Tag: WAGR

Julia Lopez Ramirez, the third-ranked amateur in the world, is turning professional

The amateur deadline to turn professional to compete in Final Qualifying is Friday at 5 p.m. ET.

One of the best players in college golf has decided to take the next step in her career.

Julia Lopez Ramirez, the third-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is leaving Mississippi State and turning professional. She’s expected to tee it up next month in the Final Qualifying stage of LPGA Q-Series, which requires players to have professional status to compete. UCLA senior Zoe Campos, eighth in WAGR, also turned professional to play at Final Qualifying

Lopez Ramirez is the two-time reigning SEC individual champion and was one of 25 golfers on the Annika Award final fall watch list for her fall season.

Five amateurs advanced past the second stage of LPGA Qualifying, including 2024 NCAA individual champion Adela Cernousek, but the senior at Texas A&M is returning to school for the spring. Also advancing were Western Kentucky’s Catie Craig and Campos’ Bruin teammate Caroline Canales.

LPGA: With the success of PGA Tour University, should the LPGA follow suit for the top female collegiate players?

The amateur deadline to turn professional and compete in Final Qualifying is 5 p.m. ET Friday. Those who don’t turn professional will receive Epson Tour status.

Final Qualifying is set for Dec. 5-9 at Magnolia Grove Golf Club in Mobile, Alabama.

Lottie Woad wins Mark H. McCormack medal as world’s top female amateur

Woad is the first female winner of the McCormack Medal from England.

Lottie Woad, who’s set to begin her third season at Florida State this fall after representing the GB&I team at the Curtis Cup, has been named winner of the Mark H. McCormack medal, the United States Golf Association and R&A announced Wednesday.

The McCormack medal is given to the leading female player in the 2024 World Amateur Golf Ranking. Ingrid Lindblad won the award last year.

Woad is the first female winner of the McCormack Medal from England. She also receives exemptions into the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills and next year’s AIG Women’s Open.

“I’m really happy to have won the McCormack Medal,” said Woad. “It rounds off a successful year for me and I’m honored to be named alongside the previous recipients of the medal.

“It was always a goal of mine to reach number one and become the world’s leading amateur golfer. It’s taken a while to get there but it’s nice to see all the hard work pay off and achieve this milestone.”

Earlier this year, the 20-year-old became the first European golfer to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in dramatic fashion after going birdie-birdie over the final two holes to clip USC’s Bailey Shoemaker by one shot.

She has amassed three victories in her collegiate career, including last fall at the Annika Intercollegiate. Woad has also recorded three second-place finishes, including the 2024 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship.

Field for 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur set, includes No. 1 in WAGR and two past champs

The field includes players from 18 countries and six continents.

The field for the fifth Augusta National Women’s Amateur is set.

A full field of 72 golfers is confirmed for the 2024 competition, which is set for April 3-6, the week before the Masters, Augusta National Golf Club confirmed Wednesday.

The top 43 eligible amateurs in the final World Amateur Golf Ranking of 2023 have accepted invitations to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The field includes players from 18 countries and six continents, including two of the last three champions in Tsubasa Kajitani (2021) and Anna Davis (2022), along with top-ranked amateur and three-time participant Ingrid Lindblad.

The Augusta National Women’s Amateur field will compete across 54 holes of stroke play, with a cut to 30 players and ties taking place after 36 holes. The first two rounds will take place on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club on Wednesday, April 3, and Thursday, April 4. The entire field will then play Augusta National for an official practice round on Friday, April 5. The final round, featuring competitors who made the cut, will take place on Saturday, April 6 at Augusta National.

The first and second rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur will be broadcast live on Golf Channel (1:30-3:30 p.m. ET) from Champions Retreat Golf Club. NBC Sports will produce and broadcast three hours (Noon-3 p.m. ET) of live final-round coverage of the event at Augusta National.

Additionally, Golf Channel’s “Live From the Masters” will commence on Friday, April 5 at Augusta National to provide coverage of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals and the Masters Tournament.

Rose Zhang is the defending champion, defeating Jenny Bae in a playoff.

