ST. ANDREWS, Scotland, and LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (Aug. 12, 2026) — Kiara Romero, 20, of San Jose, Calif., has won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading women’s golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) for the second consecutive year, holding off Spain’s Paula Martín Sampedro for the prestigious honor after another impressive season in 2026.
The medal carries exemptions into the 2027 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally at the Inverness Club and the 2027 AIG Women’s Open at Royal St George’s, provided she remains an amateur. Romero has already qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open on her own merit, earning low-amateur honors with a tie for sixth at Riviera in June.
“I’m proud to win this award for a second time. I feel like all my hard work is paying off. I think these last few years I’ve just been playing really well, enjoying stress-free golf and having fun out there. It’s been amazing.” — Kiara Romero
“This year’s U.S. Women’s Open is a highlight for me,” the University of Oregon player added. “Playing so well and testing my game against the best players in the world was really cool and being in California a lot of my family were able to come and support me. It was also my first time playing in the Curtis Cup. It was a lot of fun and I always love playing team golf.”
Record-Setting Career with the Ducks
Romero has again dominated at the college level, and the record book shows it. She is the first three-time WGCA first-team All-American in Oregon women’s history (2024, 2025 and 2026) and holds the program record with six career individual tournament victories — including the Chevron Collegiate in February and the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate Invitational in March — to go with seven runner-up, 22 top-10 and 28 top-20 finishes overall.
She has set Oregon’s single-season scoring record in each of her first three seasons, including a 69.23 mark in 2025-26.
A Year on Golf’s Biggest Stages
Low amateur, 2026 U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera (T-6)
Tied for fourth, 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur
Starred on her debut in the USA’s Curtis Cup victory at Bel-Air in June
Third career appearance in the Arnold Palmer Cup
Sixth career major championship start, most recently the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes
Champion, 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior — her first USGA title
Praise from Golf’s Governing Bodies
“On behalf of the USGA, we congratulate Kiara on earning the McCormack Medal for a second consecutive year. Her remarkable play at Riviera and her contributions to our victorious Curtis Cup team were a testament to the caliber of player she has become. Kiara continues to excel on the biggest stages and we’re proud to recognize another outstanding year of achievement from one of the game’s rising stars.” — John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer, USGA
“Kiara has again enjoyed a hugely consistent year, performing at a high level in a number of leading amateur championships and impressing in major championships alongside the world’s best professionals. Winning the women’s McCormack Medal for the second time in a row is an outstanding achievement and we look forward to seeing Kiara’s career continue to blossom.” — Grant Moir, chief global golf alliance officer, The R&A
Romero is the first back-to-back winner of the women’s McCormack Medal since Rose Zhang, who claimed it three years running from 2020-22.
About the McCormack Medal
Jointly awarded each year 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 more than 4,000 counting events, ranking over 5,000 players from 129 countries, while the women’s ranking includes a calendar of 3,000 counting events with more than 3,310 ranked players from 103 countries.
