Final Five Players Complete Field at Shoal Creek

The 156-player field for the 73rd U.S. Women’s Open Championship at Shoal Creek was completed on Monday with the addition of five players.

The five additions are: Jennifer Chang, Hailee Cooper, Andrea Lee, Olivia Mehaffey and Luna Sobron Galmes. Sobron Galmes is the lone professional in the quintet, and the four amateurs all have experience competing in USGA championships.

Chang, 18, of Cary, N.C., was the first alternate from the Pleasant Hill, Calif., sectional qualifying site. A freshman standout at the University of Southern California, Chang finished runner-up in the 2017 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship to fellow 2018 U.S. Women’s Open competitor Erica Shepherd and also advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship with Gina Kim.

Cooper, 18, of Montgomery, Texas, was the first alternate from the Kingwood, Texas, qualifier and will attend the University of Texas in the fall. Cooper won the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball alongside future Texas teammate Kaitlyn Papp.

Lee, 19, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., was the first alternate from the City of Industry, Calif., qualifier. A sophomore at Stanford University, Lee is one of the top amateurs in the world, and is No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™. A member of the 2018 USA Curtis Cup Team – the Curtis Cup Match will be contested June 6-8 at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. – Lee finished runner-up in the 2016 U.S. Girls’ Junior and reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur. Lee also competed in the 2016 Curtis Cup.

Mehaffey, 20, of Northern Ireland, was the first alternate from the Phoenix, Ariz., qualifier. She plays college golf in the U.S. at Arizona State University and ranks 20th in the WAGR. She will represent Great Britain and Ireland in the 2018 Curtis Cup, her second consecutive appearance in the biennial competition. She went 2-1-1 in the 2016 Match.

Galmes, 24, of Spain, was the first alternate from the Irving, Texas, qualifier. She posted five top-25 finishes in 2017, her rookie year on the Ladies European Tour.

Joey Flyntz is an associate writer for the USGA. Email him at jflyntz@usga.org.