Kiara Romero has officially earned her LPGA card.
The 20-year-old golfer was named winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal on Wednesday as the leading female golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. It’s her second straight year earning the medal, and it comes with some significant stakes.
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The award gives her 20 points in the LPGA’s Elite Amateur Pathway program, awarding her an LPGA card whenever she chooses to turn professional. Since Romero has earned her 20th point on or after July 1 of this year, she has two options. She can accept LPGA Membership for the remainder of the current LPGA season and the following LPGA season. However, she can also defer LPGA membership until the following season and gain eligibility for the following season only.
“I am so grateful and excited to have reached the points threshold to earn LPGA Tour status through the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway,” said Kiara Romero. “Thank you to my family, coaches, teammates and to the LPGA for making this possible. I’m looking forward to competing at the highest level and against the best golfers in the world.”
Kiara Romero of the United States prepares to putt on the fourth green during the second round of the Meijer LPGA Classic For Simply Give 2026 at Blythefield Country Club on June 19, 2026 in Belmont, Michigan.
Romero earned the McCormack Medal thanks to her stellar play in amateur and professional events throughout the last year. In June, Romero earned low-amateur honors at the U.S. Women’s Open, finishing tied for sixth. She edged 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Maria Jose Marin by a stroke. By virtue of her top ten finish, she is exempt into next year’s championship at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
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“This year’s U.S. Women’s Open was a highlight for me,” Romero said. “Playing so well and testing my game against the best players in the world was really cool, and being in California, a lot of my family were able to come and support me. It was also my first time playing in the Curtis Cup. It was a lot of fun, and I always love playing team golf.”
She is the first three-time Golfweek first-team All-American in Oregon women’s history (2024, 2025 and 2026). She holds the Oregon program record with six career individual tournament victories – including the Chevron Collegiate in February and the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate Invitational in March – while achieving seven runner-up finishes, 22 top-10 finishes, and 28 top-20 finishes overall. She also has the three lowest scoring averages in Oregon history.
Romero, who tied for fourth at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April, has not publicly announced whether she is going to turn pro before her senior season, but the expectation is she will not return to Oregon.
Rose Zhang was the last back-to-back winner of the McCormack Medal, winning three straight from 2020-22.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: No. 1 amateur Kiara Romero wins McCormack Medal, clinches LPGA card via LEAP
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