Five amateurs receive sponsor invites at Kraft

Danielle Kang

The Kraft Nabisco Championship announced Monday that five amateurs have received sponsor invitations to the year’s first major. U.S. Women’s Amateur champ Danielle Kang, a sophomore at Pepperdine, headlines the list, followed by fellow college players Cydney Clanton (Auburn) and Lisa McCloskey (USC).

Kristen Park, 17, is the only junior to make the field. The 2010 AJGA Player of the Year is ranked No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings. Meghan Stasi, 32, won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur for the third time in 2010 and bucks a longstanding trend of college and junior players.

The Kraft will be held March 31-April 3 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Players left out: Megan McChrystal, Golfweek’s No. 1 collegian; Ariya Jutanugarn, Golfweek’s No. 1 junior; and Doris Chen, 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion.