Rochester Hills native makes USGA debut in Oregon

ROCHESTER HILLS — Rochester Adams High School graduate and current University of Michigan golfer Grace Wang is making her United States Golf Association debut this week.

Wang is participating in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in Bandon, Oregon, Aug. 3-11.

“This is my first U.S. Women’s Am that I’ve qualified for,” Wang said. “Going into the qualifier, I didn’t really have that much expectations for myself … and I ended up qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Am, so I was really proud of that. That was definitely a huge highlight of my summer.”

Although Wang is an established collegiate golfer now, golf wasn’t always her priority. Growing up, Wang was a decorated competitive figure skater who achieved the highest certification level in free skating from U.S. Figure Skating. She finished fourth in the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating regionals and advanced to the sectional finals.

“When I was a kid my parents put me in all different kinds of sports. … Ultimately, I fell in love with skating at the age of 5,” Wang explained. “I skated day and night in middle school and elementary school. I would get up before school to go skate and would skate after school.”

Wang was introduced to golf around the time that she would end up walking away from figure skating, but it was not love at first sight.

“My dad was a big golfer … so he introduced me to golf. He’d take me with him to the range, and (I) had zero interest in golf at all. I hated it,” Wang said. “In ninth grade … I had to choose a sport.”

Wang highlighted the fact that there aren’t any prominent collegiate or professional skating organizations, so her future within that sport would be the Olympics or nothing. Golf has a much clearer path going forward, and outside of athletics, she also knew that she wanted to go into business, where a golf game wouldn’t hurt.

“Obviously, I chose golf, but I was scared,” Wang explained. “Going into ninth grade I sucked at golf. … You wouldn’t think that I would be here today.”

After dedicating all of her time and energy into the game of golf, she blossomed into a player who was good enough to continue her athletic career at the University of Michigan. Wang also admits that there’s still room for her to grow.

“I’m surrounded by such great teammates at Michigan and such great coaches and staff,” Wang said. “Just with being so late to the game, this past year I’m literally still learning how to play golf. … Definitely a huge shoutout to my teammates and my parents and coaches for all of the support they’ve constantly given me.”

After a sport switch and years of hard work, Wang is now headed to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon, to face off against other high-level amateurs. The USGA Women’s Amateur is a real opportunity to put a golfer’s name on the map.

“As the third-oldest USGA championship, the U.S. Women’s Amateur serves as an incredible showcase of talent from elite amateurs,” USGA Director of Championships Rachel Sadowski said, “with seven past champions having gone on to win at least one U.S. Women’s Open, among other major achievements.”

This will be the first time that the U.S. Women’s Amateur is at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, and the USGA is excited about the direction of the sport.

“Hosting the U.S. Women’s Amateur at this elevated championship venue reflects our commitment at the USGA to continually advance the competitive landscape of women’s golf and foster environments that create a true test of every facet of a player’s game,” Sadowski explained.

Wang is also focused on her golf season at U-M for the 2025-26 year. She has already made a name for herself in the golf community and will look to continue making waves the rest of her collegiate career.

To learn more about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.