NORTON, Massachusetts – Following the registration close deadline for the 2019 U.S Women’s Open Championship earlier this week, the USGA announced that 100 golfers have now been fully exempt into the championship field for the 74th Championship Proper – being contested from May 30-June 2 at the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. Among the 100 female golfers are 13 past USGA champions, 47 of the top-50 players in the world and three competitors with direct ties to the Bay State.
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This year, Megan Khang, a native of Rockland who is ranked No. 48 on the LPGA Top-100 Money List, and Brittany Altomare, a native of Shrewsbury who is ranked No. 51 on the LPGA Top-100 Money List, will both be able to forego sectional qualifying en route to their placement in the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open Championship. Joining them will be Shannon Johnson, a resident of Norton, who is exempt into the field after winning the 2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship last September at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri. Johnson is one of only four amateur competitors who are exempt into this year’s 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 for those not exempt will be conducted over 36 holes between April 22-May 8 at 21 sites in the United States, as well as four international sites: one each in England, Japan, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. Here in Massachusetts, 37 competitors will look to qualify on Monday, May 6 at TPC Boston.
When the U.S. Women’s Open Championship kicks off on May 30, Khang will be making her sixth straight appearance and her seventh overall in the Women’s Open, looking to build on her career best T10 finish one year ago at Shoal Creek Golf Club. The 21-year old Khang has competed in six LPGA events this season with her best finish to date coming at the Honda LPGA Thailand, where she placed eighth overall.
Brittany Altomare, 28, a native of Shrewsbury who enjoyed a successful career at The University of Virginia before turning professional in 2014, will be competing in her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Open and her third appearance overall. She placed T41 at last year’s Championship Proper. Since turning professional, Altomare has recorded five top-10 finishes in her career, with her best finish in 2019 coming at the LPGA’s HSBC Women’s World Championship where she placed T11.
Shannon Johnson, a South Dakota native who moved to the Bay State in 2012, will compete in her first career U.S. Women’s Open Championship Proper next month after earning exemption into the field with a thrilling 1-up victory at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship last September. The reigning Massachusetts Women’s Amateur champion, and the defending Mass Golf Anne Marie Tobin Women’s Player of the Year, will be making her 16th overall appearance in a USGA Championship. She is already slated to compete in the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball Championship, which begins on April 27 at Timuquana Country Club, in Jacksonville, Fla.
According to the USGA, the three Bay Staters who are exempt into the U.S. Women’s Open field are among the 1,552 total competitors who registered for the opportunity to compete in the 2019 Championship Proper, marking the sixth straight year that at least 1,500 competitors have registered.
Mass Golf will be providing coverage for its competitors playing in the 74th U.S. Women’s Open, as well as the qualifier on May 6 at TPC Boston. Visit MassGolf.org and follow @PlayMassGolf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest information regarding all USGA qualifiers.
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