There are seven amateurs competing in the first women’s major championship of 2023, and one of them has found her way near the top of the leaderboard.
Eila Galitsky, a 16-year-old from Thailand, shot 2-under 70 on Thursday during the opening round of the Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. She was tied for third after the morning wave and is making noise, keeping herself in the hunt.
Galitsky shot the same score as Georgia Hall and was better than Brooke Henderson, Celine Boutier and others.
Here are five things you need to know about Galitsky:
She won the Asia-Pacific Women's Amateur to qualify
Galitsky was victorious last month in Singapore to earn an exemption. She won the Asia-Pacific Women’s Amateur by five shots over Korea’s Minsol Kim. That win also earned her spots in two other majors in 2023: the AIG Women’s Open as well as the Amundi Evian.
She holds dual citizenship
Galitsky became the first winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur since Atthaya Thitikul in 2018. She also holds citizenship in Canada.
She played earlier this month in the ANWA
Her victory in Singapore also earned her an invitation to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She shot 76-73 at Champions Retreat Golf Club and missed the cut.
The Chevron is her first major start
Galitsky hasn’t made a start in a major until this week, let alone an LPGA event. Not a bad first impression.
Moving up in the rankings
Galitsky entered the week ranked 125th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. She has two wins and four top-three finishes in five WAGR events this year.
