Canadian teen Anna Huang says she’s living life in the fast lane these days. But whatever way she’s going about her day-to-day as a teenage professional golfer, success is following just as quickly.
The 17-year-old has catapulted herself to No. 53 in the Rolex Rankings, and with the U.S. Women’s Open on tap this week, there’s a case that she’s been this country’s best golfer, male or female, this year.
“Me winning three times in 18 months — things are going pretty quickly,” Huang told Sportsnet by phone last week from her home base in Sarasota, Fla. “Sometimes it’s hard to get a break, but when you do, it’s all happening at once and you just take it all in.”
Huang skipped college and turned pro at 16, making an immediate impact on the Ladies European Tour after earning status via qualifying school. She won in September — the youngest to tilt a trophy on that circuit last year — but that wasn’t all.
She won the very next week, too.
With her initial triumph, she joined just three others — including past world No. 1s Jeeno Thitikul and Lydia Ko, now a Hall of Famer — as teens to win on the LET.
Two weeks ago, Huang captured the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco before returning to North America for a short break before this week’s major. The 2026 U.S. Women’s Open will be contested at Riviera Country Club just outside Los Angeles, the host club of a PGA Tour event (The Genesis Invitational) for 62 years and the home of the 2028 Olympic golf competition. It’s hosted three men’s majors, but this is the first time the women get to tee it up.
Huang, who has been part of Golf Canada’s national team program for three years, won her U.S. Women’s Open qualifier to earn her second straight start at the major. She also played the AIG Women’s Open last summer.
Sitting fourth in the LET order of merit, Huang has quickly earned her spot on the game’s biggest stages, but none of her big decisions to get there came easily, she said. Her family is big into sports, and she grew up playing tennis and golf, swinging a club for the first time at just four years old. Golf stuck with her, she said, and she’d go with her father to the driving range almost every day as her age hit double digits.
“I knew this is what I wanted to do,” Huang said.
Alas, despite finding moderate levels of success as a young amateur, she faced a tough decision whether she would turn professional right away or head off to college.
“It was not easy. I was honestly really scared because (skipping school) is not something you do normally,” Huang said. “Most of my friends had committed to college and it was nice to see (them) find their own passions.”
Huang entered qualifying school basically on a whim, but when she got good enough status to start in the professional ranks right away, she made the big leap thanks to her parents, of course, but also Golf Canada coach Jeff MacDonald.
She’ll be one of four Canadians in the field at the U.S. Women’s Open, also including amateurs Lauren Kim and Aphrodite Deng along with Canada’s top-ranked female golfer, Brooke Henderson.
Henderson admitted last week her year has been “a bit slow” since her third-place finish at the first event of the year. That was the lone event she had her sister, Brittany, as caddie before the elder Henderson retreated to the sidelines as she is expecting her first child in just a few weeks. Brooke used a veteran LPGA Tour caddie for a short trial before pivoting to her cousin, Ryan Henderson, who has caddied for both Brooke and Brittany in the past.
“It's a lot different. It's really been a big adjustment all year, but I'm really grateful to have my cousin on my bag,” said Henderson, who is still getting used to the new inside-the-ropes effort as she’s missed the cut and finished tied for 40th in her last two tournaments.
Henderson has missed the cut the last two years at the U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top 10 at the major in five years. She’s hoping the tide will turn as it’s once again a family affair on the LPGA Tour.
“He's just a lot of fun and a really great guy,” Henderson said of her cousin Ryan. “(It's) been a blast, and I'm really excited for what the summer will hold for the two of us working together now."
Meanwhile, the two amateurs are looking forward to testing their games on the biggest stage in women’s golf.
Kim — like Huang — earned her spot as medallist of a qualifier, while Deng got in via her win at the U.S. Junior Girls’ Championship in 2025 (the first Canadian to ever win that title). Both also made the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.
“Playing at Augusta and the U.S. Women’s Open are very neat opportunities. Augusta is such a special place since once you turn pro, you can’t go back. It’s really cool. The U.S. Open is another opportunity to showcase my skills and compete against the best,” Kim told Sportsnet.ca.
“Playing in front of the big crowds at Augusta on a big stage and taking it all in — that was a good experience,” added Deng. “Definitely, I’ve matured and my game has matured too. My long game is more consistent and I’m getting more accurate. I don’t feel as nervous and I’m more comfortable to play in front of big crowds.”
The Canadian contingent teeing it up at the iconic Riviera — where Maja Stark will defend her title after winning her maiden major in 2025 — are all coming in with different perspectives. Kim and Deng are looking to learn as much as they can on a big stage. Henderson, long the country’s best, is keen for a summertime spark.
But Huang has a special opportunity ahead as she looks to strike while the iron is hot.
“I think this time (at the U.S. Women’s Open) I definitely have a lot more confidence, especially coming off a win. It helps,” Huang said. “I learned a lot this past year to grow as a person and a player.
“In general, my game is pretty solid right now. I’m pretty confident with everything.”
With that confidence and momentum from the season, Huang could be taking the fast lane all the way into contention at the biggest event on the LPGA Tour.
