BLACKSBURG — Emily Mahar, a senior on the Virginia Tech women's golf team, is set to compete in the 76th U.S. Women's Open. The four-day national championship will be played June 3-6 at The Olympic Club's Lake Course in San Francisco, California.
Mahar earned her place in the event by prevailing in a three-way playoff for the final spot at a qualifier in Alexandria, Virginia on April 27. She becomes the second Virginia Tech women's golfer to play in a professional major, joining former teammate Amanda Hollandsworth, who competed in the 2019 U.S. Women's Open in Charleston, South Carolina.
The 2021 U.S. Women's Open will play the par 71, 6,486-yard Lake Course at The Olympic Club for the first time. The USGA has hosted five U.S. Opens on the men's side on the course, which opened in 1924.
The 156 competitors in the field feature 40 first-time qualifiers, including Mahar. After Friday's second round, the field will be cut to the low 60 scorers and ties.
Mahar is enjoying a spectacular spring. Along with qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open, the Brisbane, Australia native tied for sixth at the NCAA Stanford Regional in early May, helping the Hokies advance to nationals for the first time in program history. That performance followed an impressive regular season where Mahar earned All-ACC honors for the first time in her career.
Mahar will begin competition Thursday, June 3 at 3:30 p.m. EDT from the ninth tee. She will be grouped with Ssu Chia Cheng of Chinese Taipei and Elizabeth Szokol of the United States. The trio will tee off for the second round at 10:15 a.m. EDT from the first tee on Friday.
The tournament will be televised by The Golf Channel, NBC and Peacock. The first two rounds will be on Peacock from 5-7 p.m. EDT, then 7-11 p.m. EDT on The Golf Channel. The final two rounds will be televised by NBC from 2-5 p.m., then 5-10 p.m. on The Golf Channel. USGA.com will live stream featured groups beginning at 11:27 a.m. each of the first two rounds of the championship.
