Trojan Duo Tiffany Chan, Sophia Popov Qualify For Tokyo Olympics

Trojan All-American greats Sophia Popov of Germany and Tiffany Chan of Hong Kong have both qualified to represent their respective countries in women's golf at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Popov will be making her Olympic debut while Chan repeats as an Olympian following her appearance in 2016, when golf returned as an Olympic sport for the first time since 1904.

The International Golf Federation, utilizing the Rolex Rankings, announced Tuesday (June 29) the 60 women who qualified for the 2020 Olympics. Popov was No. 18 on the list while Chan was No. 48.

The top 15 world-ranked players are all eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country. Beyond the top 15, players are eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15.

Popov, who has competed professionally since 2015, has been one of the most successful players in the world over the past 12 months, highlighted by a win at the 2020 AIG British Women's Open. She has made 15 of 17 cuts over the past two seasons and boasts five top 10 finishes in that span.

She was a four-time All-American at USC (2011-14), helping the Trojans win the 2013 NCAA title and to NCAA second-place finishes in 2012 and 2014. She was a three-time All-Pac-12 first team pick and was the 2011 National and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

Chan, who finished 37th at the 2016 Olympics, earned her LPGA Tour card in her first try in 2017 and became an LPGA rookie in 2018. She has been a tour regular between 2018-21, with three career top 15 finishes including a career-best tie for eighth at the Hegel-Air Premia L.A. Open.

She competed two seasons for USC (2016-17), earning All-American second team and Pac-12 first team honors in 2016 while posting a pair of top 10 NCAA Championships finishes.

In 2016, Chan joined fellow Trojans Candie Kung (Chinese Taipei) and Victoria Alimonda Lovelady (Brazil) in the Olympic women's golf field.

The women's golf competition will be held Aug. 4-7 at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, Japan, with practices rounds Aug 2-3. All 60 players will play all four rounds.