Get to know the players in contention at the U.S. Women’s Open | Rogers Report

ERIN, Wis. — Hello, friends, and welcome to this edition of the Rogers Report. It’s been a perfect weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open, and on Saturday evening we got to hear from Amari Avery after her story of having to play with fellow competitor Gabi Ruffels’ clubs went viral.

While Avery may not have played as well on Saturday as she did on Friday, at least she got her clubs back. (And she’s still with her boyfriend after that mistake, so all seems well.) In all seriousness though, Avery handled the whole situation like a champ, and I’m now a fan for life. Also, shoutout to Gabi Ruffels for being a selfless competitor and friend.

But anyway, for this Rogers Report, I decided to do some research (read: internet sleuthing) on all of the women in the top five at the U.S. Women’s Open ahead of the final round. Why? To relay my findings to all of you, my loyal Rogers Report readers, so you can learn more about them. I will (disappointedly) admit though that all of these gals have crystal clean Instagram accounts filled with nothing but golf. It was also humbling to learn that the average age here is 23.6, making me feel not only inferior in talent but old as well. OK, enough about me. On to the good stuff.

Maja Stark

Twenty-five-year-old Maja Stark holds the 54-hole lead at Erin Hills at seven under par. The Swedish pro has six Ladies European Tour wins and earned her single LPGA Tour victory at the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational. She’s no stranger to U.S. Women’s Opens: Stark played in two of them as an amateur and finished in the top 20 both times. As a pro, she finished tied for ninth at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. Stark also had a wildly impressive collegiate career at Oklahoma State. She won three tournaments in her two years there and holds program records in birdies (139) and rounds under par (22).

Ok, so Stark is obviously really good at golf. You know what else she’s really good at? Juggling a mini soccer ball. Check this out.

Not that she needs a backup plan, but it looks like she could definitely hold her own in soccer, or at least impress a bunch of people with her juggling.

Julia Lopez Ramirez

Next up we have Julia Lopez Ramirez, who is just one shot back heading into the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open. The 22-year-old Spaniard reached No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings last July and earned her LPGA Tour card in December with a T10 finish at the LPGA qualifying tournament. Ramirez won eight individual titles during her time at Mississippi State and had a wildly impressive junior spring last year, where she was the SEC Golfer of the Year, SEC individual champion and First Team All-SEC. She made her mark on the school’s program as well: Ramirez has the lowest season scoring average (70.10), most rounds in the 60s in a season (14) and ranks first in all-time rounds in the 60s (37).

Ramirez has also been riding dirt bikes since she was 3 years old and credits it for some of her strength. She’s also been chatting with fellow Spaniards Carlota Ciganda and Azahara Munoz, who she says have been like Tour moms for her this year as she navigates life on the road. If she wins on Sunday, it’ll be in her debut at the event exactly 200 days after turning pro.

Rio Takeda

Twenty-two-year-old Rio Takeda has eight wins on the LPGA of Japan Tour. She finished ninth at the U.S. Women’s Open last year, and golf is in her blood. Her mother, Satoko Hiras, played professionally, and her aunt, Mayumi Hirase, is an 18-time LPGA of Japan Tour winner.

Hinako Shibuno

After finishing second at the U.S. Women’s Open last year, Hinako Shibuno is contending yet again this week. The 26-year-old turned pro in 2018 and her lone LPGA victory came at the 2019 AIG Women’s British Open, which was both her first LPGA Tour event and her first-ever tournament outside of Japan. Pretty impressive stuff.

Shibuno is a child of athletes: her father was a discus thrower and her mother was a javelin thrower. Her nickname is the “Smiling Cinderella,” which she earned at the 2019 Women’s Open because she was beaming as she walked up and down the fairways at Woburn Golf Club. After earning $675,000 for her major victory, she laughed and said she would buy “enough treats to feed me until I die.”

Mao Saigo

And last but certainly not least, we have 23-year-old Mao Saigo, who became the fifth Japanese player to win a major five weeks ago at the Chevron Championship. She has six LPGA of Japan Tour wins and won the Chevron after surviving a five-way playoff. She also sort of manifested that she’d be in contention at the U.S. Women’s Open when she spoke about her goals at the Chevron.