The U.S. Women’s Open has a rich history of great low amateur winners. Nancy Lopez, Cristie Kerr, Michelle Wie West, Paula Creamer, Megan Khang, Morgan Pressel, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson and Lottie Woad are among some of the low amateurs who went on to become LPGA Tour stars. Here are some of the amateurs to watch this week in Los Angeles:
No. 5 – Soomin Oh – Soomin Oh, the No. 10 ranked player in the WAGR, is considered by many to be the next great Korean player on the LPGA Tour. Oh has racked up some impressive recent results, perhaps most notably, her third place finish at the Augusta National women’s amateur.
No. 4 – Maria Jose Marín – Speaking of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Marín is the 2026 champion, and plays a very fun style of golf. Her short game is incredible, and her putting ability can always keep her in the hole. She has a chance to add to an already lengthy resumé of amateur wins that also includes last year’s Division I National Championship.
No. 3 – Kiara Romero – It will be interesting to see how Romero responds after missing both the team and individual portion of the Division I National Championship. Romero is still the top ranked amateur in the WAGR and is about as consistent as they come, finishing in the top five of virtually every amateur event she has played in. This would be a huge boost to her trophy case and probably the biggest result of her young career.
No. 2 – Asterisk Talley – Any time Talley is in the field, she is one of the biggest stories of the week. Talley showed a lot of maturity in playing well after her collapse at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The No. 7 ranked amateur in the world has plenty of experience playing against the best players in the world, she has three made cuts on the LPGA Tour in 2026 already.
No. 1 – Farah O’Keefe – Though it was disappointing to exit the team portion of the national championship early, it was still quite the week for O’Keefe. The Austin, Texas native won the individual championship and the Annika Award as the top women’s college golfer. O’Keefe was also so impressive at the Chevron Championship, staying in contention for much of the first couple rounds.
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