126th Women's Western Amateur preview: Maelynn Kim defends at River Forest Country Club

One of the oldest championships in women's amateur golf gets underway this week, as the 126th Women's Western Amateur comes to River Forest Country Club in Elmhurst, Illinois. Contested every year without interruption since 1901, the Women's Western Amateur has crowned a who's who of the women's game — Patty Berg, Louise Suggs, JoAnne Carner, Nancy Lopez, Beth Daniel, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis and Ariya Jutanugarn all lifted the trophy as amateurs — and this year's field of 120 looks every bit worthy of that lineage.

Players arrive Monday for registration and practice rounds before 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying Tuesday and Wednesday trims the field to the low 32 for match play. From there it's five rounds of 18-hole matches, culminating in Saturday morning's championship match. The winner earns an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women's Amateur, fully exempt status into the next ten Women's Western Amateurs, and a place on one of the most storied trophies in the game.