Good things are worth waiting for, and that certainly is the case with the third U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Originally scheduled for 2020, the championship was pushed back a year by COVID-19, but Brooklawn Country Club, the USGA and the players adapted perfectly to the changes imposed by the pandemic. And for the 120 players in the field, the gathering in coastal Connecticut renews a tradition that began when Laura Davies won at Chicago Golf Club in 2018 and continued at Pine Needles the next year with Helen Alfredsson’s triumph.

Among the 41 players in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open for the first time are three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Annika Sorenstam and Pat Hurst, who won the 1986 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 1990 U.S. Women’s Amateur. Those newcomers will have to contend with Davies and Alfredsson as well as Juli Inkster, who won the U.S. Women’s Amateur three consecutive times beginning in 1980 as well as the U.S. Women’s Open in 1999 and 2002, and 1988 U.S. Women’s Open winner Liselotte Neumann. In Year 3, the U.S. Senior Women’s Open has its strongest field yet.

Here are 3 things to look for in the first two rounds at Brooklawn C.C.

Compelling pairings

Among the many cool things about the U.S. Senior Women’s Open is the way history hugs the event. You can’t turn around without seeing a legend of the game. And in the first two rounds you won’t have to look far. In Round 1 on Thursday, the 7:33 a.m. tee time off No. 1 has Alfredsson, Inkster and two-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur winner Lara Tennant. At 7:55 a.m. are Davies, Sorenstam and Neumann, followed at 8:17 a.m. by Hurst, along with her opposing Solheim Cup captain for Europe, Catriona Matthew, as well as Sarah LeBrun Ingram, USA Curtis Cup captain for next month’s match in Wales.

For sheer historical star power, it’s difficult to top the 8:47 a.m. tee time off No. 12 in Round 1. That group includes JoAnne Carner, Carol Semple Thompson and Ellen Port, who have 22 USGA championship titles between them. Carner has won eight, Thompson seven, and they join Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win three different USGA championships. Port also has seven titles, taking the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur four times and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur on three occasions.

Truly an Open

The field of 120 at Brooklawn includes 58 players who earned their way in through qualifying. Among them are Dina Ammaccapane, who was co-medalist in the Mesa, Ariz., qualifier. She and her sister Danielle are competing in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open together for the second time (2019). Dana Dormann, head coach of the women’s golf team at San Jose State and 1985 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, qualified as did Caroline Gowan, one of 13 players in the field who played in the 1979 U.S. Women’s Open at Brooklawn.

And then there is Martha Leach. She was low amateur in the inaugural championship at Chicago Golf Club, finishing T-10. Leach has played in more than 70 USGA championships and won the 2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. And she is the sister of six-time USGA champion Hollis Stacy.

Intriguing Course

Brooklawn Country Club was one of the earliest members of the USGA, admitted in 1896. The championship layout is the result of a redesign by A.W. Tillinghast in 1930. The U.S. Senior Women’s Open is the fifth USGA championship at Brooklawn, joining the 1974 U.S. Junior Amateur, 1979 U.S. Women’s Open, 1987 U.S. Senior Open and the 2003 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Since 2003, hundreds of trees have been removed from the course to restore the look and feel of the course to what Tillinghast had in mind.

The characteristics of Brooklawn that players noticed immediately during practice rounds were the hills and the contours of the greens. The steep elevation changes make the course a challenging walk, and distance control with irons will be a key, as being above the hole is mostly a bad idea.

Also, the two-tee start will be off Nos. 1 and 12 for logistical reasons, and No. 8 will play as a 394-yard par 5, since the tee shot is into the side of a steep hill and the second shot is entirely uphill to a green surrounded by rough and bunkers.

Ron Sirak is a Massachusetts-based freelance writer who frequently contributes to USGA digital channels.