The field is set for the final major of the season after the USGA announced the 28 additional players who earned their way into the 75th U.S. Women’s Open through the Rolex Rankings. Notables among those include former USWO champion Cristie Kerr and 2020 AIG Women’s British Open champion Sophia Popov.
Several big-name players who didn’t sign up to compete in Houston next month include USWO past champions Michelle Wie (2014), Paula Creamer (2010) and Na Yeon Choi (2012). This marks the final year of Creamer’s 10-year exemption into the championship after her stirring triumph at Oakmont.
Wie, who gave birth to daughter Makenna Kamalei Yoona West on June 19, applied to play for the championship last month but told Golfweek that she was unsure about traveling without a vaccine in place.
“I just don’t know what COVID is going to look like,” Wie said. “I just don’t know if I feel comfortable traveling with her yet. In my mind I always thought by December it’s going to be safe to travel with her, but now … I’m not quite sure.”
Creamer last competed on the LPGA in October of 2019 at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea. She took up gardening during the LPGA’s long pandemic break.
There’s still one more major championship in 2020!
The #USWomensOpen kicks off Dec. 10 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas.
Tune in to catch all the #WomenWorthWatching! pic.twitter.com/tA2mV93nxQ
— U.S. Women's Open (USGA) (@uswomensopen) November 16, 2020
The 2020 USWO, pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, takes place Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston. The 2019 champion, Jeongeun Lee6, will be on hand to defend her title. Lee6, who last competed on the LPGA in February, is in the field at this week’s inaugural Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida.
The following 28 players gained entry via the Rolex Rankings: Hae Ran Ryu, Sophia Popov, Ayaka Furue, Hyun Kyung Park, Yuka Saso, Sakura Koiwai, Na Rin An, Song Yi Ahn, Erika Hara, Yuna Nishimura, Ji Hyun Kim, Anne van Dam, Alena Sharp, Min Sun5 Kim, Lala Anai, Eri Okayama, Cristie Kerr, Ga Young Lee, Ah-Reum Hwang, Pornanong Phatlum, Jun Min Lee, Ji Hun Oh, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Mi Jeong Jeon, Maria Fernanda Torres, Bo Ah Kim, Teresa Lu and Wei-Ling Hsu.
Popov, currently No. 28 in the world, will make her second USWO start in Houston. Kerr, the 2007 USWO champion at Pine Needles, has now qualified for her 22nd consecutive Women’s Open.
The list of the 156 golfers who are in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open field (as of Tuesday, Nov. 17):
| Marina Alex |
| Brittany Altomare |
| Na Rin An |
| a-Ho Yu An |
| Lala Anai |
| Saki Asai |
| Seon Woo Bae |
| Ana Belac |
| Celine Boutier |
| Nicole Broch Larsen |
| Ashleigh Buhai |
| Chella Choi |
| Hye Jin Choi |
| In Gee Chun |
| Carlota Ciganda |
| Cydney Clanton |
| a-Allisen Corpuz |
| Perrine Delacour |
| a-Caterina Don |
| Austin Ernst |
| Jodi Ewart Shadoff |
| Shanshan Feng |
| Fatima Fernandez Cano |
| Ayaka Furue |
| a-Amelia Garvey |
| Kristen Gillman |
| a-Linn Grant |
| Hannah Green |
| Jaye Marie Green |
| Georgia Hall |
| Jin Seon Han |
| Erika Hara |
| Mina Harigae |
| Nasa Hataoka |
| Brooke Henderson |
| Esther Henseleit |
| Mamiko Higa |
| Wei-Ling Hsu |
| Charley Hull |
| a-Lily May Humphreys |
| Mi Jung Hur |
| Ah-Reum Hwang |
| Mone Inami |
| Nuria Iturrioz |
| Janie Jackson |
| Mi Jeong Jeon |
| Eun-Hee Ji |
| Ariya Jutanugarn |
| Moriya Jutanugarn |
| Danielle Kang |
| Minami Katsu |
| Kim Kaufman |
| Yui Kawamoto |
| Cristie Kerr |
| Megan Khang |
| A Lim Kim |
| a-Auston Kim |
| Bo Ah Kim |
| Ji Hyun Kim |
| Ji Yeong2 Kim |
| Min Sun5 Kim |
| Sei Young Kim |
| a-Ina Kim-Schaad |
| Frida Kinhult |
| Katherine Kirk |
| Cheyenne Knight |
| Jin Young Ko |
| Lydia Ko |
| Nanna Koerstz Madsen |
| Sakura Koiwai |
| Jessica Korda |
| Nelly Korda |
| Jennifer Kupcho |
| a-Agathe Laisne |
| Brittany Lang |
| Bronte Law |
| Andrea Lee |
| Ga Young Lee |
| Jung Min Lee |
| Mi Hyang Lee |
| Minjee Lee |
| Minyoung2 Lee |
| Mirim Lee |
| Jeongeun Lee6 |
| Stacy Lewis |
| Hee Jeong Lim |
| Xiyu Lin |
| Brittany Lincicome |
| Pernilla Lindberg |
| a-Ingrid Lindblad |
| Yu Liu |
| Gaby Lopez |
| Teresa Lu |
| Meghan MacLaren |
| a-Lucie Malchirand |
| Caroline Masson |
| Ally McDonald |
| a-Olivia Mehaffey |
| a-Emilia Migliaccio |
| a-Benedetta Moresco |
| Azahara Munoz |
| Yuna Nishimura |
| a-Alessia Nobilio |
| Yealimi Noh |
| Anna Nordqvist |
| Su-Hyun Oh |
| Ji Hyun Oh |
| Eri Okayama |
| Amy Olson |
| Ryann O’Toole |
| Bianca Pagdanganan |
| a-Kaitlyn Papp |
| Annie Park |
| Hee Young Park |
| Hyun Kyung Park |
| Inbee Park |
| Ji Young Park |
| Sung Hyun Park |
| Emily Kristine Pedersen |
| Pornanong Phatlum |
| Gerina Piller |
| Sophia Popov |
| Morgan Pressel |
| Mel Reid |
| a-Pauline Roussin-Bouchard |
| a-Gabriela Ruffels |
| Hae Ran Ryu |
| So Yeon Ryu |
| Madelene Sagstrom |
| Lizette Salas |
| Yuka Saso |
| Alena Sharp |
| Hinako Shibuno |
| Jenny Shin |
| Marianne Skarpnord |
| Sarah Jane Smith |
| Jennifer Song |
| a-Emma Spitz |
| Angela Stanford |
| a-Maja Stark |
| Lauren Stephenson |
| Jasmine Suwannapura |
| Kelly Tan |
| Lexi Thompson |
| Maria Fernanda Torres |
| a-Emily Toy |
| Momoko Ueda |
| Anne van Dam |
| a-Beatrice Wallin |
| Lindsay Weaver |
| Christine Wolf |
| Jing Yan |
| Amy Yang |
| a-Lei Ye |
| Angel Yin |
| a-Rose Zhang |
a-denotes amateur; bold indicates past champion
[jwplayer vIMBikYj-vgFm21H3]
[lawrence-related id=778074958,778073899,778073123]