Here’s a look at the field for the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Player Country
Yuna Araki Japan
Kajsa Arwefjall Sweden
Amari Avery USA
Helen Briem Germany
Phoebe Brinker USA
Zoe Antoinette Campos USA
Jensen Castle USA
Leigh Chien USA
Gianna Clemente USA
Hailee Cooper USA
Hannah Darling Scotland
Anna Davis USA
Sadie Englemann USA
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio Spain
Maisie Filler USA
Francesa Fiorellini Italy
Laney Frye USA
Eila Galitsky Thailand
Megha Ganne USA
Melanie Green USA
Charlotte Heath England
Rachel Heck USA
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard Australia
Chiara Horder Germany
Saori Iijima Japan
Tsubasa Kajitani Japan
Lauren Kim Canada
Minsol Kim
Korea
Jasmine Koo USA
Rachel Kuehn USA
Andrea Lignell Sweden
Ingrid Lindblad Sweden
Julia Lopez Ramirez Spain
Carolina Lopez-Chacarra Coto Spain
Caitlyn Macnab South Africa
Rianne Malixi Philippines
Maria Jose Marin Colombia
Paula Martin Sampedro Spain
Emma McMyler USA
Ashley Menne USA
Emilia Migliaccio Doran USA
Anna Morgan USA
Hinano Muguruma Japan
Kokoro Nakamura Japan
Lauryn Nguyen USA
Farah O’Keefe USA
Meja Ortengren Sweden
Annabelle Pancake USA
Ashleigh Park USA
Catherine Park USA
Jennie Park USA
Avani Prashanth India
Andrea Revuelta Spain
Kiara Romero USA
Louise Rydqvist Sweden
Amanda Sambach USA
Megan Schofill USA
Mamika Shinchi Japan
Bailey Shoemaker USA
Latanna Stone USA
Nora Sundberg Sweden
Asterisk Talley USA
Rocio Tejedo Spain
Sayaka Teraoka Japan
Mirabel Ting Malaysia
Casey Weidenfeld USA
Yana Wilson USA
Lottie Woad England
Chun-Wei Wu Chinese Taipei
Kelly Xu USA
Suzuna Yokoyama Japan
Rin Yoshida Japan

 

Ingrid Lindblad wins Mark H. McCormack medal as world’s top female amateur

Lindblad becomes the first golfer, male or female, from Sweden to win the McCormack Medal. 

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Ingrid Lindblad, who’s set to begin her fifth season at LSU this fall, has been named winner of the Mark H. McCormack medal, the United States Golf Association and R&A announced Wednesday.

The McCormack medal is given to the leading female player in the 2023 World Amateur Golf Ranking. Rose Zhang won the past three McCormack medals.

Lindblad receives exemptions into the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania as well as the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews.  

“It’s an honor to receive this medal,” Lindblad said in a release. “Looking back at past recipients, it’s amazing to see what they have accomplished and to join them on this list. I am honored to have received this award and I believe it’s a receipt of all the hard work I’ve put into this game” 

Lindblad has had a stellar college career, winning 11 times for LSU, including the 2022 SEC individual championship, as well as two SEC Player of the Year honors. In that time, she has earned 33 top-10 finishes and is a four-time All-SEC team selection. She was named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2020. She’s a four-time Golfweek first-team All-American.

In addition, Lindblad has shined on the international stage. She won the 2021 European Ladies Amateur Championship and earned low-amateur honors at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open with a T-11 finish that included a first-round 65, setting the all-time amateur scoring record for the championship. She won the World Amateur Team Championship with Sweden in 2022, earned a runner-up finish at the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and a runner-up finish at the 2023 European Ladies Amateur. She has competed in six major championships, making the cut in two.  

With the award, Lindblad becomes the first golfer, male or female, from Sweden to win the McCormack Medal. 

The R&A and the USGA co-award the McCormack Medal annually. It is named after Mark H. McCormack, who founded the sports marketing company IMG and was a great supporter of amateur golf. 

Rose Zhang breaks Leona Maguire’s record for most time ranked No. 1 in World Amateur Golf Ranking

Zhang has spent 136 weeks as the world’s leading female amateur golfer.

