ERIN, Wis. — A new generation of golf stars is emerging at this year's U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills, with teenage amateurs competing alongside the world's best professionals.
Among the 156 golfers in the field, three are just 16 years old, showcasing the bright future of women's golf.
"I never would have thought I'd get to play here like you know so soon," said American golfer Rayee Feng.
Punched their ticket to Erin Hills for the 2025 @uswomensopen!🏌️♀️🇺🇸
— New Jersey Golf (@njgolf1900) May 7, 2025
Huge congrats to Rayee Feng (a) and Jeongeun Lee for coming out on top at today’s U.S. Women’s Open qualifier — next stop: the big stage! pic.twitter.com/7btRFJkTOz
Feng has exceeded expectations in her debut, currently sitting at two-under par and tied for the lowest amateur score, which qualifies her to continue into weekend play.
"I definitely exceeded my expectations because when I was watching a few videos and looking at some pictures of the course I was like my goal is to break 80, "Feng laughed.
Watch: Teen golfers make their mark at U.S. Women's Open
For Asterisk Talley, who narrowly missed the weekend cut at two-over par, the experience builds on her previous appearance.
"I definitely improved from my score last year, so I'm just hoping to do the same thing and just carry it with me," Talley said.
Both young golfers appreciate the opportunity to compete alongside their idols.
"It's been so unreal seeing like those people that I've been looking up to since I was like a really young kid on the range like just in front of me," Feng said.
No. 6 has been quite a challenge thus far in Round 1, but so much not for Asterisk Talley!
— U.S. Women's Open (@uswomensopen) May 29, 2025
The 16-year-old with just the 5th birdie of the day on the par 3.@Ally pic.twitter.com/a6rjlQXu1m
The teenagers recognize they may now be inspiring younger players themselves.
"Yeah, just practice makes perfect and do what you love. I mean if you lose passion for it then you probably just shouldn't do it because you're going to need a lot of grind for this so I mean you got to really love it," Talley said.
Feng offered her own advice for aspiring young golfers: "I think for the young girls what's really important is like not give up because I was really bad when I was young and you know it'll it'll be better if you keep working at it."
Canadian golfer Anna Huang was the third 16-year-old in the field, though Feng appears to be the only teenager projected to make the cut.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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