Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Brooke Henderson
Thursday, 7:07 a.m. – 10th Tee
Major champions Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Brooke Henderson are each looking to add a U.S. Women’s Open to their resume this week in New Jersey. Thompson is making her 11th start in this championship, the first one dating back to 2007 when she made history as the youngest to qualify at 12 years of age. This week, Thompson looks to build on the momentum she’s found at the season’s first two majors where she finished second at the ANA Inspiration and a tie for seventh at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Lewis is a two-time major champion, but the U.S. Women’s Open title has eluded her as she finished 2nd, T-3, 7th in her last three appearances. Henderson is the only member of this group to play at last week’s inaugural event in Wisconsin, where she finished tied for 28th. Prior to the week, Henderson went second and first in her last two starts. She’s making her fourth appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA, where she finished 10th, T-5 and 64th in her first three starts.
Inbee Park, Lydia Ko, Shanshan Feng
Thursday, 7:18 a.m. – 10th Tee
The Olympic gold, silver and bronze medalists from the 2016 games in Rio are grouped together in the opening rounds of the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open. Gold medalist Inbee Park will play alongside silver medalist Lydia Ko and bronze medalist Shanshan Feng. Between them they own 10 major titles.
Park, a seven time major champion, has quietly posted top-10s at each of the season’s two major championships. Park has largely gone under the radar this season after missing much of the 2016 season with back and thumb injuries. The two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion has five more top-10s in this championship and could pick up lucky number eight this week in New Jersey if she continues the form she’s shown in recent years.
Park will play alongside two-time major champion Lydia Ko on Thursday and Friday, as well as Shanshan Feng. Ko is coming off a tie for 59th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, her worst finish on Tour since her rookie season when she finished tied for 61st at the 2014 Kia Classic. She’s making her sixth appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open where last season she held the 54-hole lead but settled for a tie for third. Feng is also looking to bounce back after missing the cut at Olympia Fields, the first time she’s missed a cut in a major since the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open.
Ariya Jutanugarn, So Yeon Ryu, Leona Maguire (a)
Thursday, 7:20 a.m. – 10th Tee
Ariya Jutanugarn looked to be hitting her stride in June when she won her first event of the year at the Manulife LPGA Classic. The much-anticipated victory came after a quiet start to the season following her five-win season in 2016. But since that win, Jutanugarn has struggled with a missed cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and a WD from the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic due to a shoulder injury. Both put the status of her game in question heading into the season’s third major. A start this week would mark the fifth for Jutanugarn at the U.S. Women’s Open where she was tied for 17th last season after missing the cut in her first three appearances.
While questions surround Jutanugarn, there’s no question about playing partner So Yeon Ryu. The world No. 1 and 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion picked up her second career major at the ANA Inspiration in April and won again at Arkansas in June. She has played consistently well in this major championship where she has once finished outside the top-11 in her previous six starts.
Top-ranked amateur Leona Maguire is making her sixth major appearance this week at the U.S. Women’s Open. She skipped the LPGA Qualifying Tournament to instead play for Duke University and is fresh off a win at the Ladies British Amateur.
Brittany Lang, In Gee Chun, Eun Jeong Seong (a)
Thursday, 7:40 a.m. – 10th Tee
Defending champion Brittany Lang is playing alongside 2015 champion In Gee Chun and 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Eun Jeong Seong. The defending champ has struggled in her start to 2017 and arrives in New Jersey off a missed cut at the season’s second major. But there’s something about the setup of a USGA event that brings out Lang’s best golf. In addition to her win last season at CordeValle, Lang has three more top-10s at the U.S. Women’s Open, including a runner-up finish as an amateur.
Chun is making just her third start at the U.S. Women’s Open where she won in her first appearance and missed the cut in her title defense last season. The two-time major champion has been a consistent presence in major championships, but Chun is having an up and down 2017 season and arrives in New Jersey after finishing 54th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, her worst finish on Tour since 2014.
The third member of this group is another USGA champion, and a history- making one at that. Seong won both the 2016 U.S. Girls Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur to become the first to win both in a single season. Her victory at the Girls Junior was her second consecutive victory in the event. The amateur made a splash on Tour in April when she vaulted to the top of the leaderboard at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout with three rounds of 69, but a final round 86 left Seong in a tie for 40th.
Danielle Kang, Jane Park, Jennifer Song
Thursday, 12:52 a.m. – 10th Tee
Three decorated amateurs. who found success early in their careers through the USGA circuit of amateur competition, are grouped together in the opening rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open. Two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion and newly minted major champion, Danielle Kang, will play alongside fellow U.S. Women’s Amateur champions Jane Park and Jennifer Song during the opening rounds. Kang is making her first start this week since breaking through for her first win and first major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields. Kang held off a charging Brooke Henderson to win the season’s second major.
Park made her first appearance in the U.S. Women’s Open in 2003 and went on to finish runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship that same year before going on to hoist the trophy the following year. Park did not play the season’s first major at the ANA Inspiration and finished tied for 36th at Olympia Fields.
Song who won both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Public Links Championship in 2009, is making her 10th appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open. Her best finish came in 2009 when she was tied for 13th.