US Women’s Open: Monet Chun one of 4 Canadians to compete

Monet Chun knows she’s good. This week she will see how well.

The product of Richmond Hill, Ont., is one of four Canadians to tee off at the US Women’s Open, the third major of the women’s golf season. World No. 11 Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the top-ranked Canadian in the field, with Chun, Lauren Kim of Surrey, BC, and Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot, Que., all amateurs.

“It’s a really great opportunity,” said Chun after finishing practice at the legendary Pebble Beach Golf Links, where this year’s event is taking place. “I’m getting the chance to see where I stand.

“Of course I would really like to turn pro, but that will only be after I graduate. So just a good test.”

All three Canadian amateurs are on NCAA school golf teams. Chun plays for Michigan, Kim attends the University of Texas and Dao is in Georgia.

Chun qualified for the US Women’s Open runner-up from last year’s US Women’s Amateur Championship. Kim earned her berth on May 15 at a qualifier at Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, BC, and Dao did the same at Duxbury Yacht Club in Duxbury, Massachusetts, on June 7.

“I think we’re all pretty excited about it and really good opportunities for all three of us,” said Chun. “I think we just want to play the best we can here.

“I think it shows that we’re on the right track, that what we’re doing helps a lot.”

Chun currently ranks 95th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, having won this year’s Lady Buckeye Invitational and the 2022 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship. That makes her the highest ranked Canadian in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings. Kim is 121st overall and Dao is 1,081st.

Chun said she just wants to focus on her game at the US Open instead of setting goals for the week.

“I think once I get caught up in the score it’s just going to be in my head a lot,” she said. “So right now I’m just playing to the best of my ability and seeing where my game is at this point and trying to put a target there.”

Henderson qualified for the US Women’s Open as the reigning winner of the Evian Championship, but would also have made it to Pebble Beach based on four other qualifiers.

She finished 15th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on June 25, six shots behind China’s Ruoning Yin. The Women’s PGA Championship was the second major of the season and the most recent event on the LPGA Tour calendar.

PGA TOUR — RBC Canadian Open champion Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, BC, is No. 10 in the FedEx Cup standings heading into this week’s John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. Adam Hadwin (35th), also from Abbotsford, joins him in the field with Adam Svensson (37th) of Surrey, BC, and Michael Gligic (207th) of Burlington, Ont.

DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., is in the field at Made in Himmerland in HimmerLand, Farso, Denmark. Cockerill, the only Canadian on the European DP World Tour, is 40th in the Race to Dubai standings.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 5, 2023.