Recent U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Asterisk Talley headlines a fivesome of amateurs in the field at The Standard Portland Classic. Talley, now a two-time USGA champion, is the highest-ranked American junior at No 8 in the world.
Earlier this year, the LPGA announced four automatic amateur exemptions to one of the tour’s longest-running events.
Asterisk Talley plays her tee shot on the 11th hole during the final match of the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Darren Carroll/USGA)
These four decorated names will tee it up Aug. 13-16 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club
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2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Maria Jose Marin
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2026 NCAA champion Farah O’Keefe
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2026 Women’s British Amateur champion Valentine Delon
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2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Asterisk Talley
In addition, the event has invited amateur Jacinda Lee, a junior at Colorado State from Camus, Washington.
Megha Ganne, the 2025 U.S. Women’s Women’s Amateur champion who turned pro earlier this summer, is in the field on an exemption as the winner of the 2026 Inkster Award. The Stanford graduate was the nation’s highest-ranked player in her final year of eligibility.
Kiara Romero of the United States tees off on the fourth hole during the second round of the AIG Women’s Open 2026 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes on July 31, 2026 in Lytham St Annes, England.
Interestingly, the No. 1 amateur in the world, Kiara Romero, is not in the field. Romero is expected to earn her LPGA card through the LPGA’s LEAP standings on Wednesday after she’s named the winner of the McCormack Medal. Romero, who played collegiate golf at the University of Oregon, finished seventh last year at the Portland stop.
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Instead, tournament officials chose to extend an invitation to Kiara’s older sister Kaleiya Romero, who is No. 2 on the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card points list.
Kiara will be the second player to earn her LPGA card through the tour’s LEAP program, following Florida State’s Lottie Woad, now a two-time LPGA winner, in 2025.
Beth Ann Nichols is a Golfweek senior writer who covers the LPGA and women’s golf.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Asterisk Talley among top amateurs competing in LPGA Portland Classic
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