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see also: Kiara Romero
Oregon Ducks rising junior and 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion earns 2026 U.S. Women’s Open and AIG Women’s Open exemptions
LIBERTY CORNER, N.J., and ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Aug. 13, 2025) — Kiara Romero, 19, of San Jose, Calif., has been named the 2025 recipient of the Mark H. McCormack Medal, awarded annually to the top player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®).
With the honor, Romero earns exemptions into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally at The Riviera Country Club and the 2026 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, provided she remains an amateur.
“It’s an incredible honor to win the McCormack Medal. This is a really nice reminder of how far I’ve already come in my golf career. I know how special winning this medal is, and I hope I can follow in the footsteps of the inspiring players who have won it before me.” — Kiara Romero
Romero will enter her junior year at the University of Oregon this fall, already established as one of the program’s all-time greats. As a freshman in 2023, she became Oregon’s first-ever National Freshman of the Year, set the program’s single-season scoring record at 70.84 over 31 rounds, and broke the single-season birdie record with 118. She also became the first Duck to finish under par over 72 holes while leading Oregon into NCAA Championship match play. Romero won two of her first five collegiate stroke-play events and has continued to excel at the NCAA level.
“On behalf of the USGA, we congratulate Kiara on this prestigious honor. Kiara’s commitment to the game is evident, with her first USGA championship victory already among her lengthy list of accolades. Her back-to-back starts in the U.S. Women’s Open along with her display of consistent top performances in her collegiate career is an exceptional showcase of a player deserving of the McCormack medal.” — John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer, USGA
“Kiara has enjoyed a hugely consistent year, performing at a high level in a number of leading amateur championships and impressing in the U.S. Women’s Open alongside leading professionals. Given Kiara only turned 19 earlier this year, winning the women’s McCormack Medal is an outstanding achievement and we look forward to seeing her career continue to develop.” — Professor Steve Otto, chief technology officer, The R&A
Jointly awarded by The R&A and the USGA, the medal is named for Mark H. McCormack, the founder of sports marketing giant IMG and a staunch supporter of amateur golf. The World Amateur Golf Ranking, supported by Rolex, launched the men’s ranking in 2007 and the women’s in 2011. Today, the men’s ranking encompasses over 4,317 counting events, ranking 4,860 players from 118 countries, while the women’s ranking includes around 2,984 counting events with more than 3,353 ranked players from 85 countries.
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