Lucy Li (born October 1, 2002) is an American
professional golfer
A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
. She currently holds records as the youngest qualifier for the
U.S. Women's Amateur
The U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA). F ...
and the
U.S. Women's Open
The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...
. She is the second-youngest qualifier for the
U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links
The U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, often referred to as the Public Links or the Publinx, was a women's amateur golf tournament, one of 10 individual amateur championships organized by the USGA and first played in 1977. The USGA of ...
, and the youngest ever to advance to
match play
Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...
in that event. Li was an age group winner at the inaugural
Masters Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship in
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...
. As of 2014, she is a student of Jim McLean.
Background
Born in
Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University. The population was 21,150 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census.
Stanford is ...
,
[ Li now lives in ]Redwood Shores, California
Redwood Shores is a waterfront community in Redwood City, California, along the western shore of San Francisco Bay on the San Francisco Peninsula in San Mateo County. Redwood Shores is the home of several major technology companies, including Ora ...
. Her father, Warren Li, is a San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
computer consultant and stockbroker
A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...
.[ Her mother, Amy Zeng, is a former ]Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
employee.[ Warren and Amy were raised in China and moved to the United States from Australia in 1998.][ Warren has a ]Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
, while Amy has a master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in the field. Lucy was born in 2002.[ She lived with her aunt Tao Zeng four months per year to train in Florida near ]Trump National Doral Miami
Trump National Doral Miami is a golf resort in Doral in South Florida in the United States. It was founded by real estate pioneer Alfred Kaskel in 1962, with the name "Doral" coming from an amalgamation of the first names of Kaskel and his wife ...
and McLean's Golf School.[ Li is ]homeschooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
. She performs some of her schoolwork through independent study in the months she is in Florida.[
Li took ]diving
Diving most often refers to:
* Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water
* Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes
Diving or Dive may also refer to:
Sports
* Dive (American football), a ...
lessons at Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
and was platform diving
A diving platform or diving tower is a type of structure used for competitive diving. It consists of a vertical rigid "tower" with one or more horizontal platforms extending out over a deep pool of water. In platform diving, the diver jumps from ...
from at age 4.[ She was also active in ]gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
and music.[ Some sources claim that she began practicing at Mariners Point Golf Center at about age 4 or 5, with informal coaching from her mother and aunt.] Other sources claim that she began playing golf at age 7 while watching her older brother Luke, a Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
student, who was hitting balls at a driving range
A driving range is a facility or area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range att ...
.[ Li likes to tell the latter story, but Mariners Point head pro, Joby Ross, confirmed that at about 3 or 4 years old Li was very boisterous about her interest in the sport to the point of throwing tantrums when being asked to leave.][ At age 7 her parents called Jim McLean, who also coaches or has coached ]Lexi Thompson
Alexis Noel Thompson (born February 10, 1995) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 12, she was the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women's Open. She turned professional in June 2010 at age 15. ...
, Cristie Kerr
Cristie Kerr (born October 12, 1977) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She has 20 wins on the LPGA Tour, including two major championships, and over $19 million in career earnings. Kerr was the number one-ranked go ...
,[ ]Keegan Bradley
Keegan Hansen Bradley (born June 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour. He has won five tour events, most notably the 2011 PGA Championship. He is one of six golfers to win in his major debut, along with Ben Cu ...
and Erik Compton
Erik Harald Høie Compton (born November 11, 1979) is a Norwegian-American professional golfer.
Compton was born in Miami, Florida, to an American father and a Norwegian mother and holds dual citizenship. He attended the University of Georgia and ...
,[ and arranged a visit to meet him at Doral. Afterwards, the family made summer living arrangements with her aunt. Then, McLean began working with her.][ Li's practice course is Cinnabar Hills in San Jose.][
]
Amateur career
Li holds record for youngest match-play qualifier in U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links history (10 years, 8 months, 16 days), surpassing Michelle Wie
Michelle Sung Wie West (; born October 11, 1989) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the U.S ...
's 2000 record by a mere 7 days.[ Li was the second-youngest qualifier in May 2013 for the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links before becoming the youngest to advance to match play that June.][ The lone person younger than Li was Allisen Corpuz, who qualified in 2008.][
She is also the youngest U.S. Women's Amateur qualifier,] surpassing Latanna Stone's 2012 record age of 10 years, 11 months and 2 days by beginning the first day of the tournament at age 10 years, 10 months and 4 days old on August 5, 2013.
In 2014, at the first ever Drive, Chip and Putt Championship on the Sunday preceding the 78th edition Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club
Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does no ...
