Hutchinson ? Picture this: A helicopter pans over the fairways of a lush golf course, showcasing large galleries and a talented field of 150 of the world’s finest women’s golfers.

Or imagine a blimp shows a sellout, sun-drenched crowd of 100,000 as daring men in racing machines compete on a 1.5-mile course.

Traffic moves along Kansas Highway 61 under a U.S. Women's Open sign in Hutchinson. Best known for salt and wheat, the city is hoping for an economic boost this week from the golf championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club.

Whether sports fans choose to watch the U.S. Women’s Open or action from the Kansas Speedway, they will be watching Kansas.

And some Kansans couldn’t be happier.

“It is an enhancement of the state’s image with the kind of television exposure that we could never afford to purchase,” said Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer, who also serves as secretary of commerce and housing.

Gary Mundhenke, co-chairman of the 57th U.S. Women’s Open at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, said the golf world already knew about the course. Television will spread the golf world’s message about it.

“I think the rest of Kansas is beginning to realize just how big this event really is,” Mundhenke said. “There may be some videotape used this weekend.”

When planning for the events began three years ago, organizers did not know that the Fourth of July weekend would be such a sports boon for the state.

“Any time you have more than one choice, it’s a good thing,” said Sammy Lukaskiewicz, spokeswoman for the speedway.

Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race will be televised on ESPN, and Sunday’s Indy Racing League races will be televised on ABC.

The U.S. Women’s Open will be televised on ESPN from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and Friday and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on NBC. In addition, more than 225 journalists from around the world will cover events for print and broadcast organizations.

Sell-out races

At the speedway, Lukaskiewicz said ratings for last year’s races were strong and expected much the same for the IRL race, which last year featured one of the closest finishes in IRL history. The Kansas event kicks off the second half of the IRL season.

Tickets for the weekend have been sold out for the second consecutive year at the 78,000-seat venue in western Wyandotte County. Additional fans are expected to park motor homes in the infield and surrounding grounds.

All eyes on Hutchinson

In Hutchinson, the U.S. Women’s Open is the first in Kansas since 1957, when it was at the Wichita Country Club.

However, televised golf and Kansas are not new, with the final round of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship televised live from Flint Hill’s National Golf Course in Andover.

Cora Jane Blanchard, chairman of the USGA Women’s Committee, said Prairie Dunes is a great setting for golf and should provide a good test for the 150 players entered.

“Twenty-two-hundred volunteers are enthusiastic and pleased to show off their county and the course,” Blanchard said.

She said the USGA attempts to place its 13 championships throughout the country but looks above all for the best courses to test golfers’ skills.

“The Women’s Open has grown. It isn’t vital that we go to a great big market,” Blanchard said, citing the 1999 championship at West Point, Miss. “The focal point is the course.”

One proud fan will be Judy Bell, a Wichita native and the first female president of the USGA. Bell has long been an advocate for women’s golf and bringing championships to Kansas, including Prairie Dunes which she calls her favorite place in the world.

Bell, who has been battling cancer, said she would not have missed the Open, having pushed the USGA to award the event to Hutchinson since the early 1990s. She expects fans to see the world’s best use every club in the bag, especially if Kansas winds gust over the par-70 course.

“It’s the most special golf moment we’ve ever had,” Bell said.