Defending champion Gabi Ruffels has been put in the marquee group for next week's US Women's Amateur Championship.

Victorian Ruffels is one of three Australians - alongside Queensland pair Emily Mahar and Kirsty Hodgkins - in the elite 132-player field.

The stroke play phase will begin early on Monday morning (American time), with the top 64 after two rounds advancing to the knockout match play phase from Wednesday through Sunday.

The tournament, to be held at Woodmont Country Club's North Course in Maryland, features a field of exempt players because of Covid-19 restrictions placed on the normal qualifying tournaments.

Ruffels, a junior at the University of Southern California, became Australia's first winner of the biggest prize in women's amateur golf last year with a thrilling win in Mississippi.

Ruffels, who has spent much of this year in the top of the world amateur rankings, will be grouped with American Rachel Kuehn, the winner of the recent North and South Championship, and Canadian Brigitte Thibault, who won the Western Amateur last week.

They will play at 9:42pm Monday night and 1.42am Wednesday morning (Australian eastern times) in the stroke play rounds.

Hodgkins, a senior at the University of Colorado, will play her rounds at 11:58pm on Monday and 3:58am Wednesday.

Mahar, a senior at Virginia Tech, will start her stroke rounds at 3.37am Tuesday and 11.37pm Tuesday.

INSIDE THE FIELD