, she won the Girls 10–11 age division. The event was televised on the Golf Channel
Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television television network, network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ...
and was sponsored by the United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...
, Professional Golfers' Association of America
The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...
and Augusta National to increase youth participation in the sport.[ Over 10,000 youth from over 110 sites participated in a qualification process that yielded 88 qualifiers from 8 age/gender brackets from each of 11 regions.]
On May 19, 2014, she became the youngest (age 11) to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, surpassing Thompson's record (12 years, 4 months, 18 days) from the 2007 Open. Notably, Li not only qualified, but she won her qualifying event by seven strokes at Old Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links.[ Thompson missed the cut in 2007 with a 36-hole 168 total.][ Li was the second-youngest to compete; nine years prior to the introduction of qualification in 1976,][ Beverly Klass played in the 1967 Open at age 10 years, 7 months, and 21 days.][ Although Li's qualification was largely heralded, some were befuddled at the state of the sport when a sixth grader could even qualify for one of the most prestigious events of the year.] Li, who had reached a 1.5 handicap by April,[ had a handicap better than threshold 2.4, making her eligible to participate in qualifications.][
Li was 11 years, 8 months, and 19 days on June 19, the opening round of the ]2014 U.S. Women's Open
The 2014 U.S. Women's Open was the 69th U.S. Women's Open, held June 19–22 at Pinehurst Resort Course No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. It marked the first time that the U.S. Women's Open was played on the same course in the same year as t ...
, held at Course No. 2 of Pinehurst Resort & Country Club. Edel Golf designed custom clubs that ''Golf Digest
''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competiti ...
'' described as "blinged-out" for Li to use in the Open. In the first round on Thursday, Li shot a 78 (+8), which had been the highest score that anyone who made the cut in the 2013 Open had tallied. She followed that up with a second 78 on Friday for 156 (+16) and missed the cut by seven strokes. She then walked the course as a fan that Sunday. She scheduled an appearance in the July U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links
The U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, often referred to as the Public Links or the Publinx, was a women's amateur golf tournament, one of 10 individual amateur championships organized by the USGA and first played in 1977. The USGA of ...
in DuPont, Washington
DuPont is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,151 at the 2020 census. Originally a company town, the city is named after the DuPont chemical company which operated an explosives manufacturing plant in the ar ...
next. Li shot 74 and 70 to qualify for match play where she lost to Alice Chen in sudden-death of the first round after posting a stroke play equivalent of a 71. She did not schedule any other USGA events in 2014, deciding instead to play local events and be an 11-year-old. In 2015, she did not qualify for the 2015 U.S. Women's Open.
In August 2016, Li won the Junior PGA Championship. The following month, she was on the winning team for the 2016 Junior Ryder Cup.
She earned low amateur honors at the 2017 ANA Inspiration
The 2017 ANA Inspiration was a professional women's golf tournament played March 30 – April 2 at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. It was the 46th edition of the tournament, and its 3 ...
by being the only amateur to make the cut. She was named to the Junior Solheim Cup
The Junior Solheim Cup is a version of the Solheim Cup for girls aged 12 to 18. It was inaugurated in 2002. It is currently officially called the PING Junior Solheim Cup. The Junior Solheim Cup follows a similar format to The Solheim Cup and featu ...
team for the United States, who won 14.5–9.5. In October she won The PING Invitational, and she won her next event, Rolex Tournament of Champions, in November.
On May 14 at the Contra Costa Country Club, Pleasant Hill, California
Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 34,613 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1961. Pleasant Hill is the home of College Park H ...
, Li qualified for the 2018 U.S. Women's Open, where she was again the youngest player in the field. She was one of seven amateurs to make the cut, and she finished tied for 55th with a 299 (+11). Li was selected to represent the USA in the June 8–10, 2018 Curtis Cup
The 40th Curtis Cup Match was played from June 8–10, 2018 at Quaker Ridge Golf Club, Scarsdale, New York. The United States dominated the match, winning by 17 matches to 3 including all 8 of the singles matches.
Format
The contest was a three-d ...
. The United States won by the widest margin in the history of the event (17–3) and Li won her singles match against India Clyburn 5 and 4. At the 2018 U.S. Women's Amateur
The U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA). F ...
, Li was co-medalist and earned the number one seed for the match play portion of the event. She lost in the quarter-finals to eventual champion Kristen Gillman
Kristen Gillman (born September 22, 1997) is an American professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour. As an amateur, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur twice, in 2014 and 2018.
Early life, college and amateur career
Gillman is one of ...
on the 19 hole. She contributed to the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup
The Junior Ryder Cup is a team golf competition between Europe and the United States for junior golfers aged 18 and under. It is based on the men's Ryder Cup and is run by the same organisations, the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe.
