Golf: Kiwi Amelia Garvey set for first career major at women's US Open next month

Amelia Garvey competing for the University of Southern California. Photo / Getty

Kiwi Amelia Garvey will tee off in her first golf major championship, after being confirmed alongside Lydia Ko in the US Women's Open field.

Like Ko, Garvey aspires to win "majors and medals", and has already faced numerous close calls in qualifying for majors in her young amateur career.

She has now received an exemption into the US Open - the final major of 2020 - which will be played at Champions Golf Club in Houston from December 11-14.

The 20-year-old originally missed out on an invite by a single spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. As the US Women's Open qualifiers were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the top 20 amateurs globally received a special invitation into the field.

She was ranked 21st at the cut-off date which was last week, but was invited to play with several players ahead of her already exempt.

Garvey has spent the better part of eight months waiting at her home in Christchurch for the phone call to confirm her place in the field. She returned to New Zealand from America, where she attends college, back in March.

She says it was an exciting phone call to get.

"It feels unreal.

"The last couple of months have been really nerve-wracking as I've been on the bubble to sneak into the field on an exemption. It's been a nervous wait but I'm so glad that I've been able to sneak my way in."

Garvey who attends the University of Southern California, has been on the cusp of playing in a major championship for some time, and each time she has pulled up just short.

Last year, she was six-under par after 36 holes of qualifying for the US Open and missed her spot in the field by a single stroke.

She also finished runner-up at the 2019 Amateur Championship where a victory would have earned her a spot in the AIG Women's Open, the US Open and the Evian Championship.

Garvey says it's a special feeling having a major on her schedule at last.

"To miss out on a place in a major by a spot again would not have been fun.

"This has been a goal of mine for a little while. I've had a few close calls where I've missed out on invites to a few majors so it's really nice to finally have one on the schedule."

The Cantabrian has been honing her game at home in preparation for December. She says despite having limited golf this year, there are still plenty of ways she can prepare.

"I sat down with my whole team and looked at the time I had in New Zealand and we said that even though we don't have competitions I can still use this time to prepare for my future ahead and making the most of what we have in New Zealand.

"I'm excited that my first major is going to be my first tournament back as we get back into the swing of things.

"I want to play in these events, but I also want to be winning them as well. I'm not just after invites or be a field-filler, I want to make a statement and really compete with these girls."

Until then, she needs to navigate her way through her final exams next week and complete her communications major.

To prepare she will fly across the ditch to spend some time with 3D bio mechanist Ryan Lumsden in Adelaide, before heading back over to the States.

After the US Open, she will graduate in May and golf will once again be her main focus as she looks to turn professional at the end of 2021.

The last New Zealander to play in a major championship alongside Ko was Liv Cheng in 2016.