Lydia Ko traveled straight from the year’s first major in Texas to U.S. Women’s Open qualifying in San Francisco to help out a friend. The world No. 3 caddied at The Olympic Club on Monday for fellow major champion Danielle Kang on the Lake Course, using her push cart for the 36-hole gig. Kang and Ko have teamed up several times to compete in the LPGA’s Dow Championship.
Kang, 32, has struggled on tour of late, dropping to 389th in the world. Rounds of 74-73 weren’t enough to earn her a spot in this year’s championship, held May 28-June 1 at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills Golf Course. This will be the first U.S. Women’s Open Kang has missed since 2009. Her lone top-10 finish in the event came in 2018 when she finished fourth.
As for Ko, a winner of three different major championship titles, she needs a victory at the U.S. Women’s Open or KPMG Women’s PGA to complete the career grand slam.
While major champions Ko and Kang were the stars of the field, amateurs dominated the leaderboard at the historic club, where three players advanced to Erin Hills. Junior Sarah Lim of Saratoga, California, shared medalist honors with Emily Oden, a junior at SMU who hails from Barbados, at 3-under 139. Oden will be the first player from Barbados to compete in the championship. Lim carded a 67 in Round 2 to clinch her spot.
Meanwhile Stanford players Paula Martin Sampedro and Andrea Revuelta, both of Spain, battled it out for the last automatic spot.
Martin Sampedro shot 3-under 68 in the second round to edge her teammate by one stroke. Revuelta will be the site’s first alternate.
