10-Year-Old Competes in U.S. Women’s Open Qualifier—And Not Everyone Is Applauding

Lucy Li was only 11 years old when she became the youngest person to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, earning her spot by winning a sectional qualifier in California back in 2014. (I still think about her rocking her little pig tails eating ice cream at Pinehurst.) Before her, it was Lexi Thompson who qualified at the age of 12 in 2007.

And that's the cool part about the USWO field—amateurs of all ages are able to play their way into one of the biggest stages in women's golf...but one does have to wonder, how young is too young?

Eleven-year old Amateur Lucy Li during the first round of the 2014 U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (North Carolina). (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

This week, promising young star Cheetah Baez, 10, is making the internet rounds as she teed it up in her USWO qualifier at the Streamsong Black Course in Florida. Her name alone is enough to make headlines.

Baez would go on to shoot 91-95 in the 36-hole one day qualifier that had familiar faces in the field like the 2025 Augusta National Women's Amateur champion Carla Bernat Escuder and popular golf creator Cailyn Henderson of Golf Girl Games.

Escuder, who now competes on the Espon Tour, qualified with scores of 69-70.

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But Baez's appearance, better yet, her scores are now under fire, with many questioning if she should have been there.

In order to even register for qualifying, amateur golfers must have an up-to-date handicap index that does not exceed 2.4. Players who skill doesn't reflect their register handicap are subjected to rejection. Outside of her handicap, Baez has also collected quite an impressive golfing resume considering she only picked up a club at age six. She was a Finalist at this year's Drive, Chip and Putt at Augusta National. She finished in 6th place at the 2025 U.S. Kids World Championship, and was the runner-up at the 2025 U.S. Kids PGA Golf Club Invitational.

And golf is no stranger to child prodigies, so why is this particular story raising questions?

I don't think anyone truly expected her to qualify, both Li and Thompson were lightening in a bottle moments that make it [qualifying] feel more plausible than it actually is. That said, for Baez, this is great exposure for what's to come. Shooting 91-95 at just 10 years old on a course like Streamsong is no small feat, and I believe that she's well on her way to becoming a player to watch at events like the U.S. Women's Amateur and even ANWA.

But for her sake and to keep her in this game, I hope that her family allows for the natural progression of her game to take shape and to remind her that though being skilled is a big part of the journey, it's not the only thing that matters.