United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship

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U.S. Women's Amateur
Tournament information
LocationUniversity Place, Washington (2022)
Course(s)Bel-Air Country Club (2023)
Par70 (2023)
Length6,187 yd (5,657 m) (2023)
Organized byUSGA
FormatStroke play and match play
Month playedAugust
Current champion
United States Megan Schofill

The U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA). Female amateurs from all nations are eligible to compete and there are no age restrictions. It was established in 1895, one month after the men's U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open. It is the third oldest USGA championship, over a half century older than the U.S. Women's Open, which was first played in 1946. Along with the British Ladies Amateur, the U.S. Women's Amateur is considered the highest honor in women's amateur golf.

Robert Cox Cup[edit]

Since 1896 the Robert Cox Cup has been awarded annually by the USGA to the winner. The trophy was donated by Robert Cox of Edinburgh, Scotland, a member of the British Parliament and a golf course designer. It remains the oldest surviving trophy awarded for a USGA championship. Along with a gold medal, a replica of the 2-foot-high (0.61 m) silver case of Etruscan design is given to the tournament winner. The original trophy is on permanent display at the USGA Museum and Library. The Robert Cox Cup is the only USGA trophy donated by someone from another country.

The first tournament attracted a field of 13 and was played over 18 holes. As in the case of the men's U.S. Amateur, entry was originally restricted to members of USGA-affiliated private clubs (and, presumably, international players who were members of clubs affiliated with their nations' golf governing bodies); this policy remained in place until the 1979 tournament.[1] Several thousand women now enter the event, and the USGA conducts sectional qualifying to reduce the number of contestants to a more manageable number. The main tournament opens with two rounds of stroke play. The leading 64 players then compete in a match play competition. The matches are played over 18 holes except for the final, which is played over 36 holes.

In 1956, Ann Gregory became the first African American to compete in the Championship, held that year at the Meridian Hills Country Club in Indianapolis.

There are no age restrictions on entry. Players must have a handicap index of 5.4 or less. Morgan Pressel qualified as a 13-year-old in 2001 and won in 2005 at the age of 17. The 2006 winner Kimberly Kim was only 14 years old, breaking the record previously held by Laura Baugh. In 2007, Pearl Jin and Alexis Thompson became the first 12-year-olds to qualify and the first to advance to match play. Jin and Thompson faced one another in the third round match play. Thompson beat Jin, but then lost in the quarterfinals.

Because the tournament is dominated by teenagers and college-age players who are working toward careers as tournament professionals, the USGA introduced a separate tournament in 1987 for players age 25 and over, called the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur. It gives older amateur players an opportunity to compete among themselves for a national title; entrants must have a handicap index of 9.4 or less.

The USGA rates Glenna Collett Vare as the most noteworthy champion who won the Robert Cox Cup a record six times. Several U.S. Women's Amateur champions who have gone on to become leading professionals including Patty Berg, Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs and Beth Daniel.

The two finalists win exemptions to the ensuing U.S. Women's Open, and the winner also wins exemptions to The Women's Open Championship and upon turning 50, the U.S. Senior Women's Open (one year exemption for players who eventually turned professional, and five years for players who did not turn professional).

Winners[edit]

