© USGA

Fans walked through the fairways, creating an intimate, retro look with black and white photos of the club that are over 100 years old. Friendships have been forged and rekindled. Players and younger girls together. The new generation expressed deep and sincere gratitude to those who inspired them.

And champion Laura Davies, well, she's the stuff of legend. A woman whose Queen of England has bestowed the title of "Lady".

Dame Laura Davies, the stuff of legend

She admitted not having slept well on Saturday night with her five-stroke lead. It lets you imagine what this event meant for the players who were part of it. This week has been more than the USGA's long-awaited parade of memories for women 50 and older.

The week was more than nostalgic. It was also another chance to make history, finishing with a total score of 276 (16 under par) and 10 strokes ahead of Inkster.

Ahead of the final round, five-time USGA champion Inkster assessed the task ahead, chasing Davies.

"I'm going to have to play a really clean trick to have a chance"said Inkster, who then dropped two shots at Davies on the second hole of the second par 5, with a sloppy bogey in response to Davies' birdie. Still, Inkster rallied with back-to-back birdies on holes 8 and 9, and it appeared Davies would give his closest chaser a shot on the 10th par 3 hole, as she hit her putt. more than 2,5 meters from the hole as Inkster easily made the par.

This allowed Davies to retain her six-shot advantage, which she managed to climb to eight three holes later as she made the par and Inkster struggled with a double buggy. Laura Davies' victory marks the sixth time in USGA history that a champion has won by 10 strokes or more in advance. In fact, only six players finished within 20 strokes behind Laura Davies.

In the end, Laura Davies relished the mark she made in her mad rush. She could see it in the familiar engravings on the trophy she hoisted.

"I am the first to have my name engraved on it"said Davies. “This championship will be played for many years, and there will be only one first winner. Obviously, this is an exceptional moment and I am very proud of myself. "

Really, all 120 players on the field have made their mark at the Chicago Golf Club. They were all pioneers last week.

"It was very moving to see the USGA logos, because I have had a long history since my teenage years, playing at the USGA Championships"said Amy Alcott, whose track record includes the 1980 US Women's Open title. “I thought the week had just ended beautifully. The USGA has done a good job. It was so classy how everything was done, this inaugural event, and how it was presented. "

Laura Davies was grateful for what the USGA did for women's golf, and she wasn't alone. Gratitude was the theme of the week.

© USGA

The richest experience offered by the major with the lowest endowment of the season

Pro John Guyton took note when Jan Stephenson walked into the pro shop to purchase a championship flag ahead of Tuesday night's reception for the players. Many followed. Guyton estimates that half of the players have bought a flag to put on their locker. Fans and legends signed dozens of flags for each other throughout the locker room.

Merchandise sales have doubled what was expected. The USGA boosted their orders for the weekend by 30% after crowds on Thursday and Friday significantly exceeded expectations.

USGA officials have acknowledged throughout the week that this major is long overdue.

"It was really difficult to look someone in the face"USGA Executive Director Mike Davis said “And to say that's the reason we couldn't do it”.

It was the right thing to do for golf, to give women who are nearing the end of their LPGA careers a reason to stay in the game. Davis pointed out that when the US Senior Open debuted in 1980, the modern senior circuit did not exist. The hope, of course, is that this championship does something similar for the fledgling Legends Tour.

"You all seem to be young", Carner said as he opened his speech at the players reception on Tuesday night. The eight-time USGA champion caused a stir with her six-minute speech.

"My goal is that the DNF (did not finish) mention will not be on my card"said Carner, who hadn't walked on a golf course in 14 years. "Yesterday, she could have been ROB (ran out of balls). "

Pretty much anywhere you would have turned at the Chicago Golf Club, you would have seen someone's idol.

Suzy Whaley, a 51-year-old dynamo in line to become America's first female PGA President, had posters of Nancy Lopez and Carner on her wall when she was a child. She recalled a time when she ran under the ropes on the green during play at her first LPGA event to get Lopez's autograph.

"She signed, she signed my hat, she signed everything I had," said Whaley, “And she said, 'Now I'm going to tell you, you'll probably get more autographs if you ask for them behind the ropes. "

Lopez didn't scold her. Did not chase her away. It was a moment that shaped Whaley, who still has that signed Corning Classic scorecard.

Knee surgery prevented Lopez from participating in this championship. She will have her left knee healed on November 1 and will give her a 50% chance to be on the pitch at Pine Needles in 2019. Lopez's presence on the first tee as an honorary start, at a children's clinic on Saturday and the 18th fairway on Sunday, added another layer of magic to a weekend that included Hall of Fame members such as Amy Alcott, Hollis Stacy, Betsy King and Pat Bradley.

Sandra Palmer, 77, hit two balls into the water on Friday's par-10 3th hole, her opening hole. No one around the teeing off could breathe until their third shot hit the ground.

Palmer, the 19-time LPGA champion, stayed there over the weekend with many of her peers to see this historic championship until the end. She was sheepish about her scorecard, but she smiled and said: “I did a swing for every friend who texted me. I am so grateful. "

For all those who had the privilege of being there, it was a major for posterity. A return that reminded us of all that is missing today in the game.