‘Excited is an understatement,’ Leah John Says Of Her U.S. Women’s Open Debut
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
(May 23, 2025) - After what seems like the longest month of her life, Leah John finally gets to actually play in the U.S. Women’s Open.
It gets real now for the 25-year-old Vancouver native, who jokes that she has been playing the tournament in her head since earning a spot in the field at a qualifier in Sacramento, Calif., way back on April 21.
“Being a little excited is a real understatement, I have been living it in my mind since I qualified,” John said in an phone interview as she drove through rural Wisconsin en route to Erin Hills Golf Course, the site of the 80th playing of the U.S. Women’s Open.
“I have watched it for so many years on TV. It’s epic, I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s been a nice thing to think about. If I have a crappy day, I just say 'you know what, at the end of the day I still get to go play in the Open.' It really makes me feel better. So I have been thinking about it a good amount, not in a pressure-filled way but in an excitement and looking forward to it kind of way.”
The tournament runs May 29 - June 1 and John, a two-time B.C. Women’s Amateur champion, is determined to savour every moment of the event. “I want to enjoy the week,” she said. “I remember one of the biggest regrets I had playing in the U.S. Amateur is being so score- and outcome-focused that I kind of missed out on the experience of it all. I just want to really enjoy it.”
Of course, she also hopes to play well. John arrived Friday night and planned to play practice rounds and explore every inch of Erin Hills from Saturday through Wednesday. It’s a hilly course, but fairly wide open. It won’t feature the tight fairways that many U.S. Open layouts present.
“I hear there are a lot of sight-lines out there and I like that kind of golf where you kind of cut corners and create visuals for yourself,” she said. “I’m a long hitter so if I can take advantage of having a driver in my hand and getting it down there, that’s my edge.”
John shot rounds of 65 and 70 to tie for first at the 36-hole Sacramento qualifier with former University of Nevada teammate Gabriella Kano. Their former coach, Kathleen Takaishi, is making the trip to Wisconsin to support her former players. John has rented a house in the area that will be filled with her parents, boyfriend and other friends.
John’s best golf this season came at that qualifier. She has been struggling to find her form on the Epson Tour, where she has made three cuts in seven starts this spring. John feels her mental game has been holding her back.
“I feel like my game is getting there. My scores are coming down overall, so I feel like my game is good, it’s trending. The thing that’s missing is, what are you going to do to yourself to take the pressure off and be free. I’m still making game plans and all of that, but I really want to see myself break away from needing to shoot a score and have an outcome and keep playing golf.”
The U.S. Open is a tough spot to find your game, but John is hoping the right attitude and lots of pre-tournament preparation will help her succeed on what will be a challenging course set-up. John knows that she will have to pick her spots on where she can be aggressive and try to make birdies. On many holes, par will be her friend.
“That’s the cool thing about playing in these championships is you learn how they set up the course and what kind of pin placements I am going to be looking at. When I played in the Canadian Open for the first time that was something I learned, that there really are holes that they make gettable and not gettable. So I am curious to see how that plays out.”
John is not dwelling on expectations. She’ll be satisfied with any result, providing she feels that she played well and prepared properly for what will be the biggest event of her life.
“You can say make the cut as a goal, but at the same time that is sort of a low bar,” she said. “I feel like any time you make that your goal you are always on the cutline. So I would say a successful week would be if I play some golf where I can say I put my best game out there. Let’s be crazy and say a top-30 finish.”
CHIP SHOTS: Vancouver’s Anna Huang will be one of three 16-year-olds in the U.S. Women’s Open field. Huang, a regular on the Ladies European Tour, spent the weekend playing in the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort Golf Club in France. Brooke Henderson, Celeste Dao and amateur Vanessa Borovilos are the other Canadians in the field. . .This year’s U.S. Women’s Open purse is US$12 million.