Last year at Erin Hills, Kiara Romero set a record for lowest final-round score by an amateur in the history of the U.S. Women’s Open.
This week at Riviera, she took it a step further. Romero won low amateur honors and a bit more with another stellar finish. Romero shot 3-under 68 on Sunday and was inside the top 10 when she stepped off the golf course. If that remains, she’ll earn a spot in the field next year at Inverness.
“I went out there, and I was like, you know, I’m just going to try to shoot as many birdies as I can and attack the pins in the smartest way possible obviously,” Romero said. “This course is set up really hard for a Sunday round. I just did my best to kind of put myself in the best position to make these birdies out here. Honestly I felt like there was no pressure out there to do anything. Kind of just went out there with nothing to lose.”
Romero finished at 3 under for the week, and more importantly she’s even closer to earning her LPGA card. This week, she earned two points in the LPGA’s Elite Amateur Pathway program and now sits at 16. She needs 20 to earn LPGA membership.
Next week at the Curtis Cup across the 405 in Los Angeles, Romero will earn two more points and be only two away from her card. She’s also planning to play in the Arnold Palmer Cup later this summer, which would give her one point. That means one more this summer, and she will be able to turn pro and join the LPGA immediately.
That’s why winning low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open means even more.
“I feel like I’ve been putting a lot of hard work into my game these last few years,” Romero said. “With me trying to get my Tour card through the league program, this event got me to more points. I’m just really proud of myself for doing that and not putting any pressure out there when I was playing. I didn’t think about any of this. I kind of just went out there for the experience and just tried to have as much fun as I could. It was a great time with my coach on the bag. We’re always having fun out there. It was really cool.”
Arkansas junior Maria Jose Marin, who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April, had a par putt on the 72nd hole to tie Romero for low amateur honors but missed. Nevertheless, she also earned two LEAP points and sits at 15.
Aphrodite Deng (T-17), Asterisk Talley (T-22) and Farah O’Keefe (T-34) were the other amateurs who made the weekend at Riviera. Romero, Talley and O’Keefe will represent the U.S. team next week at Bel-Air in the Curtis Cup.
“I’m just really excited to play for my country,” Romero said. “It’s my first time competing in a Curtis Cup. I know a lot of girls on the team, so it’s going to be really fun. It’s always fun playing in a team format and kind of seeing golf in a different way. Not just me, me, me all the time, but we’ve got a country to represent and some players, some teammates to represent as well.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: US Women’s Open 2026: Oregon’s Kiara Romero wins low amateur honors
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