Wisconsin
A look back at the 1998 and 2012 U.S. Women’s Opens in Wisconsin, including dramatic putts
Drone view of Erin Hills Golf, the site of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open
Check out a drone view of Erin Hills Golf Course, the site of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open May 29-June 1
Major golf championships are back on Wisconsin soil.
The state will host the 80th United States Women’s Open this week at Erin Hills, the third time that major has been in Wisconsin.
Here is a look back at the previous two, which were both played at Blackwolf Run in Kohler.
1998: Se Ri Pak’s dramatic U.S. Women’s Open victory at Blackwolf Run
When was it? It was scheduled from July 2-5, 1998, but then needed another day.
What happened? Well, only one of the most tension-filled finishes ever in a golf major. The gallery of 8,000 fans at Blackwolf Run in Kohler got to see Se Ri Pak and Jenny Chuasiriporn − both 20 years old − battle in an 18-hole playoff and then two sudden-death extra holes. So with the 72 holes during the first four days, the duo were on the course for 92.
Pak became the youngest U.S. Women’s Open winner when she knocked in a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 11. It was the first sudden-death playoff in U.S. Women’s Open history.
Inbee Park (2008) and Yuka Saso (2021) have since become the youngest U.S. Women’s Open winners − interestingly both at 19 years, 11 months and 17 days.
How much did Pak win? She claimed $267,500 of the $1.5 million purse. Chuasiriporn did not receive any prize money as an amateur. She was a golfer at Duke University.
According to the USGA, the 2025 purse is $12 million, the highest in women’s golf.
What they said: “I really had a sixth-sense feeling she was going to make it,” Chuasiriporn said about watching Pak line up the winning putt.
It was Pak’s second major that year after winning the LPGA McDonald’s Championship.
“I want to win every tournament,” she said.
Memorable moments: Take your pick of many with this tournament.
On the 18th playoff hole, with both golfers at 1-over, Pak pulled a drive that rolled on the edge of a water hazard. She took off her socks and shoes to get in the water and hit a shot that gave her life. Chuasiriporn then missed a par putt that would have given her the victory, leading to the sudden-death playoff.
Perhaps lost in all the other big shots, Chuasiriporn had a 40-foot putt on No. 18 in the final round that allowed her to catch Pak and force the 18-hole playoff.
Face in the crowd: Former U.S. President George Bush followed the twosome over their final few holes.
Postscript: Pak was on the LPGA tour until 2016. She won 25 times on the tour and claimed five major titles. The dramatic victory at Blackwolf Run is credited with starting the Korean women’s golf boom.
Chuasiriporn’s story is interesting. She led Duke to the 1999 NCAA golf title and finished college as a four-time All-American. She struggled on mini-tours as a professional and then walked away from the sport after a few years. When the U.S. Women’s Open returned in Blackwolf Run in 2012, Chuasiriporn was found by the Journal Sentinel working happily as a registered nurse in Virginia.
2012: Na Yeon Choi wins in return of U.S. Women’s Open to Blackwolf Run
When was it: July 5-8, 2012.
What happened? Na Yeon Choi bared down on the back nine of the final round to pull away for a four-shot victory over fellow Korean Amy Yang. They were the only two golfers to finish under par.
Pak, then 34 and one of 10 golfers who competed in both the 1998 and 2012 at Blackwolf Run, finished tied for ninth despite a shoulder injury that hampered her that year.
How much did Choi win? She claimed $550,000 of the $3.25 million purse.
What they said: “I really want to say to all the fans and crowd out there they really did a good job,” Choi said. “And one more thing: I think I was really calm out there. I think I am really proud of myself, too.”
Memorable moment: Choi was teetering on No. 10 in the final round. She hit her tee shot into a hazard and finished with a triple-bogey 8. That cut her lead from five strokes to two.
But the 24-year-old bounced back with a birdie on the next hole and cruised from there.
Interesting tidbit: At the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, fans were allowed to bring cell phones onto the grounds for the first time at a USGA event.
Postscript: This was Choi’s lone major win, though she did have nine victories on the LPGA tour. Now 37, Choi still pops up at golf events.
Laurel Burleson, a Dane County chef, thinks ugly apples make the best dishes.
One of her goals as a chef and restaurant owner is to save usable produce from the waste bin.
“I know how hard (Wisconsin farmers) work every day, making these products that are delicious and nutritious and for anything to get thrown away just because it’s not aesthetically perfect is just outrageous,” said Burleson, owner of Ugly Apple Cafe.
