Catching Up With USNJT Member Jude Lee

During a USGA Member Town Hall, U.S. National Junior Team member and U.S. National Development Program grant recipient Jude Lee, of Walnut, Calif., reflected on her golf journey, the lessons she’s learned and her experience in the 2025 U.S. Women's Open Presented by Ally at Erin Hills.

Tell us about your golf journey.

Lee: I've been playing golf for around 10 years now. I just fell in love with the grind of getting better every day. I grew up playing on Diamond Bar Golf Course, but now I play at Goose Creek Golf Club which is a public course around 30 minutes from here. And I'm fortunate enough to be one of the USNDP's grant recipients and on the National Team.

You earned your spot in the 2025 U.S. Women's Open Presented by Ally at Erin Hills. Tell us about your experience and what that week was like for you.

Lee: It was amazing. That's quite an understatement, but it was just incredible being able to see what goes on inside the ropes and get a glimpse of my dream life. Everyone was super welcoming, and I got to meet a lot of caddies and players. I got to play a practice round with Nelly Korda and Meghan Khang. I got to meet Lydia Ko, Jin Young Ko, Leta Lindley, and I got to spend time with Stanford alumni Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee. I also got to meet Sandra Palmer and Mr. Mike Whan during the Am dinner. Getting to meet these legends is very eye-opening. I grew up wanting autographs from these players and now competing against them is really incredible.

Do you have a favorite memory of that week?

Lee: Before the championship started, my coach caddied for me, so we went out in the afternoon when no one was there and literally the golf course was empty, but you could just see caddies going around and scoping out the golf course. Spending time with them and getting to pick their brains in the quiet, peaceful setting of Erin Hills was really amazing. 

What is it like being a member of the National Junior Team

Lee: It's changed my life. It's changed my life in the way that I have access to support systems that I've never had before. It really benefited my game, for example with the stats we do and getting to compare that to my peers on the national team. I really like stats; I'm like Coach [Chris] Zambri. So just getting to see the stats and see a representation of where my game is at and what I need to work on is really useful. Right now, I'm working on iron drills and putting speed drills with Coach Zambri. I'm always sending him my test scores, and I can see an improvement over time. We also get course management breakdowns and that's been really helpful. I haven't really been coached on that too much, so before a tournament as I play, I can see what the stats say about it and learn how to make good decisions off that data. Little things shave off strokes, and that means so much. Other than that, just the different facets of the support system. Coach Mo Martin came over and trained with me in California recently, and she really helped me. She was like "Your setup is a bit off." She watched me play nine holes and checked out my chipping a bit. I love her; she's really helped me with the mental side of things. Being able to spend time with her as someone I look up to is incredible. 

Overall, being with the team I've gotten to play in events I've never played before. I got to go to the British Women's Amateur with Coach Zambri and Coach Tiffany Joh. That was my first time in Europe ever, so getting to go to places I've never even dreamed of going with the team is incredible. And I just keep in regular contact with all the coaches. I can reach out to them for anything. They really care about me as a whole. They don't just focus on the golf game; they want me to be a complete person. They are always there to check up on me and to support me. Having that extra backing just means the world. 

In addition to the National Junior Team, you are also a part of the grant program. What were you able to take part in because of the grant program.

Lee: Overall, the financial side of things lifted the financial burden off my parents. Being able to travel without that extra burden of thinking about how much it was going to cost, the grant alleviated that. Because of that I was able to travel around the country playing AJGAs which helped me boost my ranking and get on the radar for recruiting for top D1 schools. Ultimately, that allowed me to verbally commit to Stanford which was a total dream come true. Other than that, the USNDP program with all the different aspects of it helped me as a person. Golf is such an individual sport, and it can get lonely. Being on the National Team, I have a team of people that I can relate to because we're not living normal high school lives. I reach out to my teammates occasionally, and we always talk about life outside of golf as well as life with golf. Having that extra support system is priceless. 

What are your career goals, what's the dream?

Lee: First of all, I want to go to college and I want to win a national championship. After college I want to be a professional golfer. I want to play and win on the LPGA Tour. I want to be the best in the world. After that, I hope to give back to the game and foster junior golfers.

What's your advice for junior golfers that want to take the next step?

Lee: If there's a will, there's a way. That's the best piece of advice I could give. Nothing is impossible if you really set your mind to it and as you do so opportunities will open up. I would also say, never pass down an opportunity because you don't know how it could snowball and impact your life. Value your abilities, value your opportunities, value the people around you, always be grateful and trust the process. If you do that, more and more doors will open.