The 2026 U.S. Women’s Open is heading to Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, for the first time in the championship’s history. Qualifying is set to run from April 20 to May 13, running across 26 sites in the United States, Canada, England, and Japan. With one of the most iconic venues on the calendar set to host a major for the first time, the field is shaping up to be a talking point of its own.

On April 17th, the official Instagram account of the U.S. Women’s Open shared a carousel featuring all the notable players who are vying for a spot in the tournament. The names displayed are of those who need to qualify through their performances or meet ranking cutoffs. However, names like Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang have surprised many, prompting a double-take.

Well, to make it to the U.S. Open’s field, not every player has to qualify. The USGA grants automatic entry across ~18–20+ different categories. This category includes past champions, top-10 finishers from previous editions, and players sitting inside the top 75 of the Rolex Rankings. In other words, the game’s best are usually already in. And that is what makes Thompson and Zhang’s presence on the qualifying list so jarring.

Zhang turned professional in May 2023 and won her LPGA Tour debut, becoming the first player to do so since 1951. She also spent a record 141 consecutive weeks ranked number one on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, but her ranking has slipped since her 2024 peak.

Zhang came in at No. 71 at the early rankings cutoff, just three spots outside the automatic window. Her margin is razor-thin, but the USGA’s exemption does not bend for close calls. Zhang has won twice on the LPGA Tour and represented the United States at a Solheim Cup, but none of that counts towards an automatic spot. However, she does have a second window. On May 25, the rankings cutoff could still get her in without qualifying.

Similarly, Thompson’s situation follows the same logic. She stepped back from full-time competition after the 2024 season and played a limited schedule, which meant fewer ranking points and fewer opportunities to stay inside that top 75 bracket. Her last LPGA Tour win came in 2019. Without a recent enough result to push her back into the exemption range, the 11-time LPGA winner and a major, the route for Rivera now runs through a 36-hole qualifier.

Although Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang’s names on the list have stirred most of the conversation, they are not the only recognizable names. Leona Maguire is a two-time LPGA Tour winner and a consistent presence on European Solheim Cup teams. So is Danielle Kang, a six-time LPGA Tour winner who has battled injury and form issues in recent seasons. Brittany Lincicome, a two-time major champion, is also in the mix. And as for Angela Stanford, she has seven LPGA Tour wins to her name. 

Fans react as golf’s familiar faces head to qualifying for the U.S. Open

Angela Stanford, one of the players featured in the carousel, responded directly in the comments section, saying, “I didn’t win 11 times, but I’ll take it.”

The post mistakenly labeled Stanford as an “11-time LPGA Tour winner,” a title that is actually applicable to Lexi Thompson. Thompson has earned 11 LPGA Tour victories throughout her career, which has generated $15.5 million in official earnings. Stanford’s name not being there is surprising, though, considering that she looked ready for glory at Augusta a few weeks ago, before a final-round collapse erased her chances.

Another comment came in from Emma Talley, a retired professional golfer. “Mmmmm, doesn’t sound quite right. Some of these names should be playing, period. That is, if you want the best field. Recent winners and on the last Solheim Cup,” Talley wrote.

Over the next month, 1,897 players, both professional and amateur, will compete in a series of qualifiers to get into the 81st U.S. Women’s Open. And Lexi Thompson remains one of the most well-known players in the field. She has been in every championship for the last 19 years. She first qualified in 2007 when she was only 12 years old.

So, more patrons took to the comment section to ask, “How are Rose, Lexi, and Leona not already in?” and “Rose and Leona are very surprising.” Another commenter called the situation alarming, pointing out the same problem again, “wait, what? How does Rose Zhang have to qualify?”

The U.S. Women’s Open qualifying’s popularity indeed lies in its accessibility. Any golfer can play as long as they have a USGA Handicap Index of 2.4 or higher and pay the $200 entry fee. That openness brings together a wide range of competitors, such as experienced players like Brittany Lincicome, Natalie Gulbis, Meghan Stasi, and Angela Stanford, all of whom are looking for another chance to shine.

The format also gives rather young people a chance to enter. Cheetah Baez from Florida, who just turned 10, wants to be the youngest person ever to qualify, beating Lucy Li’s record. But there’s an ironic twist: Li herself has to qualify as well. She was once called a prodigy but is still looking for her first LPGA Tour win and is currently ranked No. 94 in the world.

Meanwhile, Leona Maguire finished tied for second at the Aramco Championship alongside Nelly Korda, one of the strongest players in the world right now. She is not a player in decline, and she is a player who has just contended on a difficult Shadow Creek layout and walked away with a six-figure result. Yet the rankings cutoff caught her on the wrong side of the line.