Year Venue Winner Score Runner-up
2023 Bel-Air Country Club United States Megan Schofill 4 & 3 United States Latanna Stone
2022 Chambers Bay Japan Saki Baba 11 & 9 Canada Monet Chun
2021 Westchester Country Club United States Jensen Castle 2 & 1 Chinese Taipei Hou Yu-chiang
2020 Woodmont Country Club United States Rose Zhang 38 holes Australia Gabriela Ruffels
2019 Old Waverly Golf Club Australia Gabriela Ruffels 1 up Switzerland Albane Valenzuela
2018 Golf Club of Tennessee United States Kristen Gillman (2) 7 & 6 South Korea Jeon Ji-won
2017 San Diego Country Club United States Sophia Schubert 6 & 5 Switzerland Albane Valenzuela
2016 Rolling Green Golf Club South Korea Seong Eun-jeong 1 up Italy Virginia Elena Carta
2015 Portland Golf Club United States Hannah O'Sullivan 3 & 2 United States Sierra Brooks
2014 Nassau Country Club United States Kristen Gillman 2 up Canada Brooke Henderson
2013 Country Club of Charleston United States Emma Talley 2 & 1 China Yueer Cindy Feng
2012 The Country Club (Cleveland) New Zealand Lydia Ko 3 & 1 United States Jaye Marie Green
2011 Rhode Island Country Club United States Danielle Kang (2) 6 & 5 Thailand Moriya Jutanugarn
2010 Charlotte Country Club United States Danielle Kang 2 & 1 United States Jessica Korda
2009 Old Warson Country Club United StatesSouth KoreaJennifer Song 3 & 1 United States Jennifer Johnson
2008 Eugene Country Club United States Amanda Blumenherst 2 & 1 Spain Azahara Muñoz
2007 Crooked Stick Golf Club Colombia Maria José Uribe 1 up United States Amanda Blumenherst
2006 Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club United States Kimberly Kim 1 up Germany Katharina Schallenberg
2005 Ansley Golf Club United States Morgan Pressel 9 & 8 Venezuela Maru Martinez
2004 The Kahkwa Club United States Jane Park 2 up United States Amanda McCurdy
2003 Philadelphia Country Club Thailand Virada Nirapathpongporn 2 & 1 United States Jane Park
2002 Sleepy Hollow Country Club United States Becky Lucidi 3 & 2 United States Brandi Jackson
2001 Flint Hills National Golf Club United States Meredith Duncan 37 holes Chile Nicole Perrot
2000 Waverley Country Club United States Marcy Newton 8 & 7 United States Laura Myerscough
1999 Biltmore Forest Country Club United States Dorothy Delasin 4 & 3 United States Jimin Kang
1998 Barton Hills Country Club South Korea Grace Park 7 & 6 United States Jenny Chuasiriporn
1997 Brae Burn Country Club Italy Silvia Cavalleri 5 & 4 United States Robin Burke
1996 Firethorn Golf Club United States Kelli Kuehne (2) 2 & 1 Colombia Marisa Baena
1995 The Country Club United States Kelli Kuehne 4 & 3 Australia Anne-Marie Knight
1994 The Homestead United States Wendy Ward 2 up United States Jill McGill
1993 San Diego Country Club United States Jill McGill 1 up United States Sarah LeBrun Ingram
1992 Kemper Lakes Golf Club United States Vicki Goetze (2) 1 up Sweden Annika Sörenstam
1991 Prairie Dunes Country Club United States Amy Fruhwirth 5 & 4 United States Heidi Voorhees
1990 Canoe Brook Country Club United States Pat Hurst 37 holes United States Stephanie Davis
1989 Pinehurst Resort United States Vicki Goetze 4 & 3 United States Brandie Burton
1988 Minikahda Club United States Pearl Sinn 6 & 5 United States Karen Noble
1987 Rhode Island Country Club United States Kay Cockerill (2) 3 & 2 United States Tracy Kerdyk
1986 Pasatiempo Golf Club United States Kay Cockerill 9 & 7 United States Kathleen McCarthy
1985 Fox Chapel Country Club Japan Michiko Hattori 5 & 4 United States Cheryl Stacy
1984 Broadmoor Golf Club, Seattle United States Deb Richard 37 holes United States Kimberly Williams
1983 Canoe Brook Country Club United States Joanne Pacillo 2 & 1 United States Sally Quinlan
