanade Golf & Country Club in Naples, Florida.

A qualifier has placed among the top-10 finishers in all five previous U.S. Senior Women’s Opens.

The venue

This marks the fourth USGA championship ever held at Fox Chapel, with Pennsylvania's own Carol Semple Thompson delivering one of the most memorable moments in Curtis Cup history in 2002 with a 27-foot putt that clinched the cup for Team USA on the 18th green. Thompson, a seven-time USGA champion who lives just down the road in Sewickley, is playing this week on a special exemption.

Other USGA championships held at the 1923 Seth Raynor design include the 1965 U.S. Senior Amateur and 1985 U.S. Women's Amateur. Ten players in this week's field competed in that 1985 Women's Amateur.

The course will play to a par 71 with an official yardage of 5,964.

"It's good golf course," said seven-time major winner Juli Inkster. "You have to drive the ball straight. Can't play out of the rough. The bunkers are very penalizing. Even the bunkers by the greens, because the ball kind of just sinks down and you got a high lip. So a lot of greens that you want to hit and make sure you get in the right quadrant. But I think it tests all aspects of your game: driving, iron play and short game.

"So putting, I mean you could hit 18 greens out here and shoot 80. It's just really about getting it in the right spot and taking advantage when you have a chance and playing safe when you just need to two-putt."

No repeats

All five past champions of this event are in the field: Laura Davies (2018), Helen Alfredsson (2019), Annika Sorenstam (2021), Jill McGill (2022) and Trish Johnson (2023). Sorenstam and Davies are the only two players to have won both the U.S. Women's Open and Senior Women's Open.

Annika's back

Sorenstam, 53, returns for a fourth time to the Senior Women's Open after winning her debut in 2021. The iconic Swede cruised to an eight-shot victory – after 13 years of retirement – at Brooklawn Country Club. She tied for fourth last year and took a share of fifth in 2022.

"I don't know how many I'm going to play, but I'm back," said Sorenstam. "When I played the first one and was able to win, I think that kind of got my appetite going. The last few years I haven't played as well as I would have liked, so I'm still looking for the great feelings, so happy to be here."

The winner of this week's event receives a gold medal and custody of the trophy for a full year. She'll also have a spot in next year's U.S. Women's Open field at Erin Hills, in Erin, Wisconsin, as well as an exemption into the next 10 U.S. Senior Women's Opens.

How to watch

First, the bad news. Fans won't be able to watch coverage of the Senior Women's Open until Saturday, which means Carner will have to make the cut for the first time to catch her in action.

The good news, however, is that the great Judy Rankin is back in the booth for Golf Channel alongside Steve Burkowski. Two-time USGA champ Kay Cockerill will be on the scene as an on-course reporter.

Live coverage can be streamed on Peacock from 2-5 p.m. ET on both Saturday and Sunday with a tape-delayed showing on Golf Channel from 8-11 p.m. ET each day.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Five things to know about the 2024 U.S. Senior Women's Open, where LPGA greats like Annika Sorenstam, Juli Inkster still inspire