Stanford’s Lauren Kim and Alabama’s Emma Talley became national champions this week and now both have been selected as sponsor exemptions to the LPGA’s Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I as a result. Kim helped Stanford win the NCAA team championship on Thursday and as the highest-ranked member of the national champion team, Kim was selected by Stanford’s coach to receive the exemption as the representative of the winning team. Talley earned her spot Monday by becoming the first NCAA individual champion in Alabama women’s golf history with a four-day total of 3-under-par 285 at the 2015 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
“We are delighted to be able to provide the opportunity for Lauren and Emma to compete against the greatest women golfers in the world,” Tournament Director Judd Silverman said. “We’re honored to have these two great national champions in our field.”
Kim, a first-team All-American, was Stanford’s MVP this season and is ranked the No. 17 collegiate player in the country. Her teammate, Mariah Stackhouse, played in the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I last year as a sponsor invite but finished just one shot off the cut line. This will be Kim’s first start in an LPGA event.
Talley became only the fifth player in history to win both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the NCAA individual championship after carding a final-round, 3-under-par 69 on Monday, good enough for a one-stroke victory over Arkansas’ Gaby Lopez and Duke’s Leona Maguire. This will mark Talley’s sixth start on the LPGA Tour, having made the cut at the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open and earning low amateur honors at the 2014 RICOH Women’s British Open with a tie for 17th.
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