ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The 125th edition of the Women’s Western Amateur is bringing one of the strongest fields in women’s amateur golf to the Detroit area this week.

Held without interruption since 1901, the Women’s Western Amateur is making its first appearance at Red Run Golf Club in Royal Oak. Play begins with 18 holes of stroke-play qualifying on Tuesday and Wednesday. The field will then be cut to the low 32 players for match play starting on Thursday, with five rounds of 18-hole matches determining the champion.

With 27 of the top 200 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking set to compete this week, the 2025 field is one of the strongest in championship history. The list of collegiate stars and junior standouts includes players from 24 states and 13 countries, including:

  • Texas junior Farah O’Keefe, of Austin, Texas, the 2024 champion and top-ranked player in the field. Ranked No. 7 in the WAGR, O’Keefe was the 2024 NCAA Freshman of the Year in her first season with Texas. She most recently notched a second-place finish at the Women’s Amateur Championship in Scotland and made the Sweet 16 at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur. O’Keefe is a 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup selection and finished 10th at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship.
  • Ohio State senior Kary Hollenbaugh, of New Albany, Ohio, ranked No. 24 and a 2024 quarterfinalist. She tied the Ohio State single-season win total with four individual titles in her junior year and finished second at the Big Ten Championship, earning All-Big Ten First Team honors. Named a Golfweek First Team All-American this season, Hollenbaugh recently teed it up at the U.S. Women’s Open, her first professional event. Hollenbaugh also earned a top-25 finish at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship in April.
  • Texas senior Huai-Chien Hsu, of Tainan, Taiwan, a semifinalist at last year’s Women’s Western Amateur and currently ranked No. 43. Notable finishes include fifth at the NCAA Lubbock Regional, second at the Betsy Rawls Invitational, fourth at the Ladies National Golf Association Amateur, sixth at the Nanea Invitational and qualified for the Round of 32 at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
  • Mississippi State junior Avery Weed, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, ranked No. 51 in the world after finishing 10th at the NCAA Division I National Championship. She shot an NCAA-record 11-under 61 in the opening round of The Ally, going on to win the event. A 2025 Golfweek Third Team All-American, Weed claimed her first collegiate victory at the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship.
  • Wake Forest junior Macy Pate, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, ranked No. 55 and a 2024 semifinalist. Pate helped the Demon Deacons win the NCAA Lubbock Regional after posting consecutive rounds of even par. She joins O’Keefe as a 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup selection and was also named to the 2025 All-ACC Team. Pate recently wrapped up her sophomore season at Wake Forest, finishing ninth at the ACC Women’s Golf Championship.
  • North Carolina senior Megan Streicher, of Cape Town, South Africa, ranked No. 57 in the world. She earned All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season after posting the second-best scoring average in UNC history (72.10). Streicher is coming off a ninth-place finish at the North & South Women’s Amateur Championship, following a runner-up finish at the Sea Island Women’s Amateur. She also placed 40th at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship.
  • Northwestern sophomore Elise Lee, of Irvine, California, ranked No. 72 in the world. An All-Big Ten Second Team honoree, Lee notched five top-25 finishes in her debut season with the Wildcats, helping her team to the 2025 NCAA DI Women’s Golf Championship title with a 2-1 match play record. She was runner-up at the 2024 Women’s Western Amateur and recently finished T14 at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship.
  • Kara An, of Valencia, California, a class of 2027 high school student, ranked No. 96 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. She finished runner-up at the 2025 Women’s Western Junior, earning an exemption this week. An won the UHY Detroit Junior at Forest Lake last summer and has recorded four top-10 finishes in seven events.

The list of past Women’s Western Amateur champions features iconic names such as Patty Berg (1938), Louise Suggs (1946, 1947), Brittany Lang (2003), Stacy Lewis (2006) and Ariya Jutanugarn (2012). Just reaching the Sweet 16 for match play is its own accomplishment. Since 1930, 37 players advancing to the Sweet 16 have won 122 major professional championships.

Attendance and parking for the Women’s Western Amateur are free.