Sacramento, Calif. – Leah John secured her spot in the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open after finishing in a tie for first in open qualifying at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, Calif. on Monday.
The Team Canada member from Vancouver, B.C. fired rounds of 65-70 (135) to finish at 7-under for 36 holes and earn one of three spots available along with her former University of Nevada teammate Gabby Kano. John became overwhelmed with emotion once she finished her second round, knowing she secured her spot.
“It was a really long day and hard to hold the lead for 36 holes and I honestly just sort of broke down a bit, so happy to have done it and I am beyond beyond beyond excited.
“It probably felt like one of the best days of my life, I was over excited and proud and also super excited to see my teammate Gabby also qualified as well. I had some former teammates there, my caddy this year is really wonderful, so to share that with them and reassuring that I trust my process, trust who I am and the things that I am working towards,” said John.
John couldn’t have asked for a better start as she opened the day with a hole out for eagle from 97 yards out. She went on to add five birdies to finish with an opening round of 6-under 65. She was happy that there wasn’t a long break in between rounds.
“I didn’t want time to think, I just wanted to get back to doing and the mindset was to just be joyful. That was my goal, my focus for the entire round, the whole day, I just wanted to enjoy my time on the golf course with my caddy and that was it, so really just joy and embracing the moments, the pressure, the nerves knowing that’s exactly where I want to be,” she said.
John describes herself as a conservatively aggressive player who likes to play bold. “I tend to stick to what my gut tells me to do and if we do need to change things we talk about it, but for the most part I keep my foot on the gas and just go. I’m just playing for me and whatever happens happens.”
That mindset certainly helped, as she opened her second round with an eagle on the par five first hole. She went on to complete her second round bogey-birdie-bogey to record a 1-under 70 and secure her spot into the U.S. Women’s Open.
“On the 18th hole I was in the rough, I knew where I was in the rankings, and on this particular hole you cannot miss short, missing long isn’t amazing but you absolutely cannot miss short so I ended up bogeying my last hole and I just had to be ok accepting that even a bogey can be good enough.”
Good enough indeed as John will be making her U.S. Women’s Open debut and playing in her second career LPGA Tour event, having played in the CPKC Women’s Open last summer in Calgary.
“I am over the moon and so excited, I have not been able to sleep, it’s been tough to focus, I am just so excited and really excited to share it with people.”
There is no time to rest as John is back in action this week on the Epson Tour at the IOA Championship in Beaumont, Calif. John has made three starts this season, her second season on Epson. She will play a practice round on Wednesday, followed by the pro-am on Thursday before tournament play begins on Friday.
Even after a hectic travel day from Sacramento to Beaumont, John is still riding high.
“Feeling pretty pumped, it’s so nice to be with some awesome friends over here celebrating, so looking forward to bringing that momentum with me and just keep working on the simple things of how I want to be and my values and enjoying the game. I really think things are more meaningful when you can share it with those who care about you so just happy to be doing all this.”
The 2025 U.S. Women’s Open is taking place May 28 – June 1 at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis.