The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women’s Golf Freshmen set for U.S. Women’s Open Championship
07.06.2023 | Women's Golf
AUSTIN, Texas — Before they hit a shot in a collegiate golf tournament for Texas, freshmen Farah O'Keefe and Lauren Kim will tee it up this week at the U.S. Women's Open Championship July 6-9 at the Pebble Beach Golf Links.
For the first time in its 77-year history, the U.S. Women's Open will be contested over the historic grounds of Pebble Beach Golf Links.
O'Keefe and Kim are two of the 28 amateurs and 156 players in the field this week. Kim shot 70-69 at Vancouver Golf Club to earn her way into her second straight U.S. Women's Open. O'Keefe shot 69-70 at Indian Creek Golf Club to earn her first U.S. Women's Open start.
O'Keefe will tee off Thursday at 2:45 p.m. central time and Kim will get her opening round underway at 3:29 p.m. central time.
Kim, a native of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, was the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Player of the Year in 2022 and is ranked No. 121 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Kim took third-place at the Canadian Women's Amateur Championship, second-place at the Canadian Summer Games and second-place at the NextGen Pacific Championship. Kim is ranked No. 55 in the American Junior Golf Association and No. 30 on the Junior Golf Scoreboard. She placed ninth at the World Junior Girls Championship. In the summer of 2021, Kim won three AJGA events and set three tournament records for lowest overall score. At the age of 12 Kim was the youngest to make the cut at the 2018 Canadian Women's Amateur Championship and at the age of 13 qualified for the U.S. Women's Amateur.
A native of Austin, Texas, O'Keefe was the winner of the 2022 Texas State UIL Golf Championships 5A and is ranked No. 391 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. O'Keefe made the cut in the LPGA VOA Classic in Dallas and was the low amateur. O'Keefe captured victory at the George Hannon Junior Invitational and Texas Bluebonnet Championship and finished runner-up at the Sergio and Angela Garcia Foundation Junior Championship. O'Keefe is ranked No. 20 in Golfweek, No. 21 on the Junior Golf Scoreboard and No. 65 in the American Junior Golf Association. She qualified for the Round of 64 in the U.S.G.A. Junior Girls and in 2022 shot a career low (134) in the UIL District Championship.