U.S. Women’s Open field is set: Sophia Popov and Cristie Kerr are in; Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer are out

The field is set for the final major of the season after the USGA announced the 28 additional players who earned their way into the 75th U.S. Women’s Open through the Rolex Rankings. Notables among those include former USWO champion Cristie Kerr and 2020 AIG Women’s British Open champion Sophia Popov.

Several big-name players who didn’t sign up to compete in Houston next month include USWO past champions Michelle Wie (2014), Paula Creamer (2010) and Na Yeon Choi (2012). This marks the final year of Creamer’s 10-year exemption into the championship after her stirring triumph at Oakmont.

Wie, who gave birth to daughter Makenna Kamalei Yoona West on June 19, applied to play for the championship last month but told Golfweek that she was unsure about traveling without a vaccine in place.

“I just don’t know what COVID is going to look like,” Wie said. “I just don’t know if I feel comfortable traveling with her yet. In my mind I always thought by December it’s going to be safe to travel with her, but now … I’m not quite sure.”

Creamer last competed on the LPGA in October of 2019 at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea. She took up gardening during the LPGA’s long pandemic break.

The 2020 USWO, pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, takes place Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston. The 2019 champion, Jeongeun Lee6, will be on hand to defend her title. Lee6, who last competed on the LPGA in February, is in the field at this week’s inaugural Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida.

The following 28 players gained entry via the Rolex Rankings: Hae Ran Ryu, Sophia Popov, Ayaka Furue, Hyun Kyung Park, Yuka Saso, Sakura Koiwai, Na Rin An, Song Yi Ahn, Erika Hara, Yuna Nishimura, Ji Hyun Kim, Anne van Dam, Alena Sharp, Min Sun5 Kim, Lala Anai, Eri Okayama, Cristie Kerr, Ga Young Lee, Ah-Reum Hwang, Pornanong Phatlum, Jun Min Lee, Ji Hun Oh, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Mi Jeong Jeon, Maria Fernanda Torres, Bo Ah Kim, Teresa Lu and Wei-Ling Hsu.

Popov, currently No. 28 in the world, will make her second USWO start in Houston. Kerr, the 2007 USWO champion at Pine Needles, has now qualified for her 22nd consecutive Women’s Open.

The list of the 156 golfers who are in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open field (as of Tuesday, Nov. 17):

a-denotes amateur; bold indicates past champion

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