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St. Louis, MO - The U.S. Women’s Open Qualifier kicks off the USGA qualifiers held in the St. Louis region in 2026. Tuesday’s rounds came in the wake of a long afternoon of severe weather in the area on Monday. Despite the woes those storms presented - including a power outage at the club - the course was prepared and play went on as scheduled. The field for the qualifier was filled at the maximum of 78 players. In the field were twenty-six international golfers, an average age of 21, fifty-seven amateurs, twenty-one professionals, only nine golfers from the Metropolitan region, and thirty-six universities represented by current athletes, alumni, and signed future athletes. 

Players were competing for two qualifying spots into the U.S. Women’s Open field and two alternate spots. The course played to a par 72. As this is for entry into a professional championship, all amateurs will be indicated with (a) and professionals will not be marked.  

For the first round, the early morning saw overcast skies and cooler temperatures. The conditions stayed pleasant through Round 1. Addie Dobson (a) of Jacksonville, IL and Mizzou Tiger set a high bar for the field at the conclusion of the first round. Starting on Hole 10, Dobson’s round included eight birdies with a bogey free second nine. Her round led her to post the low round of the day of 66 or six-under (-6) par and take the solo lead heading into Round 2.  

The next two lowest scores of the morning came from Reagan Zibilski (a) of Springfield, MO and Samantha Olson (a) of Phoenix, AZ. Zibilski, an Arkansas Razorback, started her first round on Hole 10. In her first nine holes, Zibilski was bogey free with three birdies. She finished out the second nine even to go into Round 2 at three-under (-3) par. Olson, a University of Tulsa athlete, also started her round on Hole 10. Similarly, Olson had a bogey free first nine, but with just two birdies. Olson closed out the round at three-under (-3) par.  

Tied for fourth five strokes back of the lead at the end of the first round were four golfers: Grace Leber (a) of Wilmette, IL, Lisa Herman (a) of Jenks, OK, Zoe Cusack (a) of Potomac, MD, and Mary Liu of Seminole, FL and the People’s Republic of China. Leber’s round was highlighted by a birdie on the 18th and final hole of her round to get under par. Herman, an Ole Miss Rebel, had an interesting first round. She started the round with five bogeys, then flipped the round around with a bogey free back nine with six birdies. Cusack is a US National Development Program participant and is signed to play for the Virginia Cavaliers next fall. She had a slow start to the day with one bogey in the first half, but was able to card a bogey free back with two birdies. Liu began on the 10th hole and had two birdies during a bogey free first nine.  

Golfers had a short break after their first round to grab a bite to eat and rest before hitting the course again for Round 2. The second round was sure to reveal both physical and mental fortitude. The cloudy skies began to rain down around the 2:30pm mark of the day and refused to stop until the rounds were almost over. There were moments when you thought it might stop, but then it picked up again. Players had to battle not only each other, but the increasingly wet conditions. 

Reagan Zibilski (a) of Springfield, MO came in from the second round with a good look at potentially claiming a qualifying spot. The Razorback had a fight to the finish, but did card five birdies to finish the round one-under par to bring her final score to four-under (-4) par. At the time she finished, Zibilski was the leader in the clubhouse. The next player to enter with a chance was Narin An of the Republic of Korea. An had a first round score of one-over par. With work to do, she put her head down and fired a second round bogey free five-under par. This placed An in the clubhouse tied with Zibilski at four-under (-4) par.  

Not many groups left on the course, there were two hopefuls looking to close out strong. Zoe Cusack (a) of Potomac, MD started her second round on Hole 10. The future University of Virginia golfer took the momentum from the end of her first round into the second. Cusack fired a second round bogey free four-under par to claim the top spot on the leaderboard at five-under (-5) par. Addie Dobson (a) of Jacksonville, IL was playing in the final group of the day and started Round 2 on Hole 1. After starting the second round on top, it was a fight to the finish for Dobson. The Mizzou Tiger entered the final hole tied for the lead. After leaving her birdie putt short, Dobson felt the pressure as she sunk the putt for par to finish the round one-over par and end the day at five-under (-5) par, while her teammates watched on.  

At the conclusion of the day, amateurs Zoe Cusack and Addie Dobson claimed the two qualifying spots as co-medalists and co-low amateurs at five-under (-5) par. The two will play in the U.S. Women’s Open Championship at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, CA on June 4-7. Should someone withdraw from the championship field, two alternates from our qualifier will be placed on the alternates list. Following a two hole playoff, the first alternate is Narin An and the second alternate is Reagan Zibilski.