USGA Accepts Second-Most U.S. Women's Open Entries

The United States Golf Association (USGA) has accepted 1,855 entries for the 71st U.S. Women's Open Championship. The championship will be conducted July 7-10, 2016, at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif., the first time the championship will be played in the Bay Area.

Far Hills, N.J. (PRWEB) May 05, 2016

The United States Golf Association (USGA) has accepted 1,855 entries for the 71st U.S. Women's Open Championship. The championship will be conducted July 7-10, 2016, at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif., the first time the championship will be played in the Bay Area.

This marks the second consecutive year the U.S. Women's Open has received more than 1,800 entries. The 2015 championship at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club holds the entry record with 1,873. Among this year's total are 93 fully exempt players, including 10 Women's Open champions.

"We are excited to see such a strong group of entrants from around the world for the 71st U.S. Women's Open," said Stuart Francis, chairman of the USGA Championship Committee. "As the final eligible event before the selection of the 2016 Olympic teams, the U.S. Women's Open and CordeValle, our beautiful host site, stand ready to provide the stern challenge that is the hallmark of this championship."

To be eligible for the U.S. Women's Open, a player must have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4, or be a professional. Sectional qualifying will be conducted over 36 holes between May 9 and June 3. Qualifying will be held at 21 sites in the United States, as well as four international sites – one each in the People's Republic of China, England, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

In Gee Chun, who won the 2015 U.S. Women's Open in her first championship appearance, is one of 10 fully exempt champions. Chun is joined by Na Yeon Choi (2012), Paula Creamer (2010), Eun-Hee Ji (2009), Cristie Kerr (2007), Se Ri Pak (1998), Inbee Park (2008, 2013), So Yeon Ryu (2011), Karrie Webb (2000, 2001) and Michelle Wie (2014).

The USGA accepted entries for the 71st U.S. Women's Open from golfers in 48 U.S. states (all except Alaska and Wyoming) and 52 countries in total. Of the U.S. entries, California had the most with 290, followed by Florida with 270 and Texas with 160. Of the other countries, Japan led the way with 184 entries, followed by Korea with 136 and Canada with 103.

The championship's youngest and oldest entrants both hail from Minnesota. Nine-year-old Margaret Heggerston, of Crosslake, is the youngest player to file an entry, while 1979 U.S. Women's Open champion Jerilyn Britz, of Luverne, is the oldest at age 73. Britz's last championship appearance came in 1991, when she missed the cut at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Johanna Gustavsson, a professional from Sweden, was the first applicant when entries opened on March 9. The final championship application came from Maude-Aimee LeBlanc, a professional from Canada who filed her entry 19 minutes before the 5 p.m. Eastern deadline on May 4.

Players still have several ways to gain a full exemption into the U.S. Women's Open. The winner of the 2016 KPMG Women's PGA Championship and any other LPGA co-sponsored events prior to the start of the U.S. Women's Open, as well as the winner of the 2016 Ladies British Open Amateur Championship, will earn exemptions into the championship field. Additionally, the top 50 point leaders and ties from the Rolex Rankings as of July 4 will be added to the exempt list, provided they were not previously exempt into the championship.

More information about the U.S. Women's Open before, during and after the 2016 championship is available at usga.org/womensopen. A variety of ticket options are available for purchase at 2016uswomensopen.com.

The following 93 golfers are fully exempt into the 2016 U.S. Women's Open (as of May 5; a – amateur):

Sun Ju Ahn
Marina Alex
Beth Allen
Q Baek
a-Sierra Brooks
Ssu-Chia Cheng
Yoonji Cho
Chella Choi
Na Yeon Choi
In Gee Chun
Carlota Ciganda
Paula Creamer
Austin Ernst
Shanshan Feng
Sandra Gal
Julieta Granada
Jaye Marie Green
Brooke Henderson
Wei-Ling Hsu
Charley Hull
Mi Jung Hur
Karine Icher
Ha Na Jang
Eun-Hee Ji
Ariya Jutanugarn
Moriya Jutanugarn
Danielle Kang
Kim Kaufman
Cristie Kerr
Christina Kim
Hyo Joo Kim
I.K. Kim
Sei Young Kim
Lydia Ko
Jessica Korda
Candie Kung
Brittany Lang
Nicole Broch Larsen
Alison Lee
Bomee Lee
Ilhee Lee
Jung Min Lee
Mi Hyang Lee
Min Lee
Minjee Lee
Mirim Lee
Stacy Lewis
Xiyu Lin
Brittany Lincicome
Pernilla Lindberg
Teresa Lu
a-Leona Maguire
Mo Martin
Caroline Masson
Catriona Matthew
Maria McBride
Sydnee Michaels
Mika Miyazato
Azahara Munoz
Gwladys Nocera
Haru Nomura
Anna Nordqvist
a-Hannah O'Sullivan
Ryann O'Toole
Shiho Oyama
Lee-Anne Pace
Se Ri Pak
Hee Young Park
Inbee Park
Jane Park
Sung Hyun Park
Suzann Pettersen
Pornanong Phatlum
Gerina Piller
Morgan Pressel
Beatriz Recari
Melissa Reid
So Yeon Ryu
Lizette Salas
Alena Sharp
Jenny Shin
Kelly Shon
Jennifer Song
Angela Stanford
Kris Tamulis
Lexi Thompson
Yani Tseng
Mariajo Uribe
Karrie Webb
Michelle Wie
Amy Yang
Sakura Yokomine
Sun Young Yoo

About the USGA
The USGA conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open, as well as 10 national amateur championships, two state team championships and international matches, attracting players and fans from more than 160 countries. Together with The R&A, the USGA governs the game worldwide, jointly administering the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, equipment standards and World Amateur Golf Rankings. The USGA's reach is global with a working jurisdiction in the United States, its territories and Mexico, serving more than 25 million golfers and actively engaging 150 golf associations.

The USGA is one of the world's foremost authorities on research, development and support of sustainable golf course management practices. It serves as a primary steward for the game's history and invests in the development of the game through the delivery of its services and its ongoing "For the Good of the Game" grants program. Additionally, the USGA's Course Rating and Handicap systems are used on six continents in more than 50 countries.

For more information about the USGA, visit usga.org.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/05/prweb13396812.htm