Qualifier: Shot 69-70--139 at Sugar Mill Country Club, in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., on April 27

The 16-year-old from Saint Augustine, Fla. (she turns 17 on June 23) by way of Puerto Rico will make her U.S. Women's Open debut after shooting 5-under-par 139 at Sugar Mill Country Club, in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., on April 27. Rivera earned medalist honors by two strokes over University of Florida sophomore Siuue Wu. She has verbally committed to attend Indiana University in the fall of 2027. In November 2025, Rivera won the Florida 3A individual title a junior for Beachside High School. Last May, she competed in the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball with partner Sahana Chokshi, but the duo just missed the cut for match play. The U.S. Women's Open will be her second USGA championship. In 2024, she was the runner-up in the American Junior Golf Association Junior at Parris Island, and she finished third in that year's AJGA Junior Reno Championship. She won the 2026 JR Islands Championship in Puerto Rico. She advanced to the Round of 32 of the 2025 Florida Women's Amateur. Her uncle, two-time PGA Tour winner Russell Knox, will be her caddie.