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The latest fruit monitoring report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows many parts of the state having great harvests, although northeastern Wisconsin orchards suffered from a cool spring. But most apple orchards are busy with the fall harvest. So what do you do with that abundance of apples?
Burleson shared some recipes and her philosophy on cooking with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Rob Ferrett: What do you like to do with apples apart from just eating them?
Laurel Burleson: One that I really like to do is making apple marmalade. That is shredding apples and preserving them in sugar so that they keep their structure. It’s kind of the opposite of making applesauce.
But we also make a lot of apple sauce and apple butter. That’s a good way to use a lot of apples all at once.
RF: What goes into making apple butter?
LB: Very basically you make applesauce, so just cook down your apples and blend them up. Then you take that applesauce and cook it extremely slowly, either in a slow cooker or in the oven. Cook it down until it’s dark and rich and more closely resembling a peanut butter than applesauce.
From there, you can put in whatever spices you want: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, bay leaf. You just have to be careful because whatever you start with in the big batch will get super concentrated and reduced in your end product.
RF: With applesauce or apple butter, do we have to be fussy about the type of apples? Or can we mix and match?
LB: I like to mix and match, especially because the apple season starts really early. Some years you can get the first season apples in July.
They don’t hold very long and they’re very juicy, so they break down really easily, but they are very tart. I like to get some of those early season apples and make them into applesauce and freeze them and then when I have other sweeter varieties later I mix them and then reduce that all down into butter.
RF: You shared a savory recipe with us for pork chops with apple bacon cabbage. Tell us a little bit about this recipe.
LB: It’s really fun for the fall and even into the winter. You can kind of use any kind of variety of apple that’s a little bit tart and it’s OK if it breaks down and blends in because the cabbage is going to maintain its structure.
If the onions and apples melt away into a delicious sauce it’s just fine. But also, if you end up with some apple pieces, then it’s a nice little surprise like a little sweetness.
The Ugly Apple Cafe operates cafes inside the Dane County Courthouse and the City County Building in Madison and sells its products at the Monona Farmers Market.
While the Wisconsin Badgers struggle on the football field, sitting at a disappointing 2-2 through four weeks, some of the program’s former transfers continue to find success.
One of those players is tight end Riley Nowakowski, who transferred to Indiana this offseason after five years with the Badgers. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native originally walked on to the program as an unranked outside linebacker. After playing sparingly during his first few seasons with the Badgers, he flipped over to fullback in 2022, then out to tight end after Phil Longo arrived in 2023. Nowakowski totaled 18 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown from 2023-24; his two years as a primary offensive contributor.
The former Badger is already making significant progress toward those totals, now just four games into his Indiana career. He has four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, plus one carry for a one-yard score. The versatile fullback/tight end delivered the highlight play of his career during Indiana’s blowout win over Illinois on Saturday, taking a 1st-down screen pass 43 yards to the house.
Wisconsin, meanwhile, has received solid contributions from Montana State transfer tight end Lance Mason. The veteran has 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns to date, leading the team in each of those respective categories.
While Mason has been one of the Badgers’ few bright spots through four weeks, it’s hard to ignore Nowakowski’s emergence as one of Indiana’s dependable offensive playmakers.
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Get ready for an overall warmer stretch of weather as we head into this upcoming workweek. After some fog lifts this morning, we’ll have plenty of sunshine today with highs in the mid to upper 70s along the lake and low 80s inland.
Tonight will be dry with lows in the low 60s lakeside and upper 50s inland.
Monday through Wednesday should be very similar, with upper 70s to near 80 near the lake and low to mid 80s inland with plenty of sun.
We’ll start to bring in chances of showers or a T’storm starting Thursday right on into the weekend.
WATCH: Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead
Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead
TODAY: Any fog lifting through the morning, then becoming mostly sunny.
High: 77 lakefront… 83 inland.
Wind: E 5-10 MPH.
TONIGHT: Mostly clear.
Low: 62.
Wind: ESE 3-8 MPH.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny.
Highs: 78 lakefront… 83 inland.
Wind: ESE 5-10 MPH.
TUES: Mostly sunny and warm.
High: 80 lakefront… 84 inland.
WEDS: Mostly sunny and warm.
High: 81 lakefront… 85 inland.
THUR: Partly cloudy with a chance of a shower
or T’storm.
High: 80.
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