1982 Broadmoor Golf Club United States Juli Inkster (3) 4 & 3 United States Cathy Hanlon
1981 Waverley Country Club United States Juli Inkster (2) 1 up Australia Lindy Goggin
1980 Prairie Dunes Country Club United States Juli Inkster 2 up United States Patti Rizzo
1979 Memphis Country Club United States Carolyn Hill 7 & 6 United States Patty Sheehan
1978 Sunnybrook Golf Club Canada Cathy Sherk 4 & 3 United States Judith Oliver
1977 Cincinnati Country Club United States Beth Daniel (2) 3 & 1 Canada Cathy Sherk
1976 Del Paso Country Club United States Donna Horton 2 & 1 United States Marianne Bretton
1975 Brae Burn Country Club United States Beth Daniel 3 & 2 United States Donna Horton
1974 Broadmoor Golf Club, Seattle United States Cynthia Hill 5 & 4 United States Carol Semple
1973 Montclair Golf Club United States Carol Semple 1 up United States Anne Quast Sander
1972 St. Louis Country Club United States Mary Budke 5 & 4 United States Cynthia Hill
1971 Atlanta Country Club United States Laura Baugh 1 up United States Beth Barry
1970 Wee Burn Country Club United States Martha Wilkinson 3 & 2 United States Cynthia Hill
1969 Las Colinas Country Club France Catherine Lacoste 3 & 2 United States Shelley Hamlin
1968 Birmingham Country Club United States JoAnne Gunderson (5) 5 & 4 United States Anne Quast Welts
1967 Annandale Golf Club United States Mary Lou Dill 5 & 4 United States Jean Ashley
1966 Sewickley Heights Golf Club United States JoAnne Gunderson (4) 41 holes Canada Marlene Stewart Streit
1965 Lakewood Country Club (Colorado) United States Jean Ashley 5 & 4 United States Anne Quast Welts
1964 Prairie Dunes Country Club United States Barbara McIntire (2) 3 & 2 United States JoAnne Gunderson
1963 Taconic Golf Club United States Anne Quast Welts (3) 2 & 1 United States Peggy Conley
1962 Country Club of Rochester United States JoAnne Gunderson (3) 9 & 8 United States Ann Baker
1961 Tacoma Country and Golf Club United States Anne Quast Decker (2) 14 & 13 United States Phyllis Preuss
1960 Tulsa Country Club United States JoAnne Gunderson (2) 6 & 5 United States Jean Ashley
1959 Congressional Country Club United States Barbara McIntire 4 & 3 United States Joanne Goodwin
1958 Wee Burn Country Club United States Anne Quast 3 & 2 United States Barbara Romack
1957 Del Paso Country Club United States JoAnne Gunderson 8 & 6 United States Ann Casey Johnstone
1956 Meridian Hills Country Club Canada Marlene Stewart 2 & 1 United States JoAnne Gunderson
1955 Myers Park Country Club United States Patricia Lesser 7 & 6 United States Jane Nelson
1954 Allegheny Country Club United States Barbara Romack 4 & 2 United States Mickey Wright
1953 Rhode Island Country Club United States Mary Lena Faulk 3 & 2 United States Polly Riley
1952 Waverley Country Club United States Jackie Pung 2 & 1 United States Shirley McFedters
1951 Town & Country Club United States Dorothy Kirby 2 & 1 United States Claire Doran
1950 East Lake Golf Club United States Beverly Hanson 6 & 4 United States Mae Murray
1949 Merion Golf Club United States Dorothy Germain Porter 3 & 2 United States Dot Kielty
1948 Pebble Beach Golf Links United States Grace Lenczyk 4 & 3 United States Helen Sigel
1947 Franklin Hills Country Club United States Louise Suggs 2 up United States Dorothy Kirby
1946 Southern Hills Country Club United States Babe Zaharias 11 & 9 United States Clara Sherman
1942–45: No championships due to World War II
1941 The Country Club United States Betty Hicks Newell 5 & 3 United States Helen Sigel
1940 Pebble Beach Golf Links United States Betty Jameson (2) 6 & 5 United States Jane S. Cothran
