Zoe Campos (UCLA Athletics photo)
The women’s amateur game will have a strong presence at the 2023 Chevron Championship, which tees off Thursday at The Woodlands, Texas.
International title winners, collegiate champions and special invitees alike, this year’s Chevron Championship features seven amateurs, five of whom are exempt and two who accepted invitations. Three of these players are ranked inside the top 50 and three are still juniors, but all will play alongside the top women players in the world in the first LPGA major of the year.
For the first time, the championship will play at its new host course, The Club at Carlton Woods, moving away from the renowned Mission Hills. Its new date, taking place three weeks after the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, allows the invited amateurs flexibility in playing both events – a point of contention in the past for Chevron amateur invitees.
Here's a look at the seven amateurs who will partake in welcoming a new era of the Chevron Championship.
• • • • •
Saki Baba (Japan)
How she qualified: Current U.S. Women’s Amateur champion
The reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion headlines this big-time group of amateurs, earning her way in from her historical 11&9 victory over Monet Chun at Chambers Bay. But in the year that’s followed, 16-year-old Baba has only continued to solidify her rightful presence at the top of the women’s amateur game. The third-best amateur in the world came within a shot of a victory at the Australian Women’s Amateur…but also made a last-minute jump to a top-five finish when she tied for the lowest round on the final day of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Amari Avery (Riverside, CA)
How she qualified: Special invitation
The child prodigy’s spring semester year at USC has been a bit quieter than her breakout first spring, but don’t let the results fool you. Avery’s hung tough in events like the Juli Inkster Meadow Club Collegiate for a third-place finish and opened her sophomore year up with an early season victory. “I don’t expect to match what I did my first spring. That was magical,” Avery said. “I feel like I’ve been playing pretty similar, just haven’t been putting up the scores lately.” But before Avery tries to lead USC on another big postseason run, she will get some big reps on one of the biggest stages in golf.
Ting Hsuan Huang (Chinese Taipei)
How she qualified: Special invitation
This UCLA commit showed the rest of the world what she was made of when she won the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific in 2022 by birdieing six of her final 11 holes. The 34th-ranked player in the world has turned a bevy of good finishes into a nice ranking at No. 34, including a seventh place finish at the Hitachi Ladies Classic and a top-30 finish at her first Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Zoe Campos (Valencia, CA)
How she qualified: Winner of the Silverado Showdown
Look out, here comes Zoe Campos. The UCLA sophomore has been on quite the hot streak, winning two collegiate events in a row: The Anuenue Spring Break Classic, and the stacked Silverado Showdown, which earned her an exemption into the Chevron Championship. In playing some of her best golf ever, she’s also made school history, becoming the first UCLA women’s golfer to win multiple medals in one season since top trio Patty Tavatanakit, Mariel Galdiano and Beth Wu in 2018-19.
Eila Galitsky (Thailand)
How she qualified: Current Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Champion
Another junior to step on the scene and snatch one of the biggest titles in amateur golf, Eila Galitsky’s impressive 5-shot win at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific was quite the introduction. Now, she will play in her very first major in part of reaping its incredible rewards. Her first stop, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, resulted in a mixed cut.
Jess Baker (England)
How she qualified: Current British Women’s Amateur champion
Right before her long-awaited appearance at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Jess Baker nearly notched her first collegiate title at the Briar’s Creek Invitational, finishing within a shot for a tie for third. Now, the UCF junior embarks on a quick stop at the Chevron Championship before heading into the postseason with her team in hopes of making another run at qualifying for the National Championship.
Valentina Rossi (Argentina)
How she qualified: Current Women’s Latin America Amateur champion
This Michigan State junior claimed her biggest win to date when she overtook Maria Jose Marin’s lead in the Women’s Latin America Amateur to win by one stroke. She has remained a key piece of Michigan State’s lineup, despite a continued search for her first collegiate title. Her success as a Spartan follows alumnae Valery Plata, who also saw plenty of international success in her amateur career.
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