SAN MARTIN, CA (July 4, 2016) -- The 71st playing of
the U.S. Women's Open is set to begin on Thursday at
CordeValle Golf Club and this year 26 amateurs from
around the world will be in the field.
Of the group in this year's field, 10 players are
presently
ranked in the top-100 of the
Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Rankings:
Lauren Stephenson (No. 3): Before transferring
to Alabama, Stephenson became the first Clemson
women's golfer to reach the NCAA Women's
Tournament. Stephenson, a first-team Rolex
Junior All-American in 2014, has already had a
successful summer winning the Women's Eastern
Amateur.
Bailey Tardy (No. 7): It was a banner
freshman year for Tardy at Georgia. Not only did she
take home SEC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-
SEC honors, but she was also voted a first-team All-
American. Tardy became the first Bulldog freshman to
earn
All-American honors since Reilley Rankin in 1998.
Hannah O'Sullivan (No. 15): 2016 marks
the fourth time that Sullivan will compete in the U.S.
Open. She previsoulsy missed the cut in 2012 and
2014, before making the cut last year and tying for
53rd.
Last year O'Sullivan picked up four signature wins;
including the U.S. Women’s Amateur and
Symetra Tour’s Gateway Classic. Her Symetra Tour win
made her the first amateur to win on the tour since
Kellee Booth in 1999.
Earlier this year, O'Sullivan finished tied for 65th in
the LPGA Tour's ANA Inspiration.
Jennifer Kupcho (No. 23): A strong
freshman year at Wake Forest for Kupcho, ended with a
sixth place finish at the NCAA Championship's and a
place on
the All-American honorable mention list.
Kupcho reached the Round of 16 in the 2015 U.S.
Women's Amateur and was named the Colorado
Women's Golf Association Player of the Year.
Hye-Jin Choi (No. 25): Choi has already
played in two LPGA Tour events this year, making the
cut both times. In February Choi tied for 38th at the
ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open and tied for 52nd
in April's LOTTE Championship Presented by Hershey.
So far this year, Choi has played in four ranking
events and she is yet to finish outside the top-16. Her
best finish was a win at the Lake Macquarie Women's
Amateur.
Robynn Ree (No. 43): A rising sophomore
at
USC, Ree won The Gold Rush tournament in February to
record her first collegiate win. Ree capped off her
freshman year, by being named to the All-American
second-team.
Prior to arriving at USC Ree was a 2014 AJGA first-
team All-American.
Sierra Brooks (No. 47): Heading to Wake
Forest in the fall, Brooks finished runner-up in the 2015
U.S. Women's Amateur after winning the South Atlantic
Women’s Amateur earlier in the year.
Albane Valenzuela (No. 64): Earlier this
season Valenzuela finished tied for 65th at the LPGA
ANA Inspiration, while in two ranking events she has
top-10 finishes. Valenzuela's best finish came at the
Portuguese International Ladies Amateur, when she
finished second.
Mika Liu (No. 72): Liu already has a USGA
championship to her name as she heads to CordeValle
Golf Club. In 2015, playing alongside Rinko Mitsunaga
who is also in the field this week, she won the inaugural
U.S. Women's Four-Ball title. In January, Liu won the
South Atlantic Ladies Amateur to get her season off to a
strong start.
Leona Maguire (No. 86): The 2015 Annika
Award winner will be heading into her junior year at
Duke and it has already been a successful
career. Maguire won the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel
Invitational during the fall season of 2015-216 calendar
year.
As a freshman, she finished first at the NCAA
Central
Regional and was also voted the national Freshman of
the Year.
ADDITIONAL AMATEURS IN THE FIELD
-Chih-Min Chen-Marissa Chow-
Allisen Corpuz-Julia
Engstrom-Anna Hack-Yu Sang Hou-
Alexandra Kaui-Naomi Eun Young Ko-Yan
Liu-Rinko Mitsunaga-Haeran Ryu-
Karah Sanford-Chika Sawada-Erica
Shepherd-Hannah Wood-Yunjie
Zhang
-The USGA contributed to this story
ABOUT THE
U.S. Women's Open
The U.S. Women's Open has the biggest payout in women's golf. It is one of 15 annual
championships conducted by the USGA. The
event is open to any professional or amateur female golfer. There is a handicap limit for amateurs; for the 2024 event it was 4.4; please see USGA website for the current limit and entry requirements.
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