US Women’s Open: British and Irish contenders

The 77th US Women’s Open gets under way at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club on Thursday and you can watch all of the action live on Sky Sports.

There are 11 former winners competing in North Carolina including defending champion Yuka Saso and Nelly Korda, who makes her first appearance since February.

World No 1 Jin Young Ko is bidding to win her third career major while three-time US Open champion Annika Sorenstam returns for her first appearance since 2008.

And there are also a number of British and Irish hopefuls who are hoping to cause a stir…

Gemma Dryburgh

The 28-year-old makes her US Open bow after winning a qualifier in Georgia at the beginning of May, where she finished on six under par.

She maintained that good form by reaching the last eight of the Women’s Matchplay in Las Vegas.

Dryburgh has enjoyed three professional victories, two of which came on the Rose Ladies Series in 2020, while she has competed on the LPGA Tour since 2018.

Louise Duncan (a)

Another Scot making her US Open debut, Duncan earned her place with victory at last summer’s Women’s Amateur Championship.

The 24-year-old impressed with a 10th-place finish at the 2021 Open Championship and represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup.

Annabell Fuller (a)

Fellow amateur Fuller shot a three-under-par 137 at the University of Florida, where she is currently studying, which earned her a place at Southern Pines.

Fuller, who will make her third Curtis Cup appearance in Pennsylvania on June 10, was one of just three amateurs to make the cut at last year’s Open at Carnoustie. She also represented Europe in the Junior Solheim Cup.

Georgia Hall

The 2018 Open champion arrives in good form, having won the Saudi Ladies International by five shots in March and finished tied for 13th at the Chevron Championship.

Hall claimed her first win on US soil at the Portland Classic last September, defeating Ashleigh Buhai in a playoff. Her US Open record doesn’t make for pretty reading, however, missing the cut in four of her previous six appearances.

Lydia Hall

Hall is playing at her first US Open after winning a five-for-one playoff on the fifth extra hole at Buckingham Golf Club.

The 34-year-old has registered four professional wins including the 2012 British Masters.

Charley Hull

The experienced Hull is making her eighth US Open appearance and finished tied for 10th at Shoal Creek in 2018.

A one-over-par final round saw the 26-year-old drop to a tie for 25th at the Chevron Championship but she produced a top-10 finish at the Aramco Team Series in Bangkok in May.

Bronte Law

A winner on the LPGA Tour in 2019, Law was also part of the victorious European Solheim Cup team in the same year.

She appears at the US Open for the fourth time while her first professional victory came on the LPGA Tour in 2019. Law also won last year’s Dubai Moonlight Classic but a tie for 18th at the 2018 PGA Championship remains her best finish at a major.

Leona Maguire

The Irishwoman failed to make the cut on her previous three US Open appearances but will be encouraged by her performance at the Chevron Championship, where she finished tied for 39th on two under par.

Maguire claimed her first LPGA Tour victory last February at the Drive On Championship and has her sights set on a breakthrough major.

Stephanie Meadow

Meadow enjoyed a professional debut to remember at the 2014 US Open when she finished third behind Michelle Wie West and Stacy Lewis.

The two-time Olympian is playing at the US Open for a seventh time and 2014 remains the only time she has made the cut. The last of her two professional victories came in the 2019 Handa Invitational in her native Northern Ireland.

Mel Reid

Reid made the cut at last year’s US Open for the just the second time in six appearances but back-to-back rounds of 78 saw her drop down the leaderboard.

A six-time winner on the European Tour, Reid claimed her first LPGA Tour success in 2020 at the LPGA Classic. She has also competed on four Solheim Cup teams.

Watch the US Women’s Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 6pm on Sky Sports Mix.