Hutchinson ? Karrie Webb isn’t afraid of a challenge.

Tough questions don’t seem to faze her, either.

During Monday’s U.S. Open media day at Prairie Dunes Country Club, the two-time defending champion from Australia was asked to explain how foreign players have come to dominate the LPGA Tour.

“I’ve had to answer this question a lot, so I’ve thought about it a lot,” said Webb, winner of five major championships.

Since Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam won back-to-back U.S. Opens in 1995 and 1996, foreign players have won six of the last seven Opens, but their domination hasn’t been limited to that elite event. Sorenstam leads the LPGA money list, and only three of the top-10 players are Americans.

“Some Americans take this the wrong way, and I hope you won’t,” said Webb, who will be among the favorites to win the Open in July. “The rest of the world holds this country at the highest level of everything, whether it be sports, business any category that you look at. I think the rest of the world thinks the United States is the best of everything, and if they’re not the best in sports they always seem to have someone who could win whatever sporting event it is. Even if they’re not the best, they’re still a favorite because they’re from the United States.”

Young American golfers have never had a shortage of role models, but that’s not the case in other countries, said Webb, who grew up rooting for fellow Aussies Greg Norman and Jan Stephenson.

Webb burst onto the LPGA scene in 1996 when she earned more than $1 million as a rookie, but before that she toiled in the Futures Tour and the Women’s Professional Golfers European Tour.

“When I turned pro, you couldn’t go to the United States first,” Webb said. “You could never be ready to come here first. You go to Europe. You go to Japan. You might come over here and play mini-tours for a couple of years until you thought you were ready.”

Webb was ready in 1996, winning four times and opening the eyes of Australian golfers in the process. Sorenstam did the same for Swedish golfers, and Se Ri Pak paved the way for Koreans.

“Because those people came out and did that, it’s given a lot more foreign players belief that they don’t have to wait five or six years until they’re ready to come here,” Webb said. “They just come here straight-away. Because people from their country have done it, they don’t see it as an impossible task.”

Two-time U.S. Women's Open champion Karrie Webb, right, yuks it up during media day for the 2002 Open. Webb and C.J. Blanchard, chair of the USGA Women's Committee, left, attended the news conference Monday in Hutchinson.

The success of foreign pros also has opened doors for foreign amateurs at U.S. colleges, Webb said, reducing the number of opportunities for U.S. amateurs.

Walkthrough: Webb didn’t play the Dunes on Monday, but she checked it out in a golf cart.

“It’s not something I’ve ever done, play a course in advance of tournament week,” she said. “It’s never what it’s going to be like that week. I try not to get preconceived notions. I could play here in a month and shoot 4 or 5 under and be like, ‘This is going to be a walk in the park.'”

The set up: The Dunes will be a par-70 for the Open, which runs July 4-7. The par threes will be between 142 and 200 yards long. Par fours will be between 320 and 437 yards, and the par fives will be more than 500 yards. The primary rough will be 31*2 inches tall, and the native grasses will be knee- to waist-deep.

The Dunes’ biggest obstacle might be the high winds that regularly whip the sand hills.

“I’d like to see a little wind, maybe not Blackwolf Run wind, but just a little bit of wind to bring the top players to the top of the leaderboard,” said Webb, who finished 31st in the Open in 1998 at Blackwolf Run Golf Course in Kohler, Wis.

Nancy Lopez, shown in this Sept. 6, 2001, file photo, accepted a special exemption to play in the 2002 U.S. Women's Open on Monday. The 2002 Open will run July 4-7 in Hutchinson.

More on the Dunes: Prairie Dunes is ranked 13th nationally by Golf Digest and 17th in worldwide by Golf Magazine. The course has played host to five previous USGA championships: the 1995 Senior Amateur, 1988 Mid-Amatuer and the Women’s Amatuer in 1964, 1980 and 1991. The Dunes was also the site of the 1986 Curtis Cup. The Big 12 men’s tournament will be played here next week.

Tickets: Tickets for July 4-7 are available beginning at $25 for a one-day grounds pass. A weekly pass, which includes admittance to practice rounds, costs $95. Children under 17 are admitted free with a paying adult. Tickets can be ordered at 620-728-2002 or online at www.prairiedunes.com.

Kansas native and past USGA president Judy Bell was instrumental in bringing the Open to Dunes, but she wasn’t able to attend media day because she is undergoing chemotherapy.

“The USGA has never had a sellout for the Women’s Open, and I can’t think of a better place than Hutchinson, Kan., on this magnificent set of links,” the World Golf Hall of Famer said in a statement.

Help wanted: About 1,975 people from 28 states and Canada have volunteered to help with the tournament. The USGA hopes to recruit 2,100 volunteers. People interested in helping can contact championship assistant volunteer coordinator Tomi Foust at 620-728-2002.

Up next: The local U.S. Open qualifier is May 14 at Hallbrook Country Club in Kansas City, Mo.