Prague, June 2, 2025
There are only two golf tournaments in the world that are among the toughest every year. In both the men’s and women’s categories, they are the British Open and the US Open. Both tournaments are among the oldest and, thanks to their open championship status, you can get an invitation to either by winning one of the qualifying tournaments. Czech professional player Klára Davidson Spilková not only managed to qualify for the tournament, but also survived the cut. She thus finished the tournament in 59th position among 156 of the best players in the world. For Davidson Spilková, this was her 21st participation in a major category event and her sixth time making the cut in such events. She is the only player in the entire history of Czech golf who has managed to make a cut in a major.
“After the last round, I will leave the tournament with somewhat mixed feelings, but on the other hand, it will be positive overall. The whole week was one great experience. After all, major tournaments are not played every week. I was not actually surprised by the course itself and its length, but by how they prepared and set it up for each round. Every day it was a little harder and harder, and the already fast greens at the beginning were even faster day by day. Most of the greens at Erin Hills are elevated and quite shaped. Just keeping the ball on them was very difficult. Overall, the game was challenging in terms of both putting and short game. The hardest thing on the course was to stay positive and fully focused on each individual shot, especially when each round lasted over six hours compared to the standard four. It was a big test for each of us.”
After qualifying for the tournament, Davidson Spilková was not intimidated by the strong competition and the long, difficult course.
“The US Open has always been and will always be one of the toughest events in the world, even compared to the British Open Championship or the Olympic tournament. The organizers always try to find not only a difficult course, but also the most difficult possible setup. When you imagine all this combined with tall, thick grass in the rough, it is difficult to compare it to any other tournament. The US Open is specific and unique. Any success, even just in the form of advancing to the final rounds, counts.”
For Davidson Spilková and her husband Sean as caddie, it was a return to the world’s biggest stage and to American soil after a year.
“Playing in the United States again was great. Sean’s family and a few other friends came to the tournament to support us. Thanks to my husband’s family, America is our second home and we always love to come back. A big thank you goes to Sean. Every time we have the chance to play together, we create a great and well-coordinated team.”
By winning the qualifying tournament and participating in the final rounds of the toughest major, Davidson Spilková confirmed that this may not be just another dream come true.
“Returning to the US Open has fulfilled a big dream for me and the participation itself was a great experience that I will draw from for the rest of the year. It will be important for me to maintain the confidence I gained from participating and turn it into solid results in the Ladies European Tour tournaments. I feel great both mentally and physically at the moment and I feel like everything is going in the right direction. Especially when I realize that it has not even been nine months since I fought with an injured hip, had to take a long break from golf and did not know what would happen next, let alone play in such big tournaments and gain more experience there.”
Davidson Spilková’s first three rounds met her high expectations. A slight hesitation appeared only in the last round, when she lacked confidence and when the course setting was beyond the capabilities of many players.
“Of course I’m sorry about the last round, but this is also part of top-level golf and my golf cannot be judged by that. I played absolutely great for three days, I enjoyed the game and realized that there is something to build on. Now it’s about maintaining the positive energy I gained, feeling good on the course and in my personal life and taking everything with natural ease.”
The next tournaments for Davidson Spilková will be the European series events. The first of these will be the Belgian Hulencourt Women’s Open in two weeks and immediately after that the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open in Beroun. She also plans to play tournaments in the British Isles and Ireland, which will take place during July.
Klára Davidson Spilková’s upcoming tournament calendar:
12.–15. 6. Hulencourt Women’s Open, Genappe, Belgium
20.–22. 6. Tipsport Czech Ladies Open, Beroun, Czech Republic
26.–29. 6th Amundi German Masters, Hamburg, Germany
Photo: US Women’s Open