What can’t Rose Zhang do?

She has won just nearly every prestigious tournament an amateur can. The Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which she captured earlier this month. The U.S. Girls’ Junior. The U.S. Women’s Amateur. The NCAA individual title.

And Wednesday, she gets to tack yet another accomplishment to her resume: most weeks as the No. 1 golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Zhang has spent 136 weeks as the world’s leading female amateur golfer, surpassing the total of 135 weeks that Leona Maguire set in 2018. The record for male amateur golfers is 87 weeks, held by Keita Nakajima of Japan.

The sophomore at Stanford ascended to the No. 1 position in WAGR in September 2020. She also bested Lydia Ko’s record of 130 consecutive weeks by remaining at the top ever since.

“It’s an unbelievable honor and a testament to a lot of hard work not just by me but by my team as well,” Zhang said in a release. “Passing names like Lydia and Leona on any list is incredible; they’ve both gone on to have such impressive professional careers and are great role models in golf. I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received and look forward to continuing to pursue my dreams in this game.”

Zhang is a three-time winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal, coming in 2020, 2021 and 2022, as the world’s leading women’s amateur golfer. Only  Maguire and Ko have won the award three times previously.

“I want to congratulate Rose on this amazing achievement,” Maguire said in a release. “It takes so much hard work and determination to become the world’s number one amateur golfer and to consistently hold that position for a record-breaking number of weeks shows just how good a golfer Rose really is. She is a future star of the game.”

On Tuesday at the Pac-12 Championships at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, she broke the 36-hole scoring record. Entering the final round, she is at 9 under with a four-shot lead. If Zhang were to hold on to win, it would be her 10th victory, setting a new Stanford record for wins by a women’s golfer in a career. Zhang is currently tied with Andrea Lee at nine.

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Rose Zhang just broke a record set by Lydia Ko, and a Tiger Woods record is in sight

Last week, Rose Zhang, a two-time USGA champion, recorded her ninth college victory.

Rose Zhang now owns another record in the amateur game for most consecutive weeks at No. 1. After this week’s World Amateur Golf Ranking update, Zhang has now owned the top spot for 131 straight weeks, passing Lydia Ko, who is currently No. 1 in the professional Rolex Rankings.

Should she stay in the top spot for the next month, Zhang will pass Leona Maguire for most total weeks at No. 1 on April 19 at 136 weeks.

Last week, Zhang, a two-time USGA champion, recorded her ninth college victory, equaling the Stanford women’s record set by Andrea Lee. The two-shot victory at the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational was Zhang’s fifth win in six starts this season.

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Tiger Woods (26 starts), Maverick McNealy (45 starts) and Patrick Rodgers (35 starts) hold the all-time record for most wins among both the men’s and women’s teams at Stanford with 11.

Zhang, who has only teed it up in 16 events for the Cardinal thus far, has 13 top-two finishes in that stretch. Her only career finish outside the top 10 was a tie for 12th earlier this season at the Stephens Cup.

“I always say nobody goes to Stanford to be mediocre,” said McNealy earlier this week at the Valspar Championship, “and that team is definitely the epitome of that. It’s fun to see Rose doing what she’s doing.

Former Arizona star and LPGA and World Golf Hall of Famer Lorena Ochoa holds the Pac-12 record for career victories with 12. Kim Welch from Washington State had 11 and Marisa Baena from Arizona notched 10.

There are five events left on Stanford’s spring schedule.

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All three rounds of 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur to be broadcast; field includes World No. 1 Rose Zhang, last two champions

The field is going to be loaded.

If the initial field is any indication, the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur is going to be the best yet.

Invitations for the fourth ANWA were sent out last month, and 70 players as of Feb. 1 are confirmed in the field for the event, which is slated for March 29-April 1. What’s more impressive is the quality of the field.

Each of the top 45 eligible amateurs in the final World Amateur Golf Ranking of 2022 have accepted invitations to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, including the last two champions, Tsubasa Kajitani and Anna Davis, along with top-ranked amateur Rose Zhang, a sophomore at Stanford.

