The Results Are In

AJGA alumna and 2012 Rolex Junior Player of the Year Ariya Jutanugarn of Bangkok, Thailand has won the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open at Shoal Creek. Jutanugarn defeated Hyo-joo Kim of South Korea in a four-hole sudden-death playoff to clinch the title. Jutanugarn became the first player from Thailand to win a major championship after winning the Women’s British Open in 2016. This is her second major championship victory.

After a missed cut in the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open, AJGA Alumna Patty Tavatanakit of (Thailand) Van Nuys, California was back for more. This year, Tavatanakit was awarded low-amateur honors. She shot 70-73-72-71 to finish T5 at two-under-par for the week. She was named First Team Rolex Junior All-American in 2016 and 2017 and currently competes for UCLA. Tavatanakit had four AJGA victories in her junior career, including the 2016 Rolex Tournament of Champions.

Three current AJGA members managed to play their way into the weekend and make the cut. Hailee Cooper (2018) of Montgomery Texas and Lucy Li (2020) of Redwood Shores, California both finished T55 at eleven-over-par. Cooper fired scores of 72-76-77-74 while Li shot 72-74-77-76. This was Li’s second appearance in U.S. Women’s Open history. Arizona State University verbal commit Linn Grant (2019) of Viken, Sweeden finished T57 at twelve-over-par after firing scores of 69-72-78-81. She made twelve birdies on the week.