For Hilary Lunke, 15 feet was the distance to a half-million-dollar payoff and the difference between obscurity and celebrity. When she sank a birdie putt of that length on the 18th hole of a three-person playoff, Lunke won the U.S. Women’s Open in early July, becoming the first former Stanford player to win the LPGA’s most prestigious event.
Lunke’s surprise victory—she had never placed higher than 15th in a pro event—inspired a brief but intense media frenzy. Lunke made live appearances on ESPN radio and Fox TV but turned down a trip to New York to be on the Today show. And when she showed up in Vancouver to register for the Canadian Women’s Open, she was surrounded by reporters and news crews. “I’ve never walked into a parking lot and had that happen to me,” she told Golf Today.
A four-time All-American at Stanford, Lunke graduated in 2001 and earned a master’s degree in sociology last year.
The only other Stanford alumna to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Mickey Wright, ’58, who did it four times. However, Wright didn’t officially compete for Stanford—the women’s golf program wasn’t established until 1979.
