Oregon Ducks rising junior and 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion earns 2026 U.S. Women’s Open and AIG Women’s Open exemptions with the award

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J., and ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Aug. 13, 2025) – Kiara Romero, 19, of San Jose, Calif., has won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading female player in the 2025 World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR®.

The McCormack Medal winner receives 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 the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in England, provided she remains amateur.

“It’s an incredible honor to win the McCormack Medal,” said Romero. “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.”

Romero, who will begin her third year at University of Oregon as a junior this fall, has dominated at the collegiate level thus far, shattering program records. She was the first ever Duck to be named the National Freshman of the Year in 2023, recorded the best Oregon single-season record with a 70.84 scoring average across 31 rounds of stroke play, broke the program record for birdies in a season with 118 and became the first player in program history to shoot under par across a 72-hole tournament while leading Oregon into match play of the NCAA Championships. She also carded two individual wins in her first five stroke-play events as a freshman.

Outside of collegiate accolades, Kiara took home her first USGA championship win in 2023 at the U.S. Girls' Junior and competed in the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in 2024 — her first major championship appearance. She also won the AJGA Polo Golf Junior Classic at Liberty National in 2021 and participated in the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Most recently, she made it to the quarterfinals of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

“On behalf of the USGA, we congratulate Kiara on this prestigious honor,” said John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer, USGA. “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.”

Professor Steve Otto, chief technology officer at The R&A, said, “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.”

The R&A and the USGA co-award the McCormack Medal annually. It is named after Mark H. McCormack, who founded sports marketing company IMG and was a great supporter of amateur golf.

The World Amateur Golf Ranking, which is supported by Rolex, was established in 2007 when the men’s ranking was launched. The men’s ranking encompasses over 4,317 counting events, ranking 4,860 players from 118 countries. The women’s ranking was launched in 2011 and has a calendar of around 2,984 counting events with more than 3,353 ranked players from 85 countries.

Kiara Romero Awarded Mark H. McCormack Medal as World's Leading Female Amateur Golfer

Related Articles