U.S. Women's Open Qualifying and Exemptions Explained

Amateurs with a Handicap of 2.4 or lower and pros are invited to U.S. Women's Open Qualifying

By
, GolfLink Editor
Updated March 11, 2024
12-year-old Lexi Thompson became the youngest player to every qualify for the U.S. Women's Open in 2007
  • DESCRIPTION
    12-year-old Lexi Thompson became the youngest player to every qualify for the U.S. Women's Open in 2007
  • SOURCE
    Brian Brainerd
  • PERMISSION
    getty image license

The "Open" part of the U.S. Women's Open, and any open championship, is part of what makes golf great. Anyone with some game is invited to compete with the best. Unlike other sports, you don’t need a scout’s opinion or national exposure to get your shot, you just let your clubs do the talking.

U.S. Women's Open Qualifying

Amateurs with a handicap index of 2.4 or better, and professional golfers who aren’t already exempt, can get a U.S. Women’s Open tee time through open qualifying. Twenty-six one-day, 36-hole U.S. Women’s Open qualifiers are staged each year from mid-April to mid-May. In 2024, those qualifiers are staged in 17 states, plus Canada, Japan, and Germany to fill the 156-player field. Qualifiers are held 2-7 weeks before the Championship, which is May 30-June 2 at Lancaseter CC in Pennsylvania.

The 36-hole qualifier is the only round of qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open, unlike the men’s U.S. Open qualifying which has two stages, local and final qualifying, to fill the field. The number of U.S. Women’s Open spots available at each qualifying event varies, depending on how many players are in the field. The USGA accepted a record 2,107 U.S. Women’s Open entries in 2023, when the U.S. Women's open was contested at Pebble Beach.

In 2007 a 12-year-old Lexi Thompson (pictured above) became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's open. Her record stood for seven years until Luci Li qualified at age 11 in 2014.

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U.S. Women’s Open Exemptions

Not every player has to stress through a 36-hole qualifier to get invited to play in the U.S. Women’s Open. Exemptions are granted to the world’s best professional and amateur players in 20 different categories. Players who meet any of the following criteria are exempt from U.S. Women’s Open qualifying.

  1. Last 10 U.S. Women’s Open champions
  2. Top-10 finishers, plus ties, from the previous U.S. Women’s Open
  3. Reigning U.S. Senior Women’s Open champion
  4. Reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion
  5. Reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, U.S. Women’s Amateur runner-up (must maintain amateur status)
  6. Last 5 champions of the Chevron Championship/ANA Inspiration 
  7. Last 5 champions of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
  8. Last 5 champions of the Evian Championship
  9. Last 5 champions of the AIG Women’s British Open
  10. Top 30 point leaders from the previous season’s LPGA Race to the CME Globe Final Points
  11. Winners of LPGA Tour-sanctioned event since the conclusion of the previous U.S. Women’s Open
  12. Reigning Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion (must maintain amateur status)
  13. Reigning Women’s Amateur Champion (must maintain amateur status)
  14. Current Mark H. McCormak Medal winner as the top-ranked women’s amateur (must maintain amateur status)
  15. Top 10 point leaders in the current season’s Race to the CME Globe through the close of entries.
  16. Top 75 players in the Rolex Rankings through the close of entries
  17. Olympic Gold Medalist within 12 months of the Games
  18. Top 75 players in the Rolex Rankings through the close of qualifiers (if not already exempt)
  19. Top not-already-exempt player from the China LPGA Tour Order of Merit through close of entries
  20. Special exemptions as selected by the USGA