KIARA ROMERO WINS THE MCCORMACK MEDAL AS THE WORLD’S LEADING WOMEN’S AMATEUR FOR A SECOND TIME

Kiara Romero of San Jose, California, has won the Mark H McCormack Medal as the leading women’s golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) for the second consecutive year.

The 20-year-old has enjoyed another impressive season in 2026 and held off Spain’s Paula Martín Sampedro to win the prestigious honour.

“I’m proud to win this award for a second time,” said Romero, the University of Oregon player. “I feel like all my hard work is paying off. I think these last few years I’ve just been playing really well, enjoying stress-free golf and having fun out there. It’s been amazing.

“This year’s US Women’s Open is a highlight for me. Playing so well and testing my game against the best players in the world was really cool and being in California a lot of my family were able to come and support me. It was also my first time playing in the Curtis Cup. It was a lot of fun and I always love playing team golf.”

Romero has again dominated at college level, holding numerous historic records. Romero is the first WGCA three-time, first-team all-American in Oregon women’s history (2024, 2025 and 2026). She holds the Oregon programme record with six career individual tournament victories – including the Chevron Collegiate in February and the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate Invitational in March – while achieving seven runner-up, 22 top-ten and 28 top-20 finishes overall.

Romero, who also posted a tied-fourth finish at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April, has recorded Oregon’s single-season record for scoring average in each of her first three seasons, including a 69.23 mark in 2025-26.

Photo: Kiara Romero .  (Photo: The R&A)