Former member of the Iowa State women’s golf team Joy Chou earned a spot in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open on Sunday.

Chou will travel to California to compete July 6-9 on one of golf’s most famous courses, Pebble Beach Golf Links. The U.S. Women’s Open will feature a field of the best athletes that the nation has to offer.

Chou earned an alternate spot after finishing in third place, advancing to final qualifying at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. Her score of 147 (+3) was just one stroke behind a guaranteed qualifying spot for the U.S. Open.

Chou got a call Sunday letting her know that she was selected to compete in the U.S. Women’s Open. Chou will be just the fifth Cyclone ever to compete in the event.

“I am so happy, and this will be an amazing experience to compete in the U.S. Open,” Chou said in a statement. “At the start of the year, I wrote down a number of goals. Making the U.S. Open was at the top of the list.”

Chou joins other Iowa State greats Shelley Finnestad, Beth Bader, Prima Thammaraks and Celia Barquin Arozamena. Bader competed in the U.S. Women’s Open from 2002-2009, just missing the cut in 2008. Chou will be the first Cyclone since 2019 to compete in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Chou golfed at Iowa State from 2017-2021. She won Iowa Women’s Amateur titles in 2020 and 2021.

While playing at Iowa State, Chou shot a 64 at Mountain View in 2019 to tie the second-best round in Iowa State history. Her score of 69 in the 2019 NCAA Regional is the second-best NCAA Tournament score in school history.

Chou is a member of the Epson Tour, which acts as a developmental circuit for the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Tour.