WHO’S HERE: A breakdown of the 156 golfers competing in the 126th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
Oldest Competitors: Sue Wooster, 64, of Australia; Lara Tennant, 59, of Portland, Ore.; Dawn Woodard, 51, of Greenville, S.C.
Youngest Competitor: Maggie Jiayi Ma, 14, of Irvine, Calif.
Average Age of Field: 19.9
Field breakdown by age:
Age 14-15: 10
Age 16-17: 41
Age 18-19: 37
Age 20-22: 59
Age 23-30: 5
Age 41-64: 4
U.S. States Represented – There are 33 states represented in the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur:
California (25), Florida (13), Texas (11), Georgia (7), North Carolina (7), Arizona (6), New Jersey (6), Virginia (4), Indiana (3), Tennessee (3), Alabama (2), Hawaii (2), Kansas (2), Massachusetts (2), Minnesota (2), Missouri (2), Oregon (2), Delaware (1), Idaho (1), Illinois (1), Maryland (1), Michigan (1), Mississippi (1), New Mexico (1), New York (1), North Dakota (1), Ohio (1), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Carolina (1), Utah (1), Washington (1), Wisconsin (1)
International – There are 16 countries represented in the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur:
United States of America (116), Canada (8), Australia (6), People’s Republic of China (5), Japan (5), Republic of Korea (4), Chinese Taipei (2), England (2), Colombia (1), Hong Kong, China (1), Latvia (1), Malaysia (1), Philippines (1), South Africa (1), Spain (1), Sweden (1)
USGA Champions (9): Aphrodite Deng (2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior), Morgan Ellison (2026 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball), Ina Kim-Schaad (2019, 2025 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Sarah Lim (2024 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball), Clairey Lin (2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior), Rianne Malixi (2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior, 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur), Asterisk Talley (2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball), Dawn Woodard (2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur), Lara Tennant (2018, 2019, 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur)
USGA Runners-up (6): Hanley Long (2025 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Rianne Malixi (2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior), Kaitlyn Schroeder (2022 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball), Bailey Shoemaker (2022 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball), Asterisk Talley (2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior, 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur), Sue Wooster (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur)
Curtis Cup Team Members (7): Anna Davis (USA, 2024, 2026), Rachel Heck (USA, 2021, 2022), Jasmine Koo (USA, 2024, 2026), Isla McDonald-O’Brien (GBI, 2026), Farah O’Keefe (USA, 2026), Asterisk Talley (USA, 2024, 2026), Avery Weed (USA, 2026)
U.S. National Junior Team Members (5): Grace Carter, Anna Fang, Jude Lee, Asterisk Talley, Amelie Zalsman
U.S. National Elite Amateur Program (5): Anna Davis, Jasmine Koo, Chloe Kovelesky, Farah O’Keefe, Scarlett Schremmer
Most U.S. Women’s Amateur Appearances (2026 included): Rachel Heck (9)
Top players in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking® as of July 29:
- No. 4 – Farah O’Keefe
- No. 7 – Aphrodite Deng
- No. 8 – Asterisk Talley
- No. 9 – Soomin Oh
- No. 10 – Rianne Malixi
- No. 12 – Aira Nagasawa
- No. 13 – Yurina Hiroyoshi
- No. 14 – Jasmine Koo
- No. 16 – Lauren Kim
- No. 18 – Vanessa Borovilos
- No. 19 – Anna Iwanaga
- No. 20 – Yujie Liu
Players from Tennessee (3): Molly Hardwick (Franklin), Rachel Heck (Memphis), Hanley Long (Clarksville)
Colleges with most active players: Florida (5), Texas (4), USC (3), Wake Forest (3)
Played in 2026 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally (9): Aphrodite Deng (T17), Paula Francisco (MC), Lauren Kim (MC), Ina Kim-Schaad (MC), Chloe Kovelesky (MC), Jie-En Lin (MC), Farah O’Keefe (T34), Soomin Oh (MC), Asterisk Talley (T22)
PLAYER NOTES
Aphrodite Deng, 16, of Canada, earned an exemption into the championship by capturing the 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. Deng has continued her rise in 2026, competing at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, winning the junior portion of the Mizuho Americas Open for the second year in a row and tying for 17th in the U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally. Deng was named the 2025 American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year after victories at the U.S. Girls’ Junior, Mizuho Americas Open and Junior Invitational. This will be her second U.S. Women’s Amateur appearance.
Molly Hardwick, 22, of Nashville, Tenn., earned an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur by capturing the Tennessee Women’s Amateur in July. Hardwick will return to the College of Charleston this fall for a fifth season after being named the 2026 CAA Golfer of the Year and earning first-team All-CAA honors for the second consecutive season. She claimed her first collegiate victory at the Edisto Island Invitational, highlighted by a career-low 65, and finished the 2025-26 season with a 71.7 scoring average and five top-10 finishes. Prior to transferring to Charleston, Hardwick spent two seasons at Ole Miss. As a junior golfer, she won the 2020 South Carolina Class 5A individual state title, advanced to match play at the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior and was a finalist in the 2014 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club.
Rachel Heck, 24, of Memphis, Tenn., is a nine-time collegiate winner at Stanford University who captured the 2021 NCAA Division I individual championship and earned the ANNIKA Award, Honda Sport Award for Golf and WGCA Player of the Year honors as a freshman. She helped Stanford win the 2022 NCAA team championship and the 2024 Pac-12 Championship. Heck has represented the USA in two Curtis Cup Matches, helping the team to victories in 2021 and 2022. She advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2021 and 2023 and is making her 13th career USGA championship start. Two of those appearances came at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she tied for 33rd as the youngest competitor in the 2017 championship at age 15. Beyond golf, Heck works in New York City and serves as a second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve Command. She also started her own business, Caddie Corner, where she paints and sells artwork. Heck recently made her broadcast debut at the 2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Old Chatham. She will be making her ninth U.S. Women’s Amateur start.
Clairey Lin, 16, of Canada, is making her debut at the U.S. Women’s Amateur after winning the 2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Old Chatham Golf Club. The Canadian put together a dominant week in Durham, N.C., earning medalist honors in stroke play before winning six matches to claim the coveted trophy over Amelie Zalsman. Lin became the second Canadian to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior, joining 2025 champion Aphrodite Deng. Now residing in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., Lin has notched two AJGA runner-up finishes this year. Shortly after winning the U.S. Girls’ Junior, Lin committed to play collegiate golf at Stanford University in the fall of 2028.
Yujie Liu, 16, of People’s Republic of China, is making her second U.S. Women’s Amateur appearance. In 2025, Liu claimed her first China LPGA Tour title with a five-stroke victory at the Guangdong Women’s Open and added top-10 finishes at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, Royal Junior, Girls Junior PGA Championship and China LPGA Tour Championship. She made it to the Round of 16 in the 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior before falling to eventual champion Aphrodite Deng. Earlier this year, she tied for 12th in the Blue Bay LPGA, competing against a professional field. A three-time junior All-American, Liu also recorded three top-10 finishes on the China LPGA Tour in 2024 and advanced to match play at the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior. At just 12 years old, she made the cut at the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship.
Hanley Long, 29, of Clarksville, Tenn., is making her U.S. Women’s Amateur debut after returning to amateur golf following a professional career. A standout at Middle Tennessee State University, Long was a four-time All-Conference USA selection, the 2019 Conference USA Player of the Year and finished her collegiate career as the program’s all-time leader in stroke average. In 2025, she earned runner-up honors at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Monterey Peninsula Country Club and followed that performance with a top-10 finish in the 2026 Tennessee Women’s Amateur. Long has remained active in the game throughout her career. She served as an operational Intern at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club during the 2018 U.S. Open and later was director of partnerships for Golf House Tennessee. She currently works as a senior analyst for BWE, a mortgage lender based in Atlanta. Before college, Long starred at Rossview High School, where she won the 2014 Tennessee individual state championship and helped lead her team to back-to-back district and region titles. She also spent time coaching high school golf at Brentwood Academy, where she coached current Korn Ferry Tour professional Blades Brown.
Rianne Malixi, 19, of the Philippines, captured the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur and made history that summer by becoming just the second player to win both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ Junior in the same year, joining Eun Jeong Seong (2016). Following her historic 2024 season, Malixi enrolled at Duke University, where she produced one of the finest freshman campaigns in program history. She earned WGCA First-Team All-America honors, was named the WGCA National Freshman of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year, and led the Blue Devils with a 70.60 scoring average. Malixi captured her first collegiate victory at the Sea Best Intercollegiate while recording five top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes. She also placed third at the NCAA Championship and represented the International Team in the Arnold Palmer Cup. Last summer, she earned co-medalist honors at the U.S. Women’s Amateur before falling in the Round of 64 as the No. 1 seed.
Soomin Oh, 17, is making her second U.S. Women’s Amateur appearance in 2026. Oh recorded a third-place finish at the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, closing with a bogey-free 4-under 68. Earlier this year, she finished runner-up at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in New Zealand, the Chinese Taipei Women’s Amateur and the Ladies European Tour’s Women’s New South Wales Open in Australia. In 2025, Oh successfully defended her titles at the Korean Women’s Amateur and Queen Sirikit Cup while helping the Republic of Korea finish runner-up at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore. She also earned five WAGR victories in 2024, highlighted by wins at the World Junior Girls Championship in Canada, Korean Women’s Amateur and Korean Girls’ Junior.
Farah O’Keefe, 21, of Austin, Texas, is coming off a stellar junior season at the University of Texas where she won the 2026 NCAA Division I individual championship to become just the third Longhorn to capture the title. O’Keefe earned the 2026 ANNIKA Award as the nation’s top collegiate female golfer after recording four victories and helping Texas reach the NCAA Championship. She also represented the United States in the 2026 Curtis Cup, where she became just the fifth American to go 5-0 in a single match, and helped the USA team win the 2025 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore. O’Keefe tied for low-amateur honors at the 2026 Chevron Championship and finished tied for 34th in the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open. In 2025, she was runner-up at The Women’s Amateur Championship and tied for 36th in the U.S. Women’s Open. As a freshman in 2024, O’Keefe was named the Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year. She is also a member of the U.S. National Development Program’s Elite Amateur Program.
Scarlett Schremmer, 19, of Birmingham, Ala., is making her third U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship appearance in 2026. A member of the USGA’s Elite Amateur Program, Schremmer won the 2026 Women’s Southern Amateur and captured the 2025 Alabama Women’s Amateur. Although she grew up surfing in Hawaii alongside her older sisters, Mason and Lola, who both competed professionally, Schremmer didn’t take up golf until age 12, following in the footsteps of her mother, former professional golfer Patricia “Patty” Ehrhart. A three-time AJGA Junior All-American, she represented the United States in the 2024 Junior Solheim Cup and advanced to the Round of 16 in both the 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior and 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur. Schremmer began her collegiate career at Texas A&M before transferring to the University of Miami; she competed in the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Australian Master of the Amateurs and became the first Miami women’s golfer to compete in the Patriot All-America Invitational.
Asterisk Talley, 17, of Chowchilla, Calif., is making her third U.S. Women’s Amateur appearance after finishing as the runner-up in 2024 and the co-medalist in 2025. A three-year member of the U.S. National Junior Team, Talley has established herself as one of the top amateurs in the world and will attend Stanford University in the fall of 2027. She began 2026 with victories at the Fortinet Stanford Invitational and Girls’ Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. Talley was runner-up at the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and posted a top-10 finish in 2026, while also tying for 21st in the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open. In 2024, she became the first player in USGA history to reach three finals in a single year, winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball with Sarah Lim and finishing runner-up in both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior. She has represented the United States in the Curtis Cup, Junior Solheim Cup and Junior Ryder Cup.
Alexis Vakasiuola, 18, of San Tan Valley, Ariz., earned an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur by winning the Arizona Women’s Amateur Championship in June. Vakasiuola is coming off a record-setting freshman season at Grand Canyon University, where she was named the 2025-26 Mountain West Freshman of the Year and earned first-team All-Mountain West honors. She established the program’s single-season scoring average record, won the GCU Invitational and advanced as an individual to the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional, where she tied for 11th. Born in Pago Pago, American Samoa, Vakasiuola represented Tonga in international competition and won the gold medal at the 2023 South Pacific Games.
