Hutchinson ? Karrie Webb stands on the verge of history today when the 57th U.S. Women’s Open begins at Prairie Dunes Country Club.

All that stands between the Australian and a third straight Open title are 149 of the planet’s best women golfers, the 17th-ranked course in the world, a grim weather forecast and 56 years of history.

Karrie Webb tees off during a practice round Wednesday at Prairie Dunes. The U.S. Women's Open begins today in Hutchinson.

First, the history.

Six other women have won back-to-back U.S. Open championships, but none have won three straight. Webb’s chief rival, Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam, was the most recent golfer to try and fail for the elusive three-peat.

“What Karrie is up for this week is really exciting,” said Sorenstam, the 1995 and 1996 champion. “I had the chance in ’97 and didn’t make the most of it. I was very nervous at the time. It was something I really wanted badly, but I wasn’t ready that year.”

Sorenstam not only didn’t win in 1997, she failed to make the cut at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course in North Plains, Ore.

Sorenstam isn’t alone. Mickey Wright (1958-59), Donna Caponi (1969-70), Susie Bering (1972-73), Hollis Stacy (1977-78) and Betsy King (1989-90) couldn’t do it, either.

King said it’s difficult to repeat because the Open moves to a different course each year, and a golfer’s game might be more suited to one course than another.

“You’re on a different golf course, so you (don’t feel like) you’re the defending champion,” she said.

Webb might be the golfer capable of pulling it off. She’s won five major titles in the last four years and has won 27 LPGA events since 1995.

	U.S. Women’s Open at a glanceA brief look at the 57th U.S. Women’s Open:When: today-Sunday.Where: Prairie Dunes Country Club, Hutchinson.Architect: Perry Maxwell.Length: 6,293 yards.Par: 35-3570.Format: 72 holes of stroke play. 18-hole playoff Monday if necessary.Purse: $3 million.Winner’s share: $535,000.Field: 150 players, including 15 amateurs.Defending champion: Karrie Webb.Last year: Webb closed with a 69 for an eight-stroke victory at Pine Needles, the largest margin of victory in 21 years.Swan Song: Nancy Lopez is playing in her 25th and final U.S. Women’s Open. She has never won, finishing second four times.Noteworthy: Webb will try to become the first player to win the U.S. Women’s Open three straight years.Quoteworthy: “I can’t think about three in a row until I have a chance to win.” Webb.Key tee times: Annika Sorenstam, Juli Inkster, Amy Fruhwirth, 8:21 a.m.; Karrie Webb, Se Ri Pak, Meredith Duncan, 1:46 p.m.Television: today, 11 a.m-3 p.m., ESPN.

“She’s got the game to do it,” said 1999 champion Juli Inkster. “This golf course requires distance and accuracy, and she’s got both of those.”

Webb has struggled at times this year, finishing out of the top 10 four times in nine starts. She claimed her first victory of the season two weeks ago at Wegmans Rochester LPGA in Pittsford, N.Y.

“I think I have seen a lot of good things in the last couple of weeks, and actually feel that my game is in as good a shape as it has been all year,” said Webb, who is focusing on playing well, not making history. “I feel fortunate that I have a chance to do something no one has ever done before, but I still have to get to that position first to have a chance to win so that’s really what I’m trying to think about.”

While Webb tries not to think about the three-peat, it’s a hot topic with the media, the fans and her competitors.

“I would say she’s got as good a chance or better chance than most people out there,” Inkster said. “I think winning in Rochester really helped her, kind of took the pressure off.”

Webb might be a favorite, but don’t expect anyone to let the 27-year-old walk away with the $535,00 first-place check.

Sorenstam already has won six times this season, including last week’s ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway Township, N.J. She has placed in the top 10 in 11 of her 12 starts, including two runner-up finishes.

The other member of the LPGA’s Big Three is Korea’s Se Ri Pak. The 1998 champion will be paired with Webb today and Friday.

Pak, a two-time winner this season, said she often felt overshadowed by Sorenstam and Webb. Playing alongside the two-time champion will give Pak a chance to steal the spotlight and maybe pick up a few pointers.

“I always like to play with a strong player,” she said. “I can learn something from Karrie. I mean, she plays good.”

Like Pak, American Laura Diaz has won twice this season. Other 2002 winners in the field are Scotland’s Janice Moodie, Australia’s Rachel Teske and Americans Cristie Kerr and Inkster.

Inkster, the only American to win the Open in the past seven years, has won at Prairie Dunes before. She claimed the first of her three U.S. Women’s Amateur titles here in 1980.

“That was 22 years ago a long time, but I do have fond memories of winning and it kind of got my career going,” said Inkster, a 27-time winner on tour.

Inkster is one of five Hall of Famers in the field. The others are fellow Americans King, Beth Daniel, two-time champion Patty Sheehan (1992, 1994) and four-time runner-up Nancy Lopez.

Other Americans to watch include Kelly Robbins, Meg Mallon and Wendy Ward.

Golfers are likely to see the extremes of Prairie Dunes. Rain is in the forecast for today and Saturday, which could make the par-70 course play even longer than its 6,267- and 6,293-yard layouts. (Different yardages will be used for the 15th hole.)

Two days of rain softened the greens before the sun finally appeared on Wednesday, when temperatures climbed to 84 and the greens played faster during practice rounds.

Prairie Dunes superintendent Stan George knows that more rain or a rare break in the wind that normally howls across the sand hills would lower the course’s defenses and make the course play easier.

But he isn’t counting on it.

“Double figures over (par),” he said, “would not surprise me as much as double figures under.”