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Held the week before the 87th Masters, the first and second rounds of the ANWA will be at Champions Retreat Golf Club on the Island and Bluff nines. Come Friday, all players will have a practice round at Augusta National before those who make the 36-hole cut compete in the final round Saturday. The 36-hole cut will now be the top 30 and ties, as well.

For the first time ever, the first two rounds will be broadcast on Golf Channel from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET. NBC will air the final round from 12-3 p.m. ET.

The winner of the ANWA will earn exemptions into three majors: the Chevron Championship, U.S. Women’s Open and AIG Women’s Open.

Tickets are sold out for the ANWA. More information on the field can be found here.

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2023 Golfweek Senior Amateur – March 30 – April 3, 2023

PERFECT WEATHER, AN IMPECCABLY MANICURED COURSE AND GREAT COMPETITION. WHAT A PLACE TO BE IN MARCH AND APRIL 2023 Just a short drive from the golf rich mecca of Palm Springs is Desert Willow Golf Resort featuring the Firecliff Course – ranked as one …

PERFECT WEATHER, AN IMPECCABLY MANICURED COURSE AND GREAT COMPETITION. WHAT A PLACE TO BE IN MARCH AND APRIL 2023

Just a short drive from the golf rich mecca of Palm Springs is Desert Willow Golf Resort featuring the Firecliff Course – ranked as one of the best courses you can play in California. Firecliff is framed by the picturesque Santa Rosa Mountains and features a perfect balance between grass landing areas, desert roughs and waste areas. This unique design offers a course that isn’t target golf, but embraces the desert-scape creating a very fair and playable golf course.

The 2023 Golfweek Senior Division National Championship – Open Registration

IT’S THE PERFECT PLACE TO BE IN MARCH 2023 – DON’T MISS THE FANTASTIC WEATHER, BEAUTIFUL VIEWS AND COMPETITIVE GOLF! Desert Willow Golf Club in Palm Desert, CA is located in the heart of the golf rich mecca of Palm Springs and will host the 2023 …

IT’S THE PERFECT PLACE TO BE IN MARCH 2023 – DON’T MISS THE FANTASTIC WEATHER, BEAUTIFUL VIEWS AND COMPETITIVE GOLF!

Desert Willow Golf Club in Palm Desert, CA is located in the heart of the golf rich mecca of Palm Springs and will host the 2023 Golfweek Senior Division National Championship. The Mountain View course will be a test of skill as you negotiate your way around numerous water features, undulating greens and beautifully framed mountain views. Join us for the second-annual Golfweek Senior Division National Championship- where players from every state will tee it up against the world’s best senior amateur golfers.

NOTE: Limited to 84 players.

This tournament will be contested from one set of tees. Open to players 55 years of age and over as of March 26, 2023

                       *** 2022 CHAMPION – JERRY GUNTHORPE ***

2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup

Join us for the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup, December 14-16 at Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation, Fla! The 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup will provide you with the opportunity to play The East Course, one of south Florida’s finest. The …

Join us for the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup, December 14-16 at Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation, Fla! The 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup will provide you with the opportunity to play The East Course, one of south Florida’s finest. The East Course at Jacaranda is as much about strategy as it is about difficulty and puts a premium on a solid short game.

Now in its fourth year, the Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup is a tournament within a tournament. Champions will be crowned in each division while at the same time two teams, one captained by current U.S. Senior Amateur Champion, Rusty Strawn, and the other by 2019 Golfweek senior player of the year, Craig Hurlbert, will do battle for the overall Challenge Cup trophy. Members of each team will be selected by captains pick and blind draw. Don’t miss this Golfweek Elite Senior Amateur tournament featuring one of the premier fields in senior amateur golf!

The Challenge Cup is the last national ranking tournament of 2022 and will help decide the 2022 Golfweek Player of the Year in each division. Jacaranda Golf Club will be the perfect venue for the fourth annual Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All Golfweek senior amateur tournaments are WAGR counting tournaments leading to twenty-five exemptions into the 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur to be contested at Martis Camp in Truckee, Calif.