Wake Forest Star Rachel Kuehn Set For Professional Debut

Rachel Kuehn takes a shot during the Curtis Cup

Rachel Kuehn has announced she has turned professional

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 11 November 2024

One of the biggest names in the 2024 US Curtis Cup team, Rachel Kuehn, has announced she has turned professional.

The 23-year-old made the announcement on Instagram where she thanked the amateur game for giving her “the most thrilling, rewarding, joyful, exciting, lesson-packed ride.” She also recalled her childhood where she spent time “chipping balls into the baskets to win M&Ms from my mom,” and thanked her parents and brothers “who have given up so much to support me and let me chase after my dreams.”

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She also revealed she would make her professional debut at this week's Annika Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. “Amateur golf, I will miss you. But I know that now is the right time to say goodbye and turn the page," she added.

"With all that said, I am incredibly excited to announce that I have officially turned professional and will make my debut at the @theannikalpga this week. I am so appreciative of the opportunity to make my first official start at such an incredible event.”

While the penultimate tournament of the LPGA Tour season will be a particularly high-profile introduction to life as a professional for Kuehn, she also revealed that she will be a regular on the circuit’s developmental tour next year, concluding: “What a ride it has been, and I am excited for what the future has in store next year on the Epson Tour.”

Kuehn leaves behind a glittering amateur career that included victories at the 2019 Annika Intercollegiate, the 2020 North and South Women’s Amateur and the 2024 ACC Women's Golf Championship.

In 2023, she also helped Wake Forest win the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship for the first time. Along the way, she also reached a career high of fourth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Rachel Kuehn takes a shot at the 2023 NCAA Division I Championship — Rachel Kuehn helped Wake Forest win the women's NCAA Division I Championship in 2023

Kuehn becomes the second member of the 2024 US Curtis Cup team to turn pro after Zoe Campos, who left her amateur career behind in October when she advanced to the final stage of LPGA Tour Q-Series. Two members of the victorious Great Britain & Ireland team, Sara Byrne and Mimi Rhodes, have also turned professional since September’s Sunningdale match.

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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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