Lucy Li facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lucy Li
Li at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics
Personal information
Born	(2002-10-01) October 1, 2002 (age 22) Stanford, California
Height	5 ft 2 in
Nationality	United States
Residence	Sacramento, California
Career
Turned professional	2019
Current tour(s)	LPGA Tour
Former tour(s)	Epson Tour
Professional wins	2
Number of wins by tour
Futures Tour	2
Best results in LPGA Major Championships
Kraft Nabisco C'ship	T30: 2025
LPGA Championship	T12: 2025
U.S. Women's Open	T16: 2021
Women's British Open	CUT: 2024
The Evian Championship	T65: 2025

Lucy Li (born October 1, 2002) is an American professional golfer. She became famous for being one of the youngest golfers ever to qualify for major tournaments. At just 11 years old in 2014, she set records for qualifying for the U.S. Women's Amateur and the U.S. Women's Open.

She was also the second-youngest to qualify for the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. She was the youngest person to reach the "match play" part of that event. Lucy also won her age group at the first-ever Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship at the famous Masters Tournament course.

Early Life and Golf Journey

Lucy Li was born in Stanford, California. When she was young, she lived in Redwood Shores, California. Her parents, Warren Li and Amy Zeng, moved to the United States from Australia in 1998. They both have advanced degrees in computer science.

Lucy was homeschooled, which means she learned at home. She even took online classes from the University of Pennsylvania. This allowed her to spend time training in Florida.

How Lucy Started Golf

Lucy started golf at a very young age. Some say she began around age 4 or 5. She was very eager to play, even throwing tantrums if she had to leave the golf course!

When she was 7, her parents contacted Jim McLean, a well-known golf coach. He has coached many famous golfers. Lucy then began training with him. Her practice course is Cinnabar Hills in San Jose.

Before golf, Lucy also took diving lessons at Stanford University. She could dive from a 10-meter platform at age 4. She also enjoyed gymnastics and music.

Amazing Amateur Achievements

Lucy Li set many records as an amateur golfer. An amateur golfer plays for fun and experience, not for money.

Youngest Qualifier Records

Lucy became the youngest player to qualify for match play in the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. She was 10 years, 8 months, and 16 days old. This beat a record set by Michelle Wie!

She also became the youngest to qualify for the U.S. Women's Amateur. She was 10 years, 10 months, and 4 days old.

Winning the Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship

In 2014, Lucy won the Girls 10–11 age group at the first-ever Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship. This event was held at Augusta National Golf Club, where the Masters Tournament takes place.

The competition was shown on the Golf Channel. It was created to encourage more young people to play golf. Over 10,000 kids tried to qualify for this exciting event.

Making History at the U.S. Women's Open

On May 19, 2014, Lucy Li became the youngest person ever to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. She was only 11 years old! She even won her qualifying event by seven strokes.

The U.S. Women's Open is one of the biggest golf tournaments for women. Lucy played in the tournament in June 2014. She shot scores of 78 in both rounds. She did not make the cut to play on the weekend.

Other Amateur Highlights

In August 2016, Lucy won the Junior PGA Championship. The next month, she was part of the winning team for the 2016 Junior Ryder Cup.

In 2017, she was the only amateur to make the cut at the 2017 ANA Inspiration. This meant she was the best amateur player there. She also helped the United States win the Junior Solheim Cup. Later that year, she won The PING Invitational and the Rolex Tournament of Champions.

In 2018, Lucy qualified for the 2018 U.S. Women's Open again. She was still the youngest player in the field. She finished tied for 55th place. She also helped the United States win the 2018 Curtis Cup by a huge margin.

At the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, Lucy teamed up with Akshay Bhatia. They won a silver medal in the mixed team event.

Amateur Status and the Apple Watch Ad

In 2019, there was a small issue about Lucy's amateur status. She appeared in an Apple Watch advertisement. Golf rules say that amateur players cannot promote products.

The USGA (United States Golf Association) looked into it. Lucy received a warning, but she was allowed to keep her amateur status. This meant she could still play in amateur competitions. She was also named to the 2019 Junior Solheim Cup team.

Professional Career

Lucy Li became a professional golfer in late 2019 when she was 17 years old. This means she started playing golf for money.

Early Professional Success

Her first USGA event as a professional was the U.S. Women's Open in June 2021. She finished tied for 16th place. This was her best finish in a major LPGA event at that time. She earned $84,000, which greatly increased her career earnings.

Lucy won her first professional tournament on the Epson Tour in June 2022. It was the Carolina Golf Classic. She won in a playoff with an amazing eagle on the first extra hole. A month later, she won her second Epson Tour event, the Twin Bridges Championship.

Joining the LPGA Tour

Lucy was the first Epson Tour player in 2022 to earn a spot on the LPGA Tour. The LPGA Tour is the highest level of professional golf for women. She performed very well in several LPGA tournaments in August 2022. She even led after the second and third rounds at the Dana Open. She finished fourth, which helped her qualify for more LPGA events.

In April 2023, Lucy had her second start as a full-time LPGA member. She finished 18th at the DIO Implant LA Open. She continued to improve her ranking for the 2024 season.

Recent LPGA Tour Highlights

On January 28, 2024, Lucy achieved her first top-10 finish as an LPGA member. She placed fourth at the LPGA Drive On Championship. On May 1, 2024, she qualified for the U.S. Women's Open again.

On September 29, 2024, Lucy had an incredible round at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. She shot a rare score of 60 and finished second in a playoff. This round included three eagles, which is very uncommon in golf. This second-place finish is her best LPGA result to date. The following week, she finished T12 at the Buick LPGA Shanghai in China.

Amateur wins

• 2016 Junior PGA Championship
• 2017 The PING Invitational, Rolex Tournament of Champions

Source:

Professional wins (2)

Epson Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up	Winner's share ($)
1	Jun 12, 2022	Carolina Golf Classic	66-68-62-69=265	−19	Playoff	Alexa Pano	30,000
2	Jul 10, 2022	Twin Bridges Championship	66-68-69=203	−10	4 strokes	Linnea Ström	30,000

Results in LPGA majors

Results not in chronological order.

     Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2025 Chevron – 2025 Evian, current)

LPGA Tour career summary

^ Official as of 2024 season
* Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut.

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

• Junior Ryder Cup: 2016 (winners), 2018 (winners)
• Junior Solheim Cup: 2017 (winners), 2019 (winners)
• Curtis Cup: 2018 (winners)
• Summer Youth Olympics Mixed team event: 2018

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