Why do so many young amateurs qualify for the US Women's Open compared to the men?
Lexi Thompson and Michelle Wie West were young amateurs in the field when they played in the 2007 U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Resort.
The pair is now among the best-known women golfers in the world and they will play this week when the Women's Open returns to Pine Needles.
In 2007, Thompson was only 12 years old, the youngest player to ever qualify for the Women's Open, at that time. She missed the cut but today she is No. 7 in the women's world golf rankings. Last year, she appeared on her way to winning her first Open title but she faltered on the back nine and missed a playoff by one stroke.
Wie West was 16 in 2007 but she had already burst onto the national scene when she qualified for her first USGA tournament at age 10. She had to withdraw from the 2007 Open after the first round with an injury. But in 2014, Wie West won the Women's Open at nearby Pinehurst Resort for the highlight of her career. She has played tournament golf sparingly in recent years after getting married and having a child.
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There are 31 amateurs, including 17 teenagers, in the 156-player field this week at Pine Needles. By comparison, only nine amateurs made the field last year in the men's U.S. Open.
Why do more young amateurs usually qualify for the Women's Open compared to the men?
The biggest reason is that men have more professional developmental tours to join and improve their games in hopes of making it one day to the PGA Tour. Most elite women players have to remain amateurs and hone their games in college.
Another reason is the influx of great female players from Asia, mostly Japan and the Republic of Korea. The parents pour time and money into training for their daughters and they emerge with perfect swings that rarely crack under pressure. They remain amateurs until their parents and coaches feel they are ready to turn pro. And then, many of them dominate women's golf.
Seven women in the Top 10 in the current World Golf Rankings were born in an Asian country. Yuka Saso, who was born in Japan and raised in the Philippines, was only 19 when she won the Women's Open last year.
Will any teenagers in this week's tournament emerge as the next Thompson or Wie West? Here are the two best bets —16-year-old Anna Davis and 19-year-old Rose Zhang.
Davis is a high school student in California who won the Augusta National Women's Amateur in April. Since then, she has received sponsor's exemptions into two LPGA Tour events and made the cut in both. She also has the distinction of being a rare elite player who is left-handed. Zhang has been the No. 1 ranked female amateur player since she won the 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur. She just completed her freshman season at Stanford.
The youngest players in the field are three 15-year-olds who were born in 2007 — the last time the Women's Open was played at Pine Needles. Kylee Choi is a high school student in California who earned her way into the field by winning a qualifying tournament in Kent, Washington. Jeonghyun Lee and Minsol Kim, both from the Republic of Korea, qualified for a tournament in their home country. Lee moved from Korea to New Zealand when she was 8, following the blueprint of former No. 1 player Lydia Ko.
Bailey Davis, 19, is the only African American player in the field. The University of Tennessee golfer won an Open qualifying tournament in Alexandria, Virginia.
Other teenagers in the field include:
Laney Frye, 19, is a University of Kentucky golfer. She won a playoff against LPGA Tour player Sanna Luuiten in a qualifier in Pittsburgh.
Annabell Fuller, 19, is a University of Florida golfer from England. She qualified at a site in Gainesville, Florida.
Lauren Gomez, 19, is a Pepperdine University golfer. She won a qualifying tournament in Ojai, California.
Natsumi Hayakawa, 17, of Japan survived a playoff at a qualifier in her home country to make the field.
Sara Im, 17, is a high school student in Georgia who qualified at a tournament in Dunwoody, Georgia. She helped her high school team win the Girls' High School National Invitational in 2021 at Pinehurst Resort. Im has committed to play golf at Vanderbilt.
Nika Ito, 17, of Japan who qualified in her home country.
Alicia Joo, 18, was born in Los Angeles but moved to the Republic of Korea when she was 9. She qualified at a tournament in Korea. She hopes to play college golf in the U.S.
Karissa Kilby, 19, made it into the field as the first alternate from a qualifying tournament in Honolulu. She is a golfer at Florida International. She attended the same high school as President Obama and Michelle Wie West in Hawaii.
Lauren Kim, 16, of Canada got into the field as the first alternate from a qualifier in Kent, Washington. She plans to play college golf at the University of Texas.
Catherine Park, 18, qualified at Pauma Valley, California. She will enroll at the University of Southern California this fall to continue her education and golf career.
Bailey Shoemaker, 17, qualified at a tournament in Stuart, Florida. She was born in Florida but raised in upstate New York. She has committed to play at the University of Southern California.
2022 U.S. Women’s Open
When: June 2-5
Where: Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines
On the air: Thursday-Friday (Golf Channel, Peacock); Saturday-Sunday (NBC)
The course: Pine Needles, which was the site of the 1996, 2001 and 2007 U.S. Women’s Open Championships, will be played at 6,638 yards with par at 71 for the US Women’s Open. Designed by legendary golf architect Donald Ross, Pine Needles was restored in 2017 by Kyle Franz.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Teenagers in US Women's Open field at Pine Needles
