The Women's Amateur

The Women’s Amateur – players to watch

A world-class field featuring 144 golfers from 24 countries will tee it up on the superb links of Hunstanton for this week’s 119th Women’s Amateur Championship.

The R&A

19 Jun 22

3 mins

We profile those to watch in Norfolk, with many high up the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®)…

Ingrid Lindblad, Sweden, WAGR 2

Lindblad arrives in Norfolk after an 11th place finish in the US Women’s Open, taking low amateur honours. Her opening six-under-par 65 was a new record for low round by an amateur in America’s national championship. That was no surprise, given the Swede has set all sorts of records at Louisiana State University. She broke the all-time win record, male or female, when she won the Clemson Invitational in March for her eighth victory in less than three seasons at LSU. She has since triumphed a ninth time, winning the SEC Women’s Golf Championship, her fifth victory this season, another LSU record. She was runner-up in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship by one shot before a third-place finish in the NCAA D1 Women's Championship. Outside the United States, Lindblad counts victory in the 2021 European Ladies Amateur Championship and two professional wins in Sweden the previous year.

Emma Spitz, Austria, WAGR 8

Spitz already owns one major R&A title. She made history at Ardglass Golf Club, Northern Ireland in 2018 by becoming the first Austrian to win the Girls’ Amateur title, defeating compatriot Isabelle Holpfer 2&1. She now plays college for UCLA, where she has three victories. Her most recent win came in April in Chambers Bay Invitational, where she was the only player in the field to better par over 54 holes. She warmed up for that event by placing 12th in the Augusta Women’s Amateur Championship, but finished third in 2021. She has played in two Arnold Palmer Cup teams (2020 and 2021).

Caley McGinty, England, WAGR 9

The Bristol native enters the championship as the highest ranked Great Britain & Ireland player on the WAGR table. Results over the last few seasons back up McGinty’s status as top home player. She was a three-time winner at Kent State University before transferring to Oklahoma State University. The England international made an immediate impact at OSU by winning the Schooner Fall Classic and Jim West Challenge. She finished equal 12th on her debut in this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship. McGinty has just made her second appearance in the Curtis Cup at Merion. She also helped England win the 2021 European Ladies’ Team Championship and Home Internationals.

Hannah Darling, Scotland, WAGR 14

Like Spitz, Darling is looking for an R&A double, hoping to add the Women’s Amateur title to the Girls’ Amateur Championship she won at Fulford Golf Club last year. She also won the St Rule Trophy earlier in 2021. The Broomieknowe Golf Club member has just finished her first season in college golf for the University of South Carolina. It didn’t take the Scot long to adapt to American golf. She began college life by finishing runner-up in the ANNIKA intercollegiate Presented by 3M. She added another second at the Valspar Augusta Invitational, and posted another five top-ten’s in her rookie year before making the cut in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and finishing 27th. Darling gave notice of intent to win this year’s Women’s Amateur by reaching the semi-finals of last year’s championship, losing to eventual champion Louise Duncan at the 19th hole. Like McGinty, she recently made her second straight Curtis Cup appearance.

Alexandra Forsterling, Germany, WAGR 12

Forsterling has just graduated from Arizona State University, closing out her final year by winning the PING/ASU Invitational. The Berlin native then made her debut in the Augusta Women’s Amateur Championship and finished equal 31st in the elite field. She backed up her reputation as one of her country’s strongest players with a four-shot victory in last year’s German Amateur Championship. She also finished second in the European Ladies Amateur Championship. Victory in the 2014 European Young Masters tournament helped pave the way for Fosterling to join ASU. She performed as well in the classroom as she did on the fairway over her four years at ASU, achieving a 3.95 graduate point average.

Louise Duncan, Scotland, WAGR 48

The Scot is seeking to do what no player has done since Louise Stahle in 2005: successfully defend the Women’s Amateur Championship. Duncan set off a heady summer of national headlines last year when she defeated Iceland’s Jóhanna Lea Lúđvíksdóttir at Kilmarnock (Barassie) in Ayrshire to become the first Scottish champion since Alison Rose in 1997. The R&A Scholar, a student at the University of Stirling, then more than held her own among the professionals with a tied tenth finish in the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie to win the Smyth Salver as low amateur. The West Kilbride Golf Club member, who has just made a repeat appearance in the Curtis Cup, will play two further majors this year, the US Women’s Open and Amundi Evian Championship.