The ANA Inspiration, normally golf’s first major championship of the year, was pushed back by the COVID-19 pandemic and will finally be played this week at Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
One of the implications of the move is that the temperatures in the California desert are expected to soar -- from 105 to 115 degrees. Caddies will be allowed to wear shorts and even ride golf carts.
106 players representing 22 countries will be in the field, including six amateurs.
"This is one of our favorite traditions at ANA Inspiration," said Shigeru Hattori, ANA Senior Vice President of the Americas. "The tradition is crucial to growing the sport and fostering the dreams of young female golfers around the world. We’re proud to help each amateur invitee's dream take flight as they play with the ladies of the LPGA Tour."
The six amateurs invited by the LPGA are:
Gabriela Ruffels – A senior at the University of Southern California and the No. 1 player in the
Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Amateur Ranking, the Australian Ruffels won the 2019 U.S. Women's Amateur and North and South Amateur, and nearly defended U.S. Women's Amateur title, losing to Rose Zhang in the final.
Kaitlyn Papp – A senior at the University of Texas, Papp holds the University of Texas school record for career stroke average at 71.91. Papp was a 2019 and 2020 WGCA First-Team All-American and 2018 Second-Team honoree. She was also part of the winning U.S. Ping Junior Solheim Cup team in 2017.
Olivia Mehaffey – A four-time All-American at Arizona State University, Mehaffey represented Great Britain & Ireland in the battle for the 2019 Astor Trophy and helped lead the 2016 Great Britain & Ireland team to the Curtis Cup victory after going 3-1-1. She earned the Irish Women's Open Championship and the Welsh Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship in 2016.
Emilia Migliaccio – The current No. 2 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Amateur Ranking, the Wake Forest senior was a WGCA All-American First Teamer for the second straight season. She won four events in 2019 (including the ACC Championship) and won the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in a COVID-shortened season this year.
Angelina Ye – A member of the Chinese National Team, Ye is a sophomore at Stanford, the 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior Champion and runner-up in the 2019 AJGA Rolex Girls’ Invitational. As a freshman at Stanford, she compiled a 72.27 stroke average and earned WGCA second team All-American honors.
Rose Zhang – Ranked No.1 in the ROLEX AJGA Rankings and No. 5 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Zhang is the reigning U.S. Women's Open champion. She also won the ANA Junior Inspiration in 2018, qualifying for the 2018 ANA Inspiration, where she made the cut and finished a credible T60th. Due to graduate in 2021, she is verbally committed to Stanford.
Said Zhang, “I am so happy to receive an invitation to play in the 2020 ANA Inspiration. I didn’t hesitate for a second as I really wanted to test my game with the professionals. My experience in the 2018 ANA Inspiration was absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to have a second chance after everything I learned when I played in 2018.”
ABOUT THE Chevron Championship (ANA Inspiration)
First women's professional major of the year,
the Chevron (formerly the ANA Inspiration, and before
that the Kraft Nabisco)
Championship draws more than
100 of the best women professional golfers in the
world, as well as the top-ranked amateurs in the
country.
View Complete Tournament Information