LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (Nov. 17, 2020) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that the field for the 75th U.S. Women’s Open Championship is complete with the addition of 28 players who earned their way into the championship through the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. The final major championship of the 2020 golf season will be contested Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. The 156-player field for the championship is composed entirely of exempt players due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The historic 75th anniversary field boasts nine U.S. Women’s Open champions, while 42 players will be making their championship debuts in Houston. The field will also have seven Texas residents, including 2016 champion Brittany Lang, who grew up in McKinney.

The 28 players who gained entry via the Rolex Rankings are: Hae Ran Ryu, Sophia Popov, Ayaka Furue, Yuka Saso, Sakura Koiwai, Na Rin An, Song Yi Ahn, Erika Hara, Yuna Nishimura, Ji Hyun Kim, Anne van Dam, Alena Sharp, Lala Anai, Eri Okayama, Cristie Kerr, Pornanong Phatlum, Jun Min Lee, Ji Hun Oh, Emily Kirstine Pedersen, Mi Jeong Jeon, Maria Fernanda Torres, Bo Ah Kim, Teresa Lu, Wei-Ling Hsu, Ye Rim Choi, Asuka Kashiwabara, Sarah Schmelzel, and So Yi Kim.

Hae Ran Ryu won the Jeju Samdasoo Masters in 2019 to earn her LPGA of Korea Tour card and successfully defended her title in August. The 19-year-old also has two runner-up finishes among her six top-10s this year. She will be making her U.S. Women’s Open debut.

Popov will be making her second U.S. Women’s Open start. Since turning professional in 2014, Popov has mainly played on the Symetra Tour, but she earned three tournament wins on the Cactus Tour during the COVID-19 break before earning her first major victory at the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon in August.

Kerr is one of the nine U.S. Women’s Open champions set to compete in Houston. The seasoned veteran earned her first major title in the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, finishing two strokes ahead of the runners-up. Kerr has 20 LPGA Tour wins, including a second major championship title at the Women’s PGA Championship in 2010. This is Kerr’s 22nd straight Women’s Open appearance, with seven top-10 finishes in addition to her victory.

The USGA announced on April 3 that the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, initially scheduled for June 4-7, would be moved to Dec. 10-13. To account for reduced daylight, the Jackrabbit Course at Champions Golf Club will be used in Rounds 1 and 2 along with the Cypress Creek Course, which was originally slated to host all four rounds of championship play. In June, the USGA announced that the championship would be conducted without traditional qualifying and on Oct. 21, the USGA announced that the championship would not have fans on-site due to health and safety concerns resulting from the ongoing pandemic.

Considered the world’s premier women’s golf championship, the U.S. Women’s Open is one of 14 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. The championship began in 1946 and its winners include Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Hollis Stacy, Amy Alcott, Meg Mallon, Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Inbee Park and Michelle Wie.

The list of the 156 golfers who are in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open field (as of Tuesday, Nov. 17):

 Bold – U.S. Women’s Open champion      a-amateur

The Key to Player Exemptions:

1. Winners of the U.S. Women’s Open Championship for the last 10 years (2010-2019)

2. From the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, the 10 lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place

3.Winner of the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship

4. Winners of the 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships, and the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur runner-up (must be an amateur)

5. Winners of the ANA Inspiration Championship the last five years (2016-2020)

6. Winners of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (2016-2019)

7. Winners of the Evian Championship the last five years (2015-2019)

8. Winners of the AIG Women’s British Open Championship the last five years (2015-2019)

9. The top 30 points leaders from the 2019 LPGA Race to the CME Globe

10. Winners of LPGA Tour co-sponsored events, whose victories are considered official, from the conclusion of the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open Championship to the originally scheduled 2020 U.S. Women’s Open Championship (June 1-7)

11. Winner of the 2019 Women’s Amateur Championship conducted by The R&A (must be an amateur)

12. Winner of the 2019 Mark H. McCormack Medal (Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking®; must be an amateur)

13. From the 2020 official LPGA Tour money list, the top 10 money leaders, not otherwise exempt, through the close of entries (Nov. 11, 2020)

14. From the 2020 official Symetra Tour money list, the top five money leaders, not otherwise exempt, through the close of entries (Nov. 11, 2020)

15. From Week 11 (March 16, 2020) of the Rolex Rankings, the top 75 points leaders and ties

16. Top five Ladies European Tour (LET) members from the final 2019 LET Order of Merit and the top five money leaders from the final 2019 Japan LPGA and Korea LPGA Tours

17. Top three money leaders from the 2019 China LPGA Tour

18. The top two players, not otherwise exempt, in the top 10 and ties of the 2020 NW Arkansas Championship, Cambria Portland Classic, ShopRite LPGA Classic, and the top three players, not otherwise exempt, in the top 10 and ties of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

19. From the Nov. 4, 2020 Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, the top 20 point leaders within the top 100 in the ranking who apply to play and are not otherwise exempt as of Nov. 4, 2020. (Must have filed an entry by Nov. 11, 2020 and still be an amateur)

20. Remaining spots in the championship field filled in order using the Rolex Rankings as of Nov. 9

21. Special exemptions as selected by the USGA

For more information, visit uswomensopen.com.

About the USGA
The USGA is a nonprofit organization that celebrates, serves and advances the game of golf. Founded in 1894, we conduct many of golf’s premier professional and amateur championships, including the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. With The R&A, we govern the sport via a global set of playing, equipment, handicapping and amateur status rules. The USGA campus in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, is home to the Association’s Research and Test Center, where science and innovation are fueling a healthy and sustainable game for the future. The campus is also home to the USGA Golf Museum, where we honor the game by curating the world’s most comprehensive archive of golf artifacts. To learn more, visit usga.org.