It’s rare to see on a professional golf schedule: back-to-back events, including a major championship, in the same zip code, let alone sharing the same highway exit.
When the USGA announced Olympic Club as the host of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open back in 2016, Lucy Li labeled competing in the field as “a huge goal.” Little did she know that the stars would align for consecutive starts on the LPGA Tour just up the road from her hometown of Redwood Shores.
“I was super, super excited. I think I found out I was going to play this tournament before I qualified for the Open [at Half Moon Bay Golf Links on April 26],” said Li, a Epson Tour Member and tournament sponsor exemption for this week’s LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship. “Knowing I would be playing two weeks, back-to-back at home is something I was super looking forward to and am still super excited about.”
Li is coming off a tied for 16th performance at Olympic Club, her third appearance in the U.S. Women’s Open. She has played the weekend in all five Epson Tour starts in 2021, her second year on the “Road to the LPGA,” with three top-20 results.
The 18-year-old will look to build on all her experiences, as a professional and going back to her days as a junior member at Lake Merced Golf Club, to showcase her game once again on the biggest stage of women’s professional golf this week in NorCal.
“It's nice to play a course that I'm a little bit more familiar with,” said Li. “I am just really excited to play such a beautiful course. I know [Nick Bailey] the GM. He has always been super supportive of me and kind of let me come out to practice here. The head pro and all the members, they have always been so supportive. I’m really appreciative of that.”
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