The 2018 ...
victory.
At the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics
The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud de 2018), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international sports, cultural, and educational event held ...
, Li teamed with Akshay Bhatia
Akshay Bhatia (born January 31, 2002) is an American professional golfer.
Amateur career
Bhatia was born in Northridge, California, and lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He was runner-up at the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur. He won two silver m ...
to win the mixed team silver medal.
In 2019, the USGA investigated Li's amateur status after she appeared in an Apple Watch
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
advertisement. Rule 6:2 states: "even if no payment or compensation is received, an amateur golfer is deemed to receive a personal benefit by promoting, advertising or selling anything, or allowing his name or likeness to be used by a third party for the promotion, advertisement or sale of anything. A person who acts contrary to the rules may forfeit his amateur status and as a result will be ineligible to play in amateur competitions." She was given a warning but maintained her amateur status.
Li was named to the 2019 Junior Solheim Cup team.
Professional career
Li turned professional in late 2019. She had status on the Symetra Tour
The Epson Tour, previously known as the LPGA Futures Tour, and known for sponsorship reasons between 2006 and 2010 as the Duramed Futures Tour and between 2012 and 2021 as the Symetra Tour, is the official developmental golf tour of the LPGA Tour ...
in 2020 through 2022.[
Li's first USGA event as a professional was the ]U.S. Women's Open
The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...
where she finished in a tie for 16th place at Olympic Club on June 6, 2021. This has been Li's best finish in a LPGA major event to date, and the $84,000 in prize money more than doubled her career tournament earnings.
Li's first professional victory on the Epson Tour
The Epson Tour, previously known as the LPGA Futures Tour, and known for sponsorship reasons between 2006 and 2010 as the Duramed Futures Tour and between 2012 and 2021 as the Symetra Tour, is the official developmental golf tour of the LPGA Tour ...
came in a playoff with an eagle 3 on the first hole at Kinston Country Club's Carolina Golf Classic
The Carolina Golf Classic is a tournament on the Epson Tour, the LPGA's developmental tour. It has been a part of the tour's schedule since 2020. It is held at Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly ...
on June 12, 2022. She picked up her second win a month later at the Twin Bridges Championship
The Twin Bridges Championship is an annual golf tournament for professional women golfers on the Epson Tour, the LPGA's developmental tour. The event has been played since 1984 and is held in the Albany, New York area.
In 2010 and 2011, the title ...
in Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
.
Li was the first Epson Tour player in 2022 to qualify for LPGA Tour who was then granted two consecutive LPGA sponsor exemptions in August. By finishing in the top-10 at the second event ( CP Women's Open), Lucy automatically qualified for her third consecutive LPGA tournament, the Dana Open
The Dana Open Presented By Marathon, is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. It was founded in 1984 and has been played yearly, except in 1986 and 2011, in Sylvania, Ohio, a suburb northwest of Toledo. The tournament is tele ...
. Li was the leader after the second and third rounds, and was paired with Lexi Thompson, another former child prodigy, in the final grouping. After finishing fourth place, Li qualified for the Kroger Queen City Championship
The Kroger Queen City Championship Presented By P&G, is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. It was founded in 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The tournament is televised by the Golf Channel.
Ally Ewing won the inaugural event wi ...
, her fourth straight LPGA tournament. She is now playing exclusively on the LPGA Tour.
Amateur wins
*2016 Junior PGA Championship
*2017 The PING Invitational, Rolex Tournament of Champions
Source:
Professional wins (2)
Epson Tour wins (2)
World ranking
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings
The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by eight women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (L ...
at the end of each calendar year.
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
*Junior Ryder Cup
The Junior Ryder Cup is a team golf competition between Europe and the United States for junior golfers aged 18 and under. It is based on the men's Ryder Cup and is run by the same organisations, the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe.
The 2018 ...
: 2016 (winners), 2018 (winners)
*Junior Solheim Cup
The Junior Solheim Cup is a version of the Solheim Cup for girls aged 12 to 18. It was inaugurated in 2002. It is currently officially called the PING Junior Solheim Cup. The Junior Solheim Cup follows a similar format to The Solheim Cup and featu ...
: 2017 (winners), 2019 (winners)
*Curtis Cup
The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...
: 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
(winners)
Source:[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Lucy
American female golfers
Golfers at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics
Golfers from California
American sportswomen of Chinese descent
People from Stanford, California
People from Redwood City, California
Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
2002 births
Living people
21st-century American women