Inbee Park, a 19-year-old prodigy from South Korea, won the 2008 US Women’s Open and became the event’s youngest-ever champion when she raised the first of her seven major titles.
It would be another six years until Bella Simes was born. She made an effort to get into the major on Tuesday.
The Brazilian is the youngest competitor to ever seek qualification for the event, which will begin in July for the first time in its 78-year history at the renowned Pebble Beach course in California. The Brazilian is nine years old.At Naples, Florida’s The Club at Mediterra, Simes made the first swing of her qualifying group.
The USGA’s Twitter account featured a picture of a swing that was flawless, and it received a lot of praise.Given Simes’ already stellar résumé, however, it shouldn’t be a surprise. In the age group under seven, she won the US Kids Golf World Championship in 2020. She successfully defended her title the following year before winning again in the age group eight in 2022.
Lexi Thompson, the 2014 Chevron Championship winner and the world’s seventh-ranked player, was twice champion before rising to the top of the game.When Thompson, then 12 years old, made it to the 2007 US Women’s Open, she set a record as the youngest golfer ever to qualify for the major.Simes still has a couple chances to usurp that crown, but he will have to wait at least another year after coming in tied-59th place out of a total of 67 players. Brazilian player had a score of 23 over par, whereas Lindy Duncan and Brooke Matthews, who had scores of 10-under and 8-under, respectively, guaranteed themselves automatic qualification.
The number of entries for the championship in July broke the previous record, which stood at 1,874, when Minjee Lee went on to win at Pine Needles, with 2,107 applicants from 47 US states and 62 countries.A player cannot attempt qualification unless they are a professional or have a handicap index of 2.4 or less. The last 10 champions and the top 75 players in the world rankings are two groups that are exempt from the rule and are automatically invited.
The oldest player to attempt qualification this year, according to the USGA, was Bethesda, Maryland professional Kimberly Williams, 60.
