USWO at Riviera will feature primetime finish, new range tracker

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Amy Alcott stood on the balcony overlooking the first tee at Riviera Country Club and pointed out the bushes where she used to stash her clubs when she’d sneak on after school to shape shots in the practice fairway between the first and second holes.

Hollywood actor Rita Hayworth once told Alcott’s mother on the practice putting green that her daughter was destined to be a star. Riviera member Dean Martin was one of Alcott’s first sponsors.

Now, decades later, the 70-year-old LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member is somewhat of an unofficial host of the 81st U.S. Women’s Open, the first ever held at Riviera. Alcott, who is a member of nearby Bel-Air Country Club, counts the 1980 U.S. Women’s Open among her five major championship titles.

“One of my original sponsors was Dean Martin.”

The @uswomensopen heads to Riviera for the first time in June. Five-time major winner Amy Alcott grew up next to the club and built her game sneaking on the practice fairway between the first and second holes. This five-minute… pic.twitter.com/b7Aq81gUK6

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) April 28, 2026

This year’s U.S. Women’s Open will mark the second time the championship will be televised live in primetime on network TV, with the first coming three years ago at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The Pebble Beach edition was the second-most watched USWO, behind Michelle Wie West's 2014 victory on Pinehurst No. 2.

Riviera’s history with LPGA stars is limited but noteworthy. LPGA founder Babe Zaharias earned a spot in the 1945 L.A. Open at Riviera after advancing through a 36-hole qualifier, becoming the first woman to make the cut in a men’s professional event with rounds of 76-81.

In 1952, Zaharias and several other LPGA founders and major champions – Betty Hicks, Beverly Hanson and Helen Dettweiler – appeared in the comedy “Pat and Mike,” which was filmed at Riviera and starred club members Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

Historical photos of the LPGA's early stars line the walls of the ladies’ locker room.

But never before have the world’s best gathered women gathered for competition at Riviera. They’ll do so this summer, June 4-7, and again in 2028 when the Summer Olympics are held in Los Angeles.

USGA CEO Mike Whan addressed the media on Monday at Riviera and talked about the war bonds that were given out in the 1946 U.S. Women’s Open, when 39 players teed it up in the inaugural match play event won by Patty Berg.