Two players with Arkansas ties are in contention at one of golf’s biggest events, and the Razorbacks couldn’t have asked for a better showing through the first two rounds.
Maria Jose Marin and former Hog Gaby Lopez both made the 36-hole cut at the 81st U.S. Women’s Open, which is being held at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on a par-71 layout.
The cut line came in at 4-over par, and both players finished well clear of it.
Lopez enters the weekend tied for third at 3-under, just one shot behind co-leaders Alison Lee and Ruoning Yin.
Marin sits tied for 22nd at 1-over, making her one of five amateurs to survive the cut in a field that started with 28.
Lopez stays in the hunt
The former Arkansas All-American got off to a fast start in round one, making five birdies on her first nine holes after teeing off from the 10th.
Things tightened up on the way in, though, as she bogeyed three of her final eight holes.
She came back Friday in a similar position — one shot off the lead and tied for second — and kept pace right away with a birdie on No. 1.
Lopez parred the remaining eight holes on the front nine before running into trouble on the back.
Bogeys on two of the three holes in the stretch from Nos. 13 through 15 threatened to push her down the board, but she answered with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th to get back to even for the day.
Lopez closed out the second round with a 71 and will tee off Saturday alongside Sei Young Kim at 4:15 p.m.
Marin holds her own as an amateur
Marin arrived at Riviera with momentum, having posted a top-5 finish at the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad just the week before.
She picked up where she left off in the opening round, making birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 after sticking both approach shots to six feet.
A three-putt bogey on the following hole was the only real slip, and she steadied herself over the final 11 holes with clutch up-and-down pars on Nos. 9, 12 and 13.
The junior wrapped up Thursday at 1-under 70 and was tied for 13th.
Friday was a rougher ride. She teed off from No. 10 and opened with a birdie on 11 followed by a bogey on 12.
She got to 2-under for the tournament with a five-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th, moving inside the top 10.
A seven-footer for par on 18 lipped out, but she bounced back immediately with a birdie on No. 1 after her eagle attempt stopped three feet short and she finished the tap-in.
Marin gave shots back on No. 3 and headed to her final hole — the par-4 ninth — at even for the tournament.
Her approach from the right edge of the fairway came up well short of the green, and an 11-foot par putt didn’t fall. She finished the round with a 2-over 73 for a two-day total of 1-over.
Despite the late stumble, Marin stands tied with world No. 1 Kiara Romero and Canada’s Aphrodite Deng as the low amateurs in the field.
It’s also worth noting that she’s now made the cut in each of her three major appearances, including the 80th U.S. Women’s Open and the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship.
The Arkansas junior tees off in the third round at 1:55 p.m. alongside Shuri Sakuma.
Television coverage Saturday runs on USA Network from 5-7 p.m. before shifting to NBC from 7-10 p.m.
