Huang and Do qualify for the Women’s Open; Kang does not advance

Brianna Do and Anna Huang Secure Their Spots in the AIG Women’s Open

A total of 17 golfers, including American Brianna Do and Canadian Anna Huang, secured their participation in this week’s AIG Women’s Open after Monday’s 18-hole qualifying round. The AIG Women’s Open will tee off on Thursday at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. Huang, the youngest player on the Ladies European Tour at 16 years old, stood out on Monday with a round of 67 strokes, four under par, at the Pyle and Kenfig Golf Club. Ireland’s Anna Foster and Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol followed closely behind, both with three under par.

I am delighted with my score. I don’t play links golf, so it took me a couple of practice rounds to get used to it, but I think I handled it quite well. I played in the US Open this year, so this will be my second major championship. I learned a lot from that week and bringing more patience this week will be really helpful.

Anna Huang

Do, 35 years old, tied for eighth place with a score under par. The 2011 Women’s Amateur Public Links champion will compete in her first Women’s Open since 2016. Currently ranked 351st, she comes from tying for 23rd place at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June and a T59 three weeks ago at the Evian Championship.

A few years ago, I was the first alternate for the Evian, and I didn’t get in, so I came to Scotland and played quite a bit of golf. I played at the Old Course, Prestwick, Elie, so I played quite a bit for fun, and it was incredible. I learned quite a bit there, but not in the sense of a tournament.

Brianna Do

Among the five Americans who failed to qualify was Danielle Kang, a major champion in 2017 and a four-time participant in the U.S. Solheim Cup, who shot a round of 73 strokes. Despite not qualifying for her 13th Women’s Open, Kang expressed that she was not disappointed.

Not even a little bit. I met some incredibly cool people here. I got to play with a bunch of members in Porthcawl, and I got to know everyone in Pyle and Kenfig. It’s been great.

Danielle Kang

Australian Hira Naveed (69) and New Zealander Momoko Kobori (70), teammates at Pepperdine from 2017 to 2019, also managed to qualify. The 17 golfers who qualified for this week’s tournament, which will feature a field of 144 players, finished under par.