Andrea Lee, 17, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., joined two of her 2016 USA Curtis Cup teammates in the year’s first women’s professional major championship by carding a 5-under-par 67 in Monday’s ANA Junior Inspiration on the Palmer Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Fellow 17-year-olds Hannah O’Sullivan, of Chandler, Ariz., and Sierra Brooks, of Sorrento, Fla., had previously been invited to the ANA Inspiration, set to begin at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills on Thursday. O’Sullivan, No. 2 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™, is the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and Brooks, No. 5 in the world, was the runner-up to O’Sullivan at Portland (Ore.) Golf Club.
“To be a part of the [ANA Inspiration] field and be able to compete against the pros, I’m really excited to have that opportunity and I’m really looking forward to this week,” Lee told the Southern California Golf Association after earning the event’s lone qualifying spot. “I really wanted to make it this year. I can’t wait.”