1939 Wee Burn Club United States Betty Jameson 3 & 2 United States Dorothy Kirby
1938 Westmoreland Country Club United States Patty Berg 6 & 5 United States Estelle Lawson Page
1937 Memphis Country Club United States Estelle Lawson Page 7 & 6 United States Patty Berg
1936 Canoe Brook Country Club England Pam Barton 4 & 3 United States Maureen Orcutt
1935 Interlachen Country Club United States Glenna Collett-Vare (6) 3 & 2 United States Patty Berg
1934 Whitemarsh Valley Country Club United States Virginia Van Wie (3) 2 & 1 United States Dorothy Traung
1933 Exmoor Country Club United States Virginia Van Wie (2) 4 & 3 United States Helen Hicks
1932 Salem Country Club United States Virginia Van Wie 10 & 8 United States Glenna Collett Vare
1931 Country Club of Buffalo United States Helen Hicks 2 & 1 United States Glenna Collett-Vare
1930 Los Angeles Country Club United States Glenna Collett (5) 6 & 5 United States Virginia Van Wie
1929 Oakland Hills Country Club United States Glenna Collett (4) 4 & 3 United States Leona Pressler
1928 The Homestead United States Glenna Collett (3) 13 & 12 United States Virginia Van Wie
1927 Cherry Valley Club United States Miriam Burns Horn 5 & 4 United States Maureen Orcutt
1926 Merion Golf Club United States Helen Stetson 3 & 1 United States Elizabeth Goss
1925 St. Louis Country Club United States Glenna Collett (2) 9 & 8 United States Alexa Stirling
1924 Rhode Island Country Club Scotland Dorothy Campbell (3) 7 & 6 United States Mary Browne
1923 Westchester Country Club United States Edith Cummings 3 & 2 United States Alexa Stirling
1922 The Greenbrier United States Glenna Collett 5 & 4 England Margaret Gavin
1921 Hollywood Golf Club United States Marion Hollins 5 & 4 United States Alexa Stirling
1920 Mayfield Country Club United States Alexa Stirling (3) 5 & 4 Scotland Dorothy Campbell
1919 Shawnee Country Club United States Alexa Stirling (2) 6 & 5 England Margaret Gavin
1917–18: No championships due to World War I
1916 Belmont Springs Country Club United States Alexa Stirling 2 & 1 United States Mildred Caverly
1915 Onwentsia Club United States Florence Vanderbeck 3 & 2 England Margaret Gavin
1914 Nassau Country Club United States Katherine Harley (2) 1 up United States Elaine Rosenthal
1913 Wilmington Country Club England Gladys Ravenscroft 2 up United States Marion Hollins
1912 Essex County Country Club United States Margaret Curtis (3) 3 & 2 United States Nonna Barlow
1911 Baltusrol Golf Club United States Margaret Curtis (2) 5 & 3 United States Lillian B. Hyde
1910 Homewood Country Club Scotland Dorothy Campbell (2) 2 & 1 England Mrs. F. M. Martin
1909 Merion Golf Club Scotland Dorothy Campbell 3 & 2 United States Nonna Barlow
1908 Chevy Chase Club United States Katherine Harley 6 & 5 United States Mrs. T. H. Polhemus
1907 Midlothian Country Club United States Margaret Curtis 7 & 6 United States Harriot Curtis
1906 Brae Burn Country Club United States Harriot Curtis 2 & 1 United States Mary B. Adams
1905 Morris County Golf Club United States Pauline Mackay 1 up United States Margaret Curtis
1904 Merion Golf Club United States Georgianna Bishop[2] 5 & 3 United States Mrs. E. F. Sanford
1903 Chicago Golf Club United States Bessie Anthony 7 & 6 United States J. Anna Carpenter
1902 The Country Club United States Genevieve Hecker (2) 4 & 3 United States Louisa A. Wells
1901 Baltusrol Golf Club United States Genevieve Hecker 5 & 3 United States Lucy Herron
1900 Shinnecock Hills Golf Club United States Frances C. Griscom 6 & 5 United States Margaret Curtis
1899 Philadelphia Country Club United States Ruth Underhill 2 & 1 United States Margaret Fox
1898 Ardsley Club United States Beatrix Hoyt (3) 5 & 3 United States Maude Wetmore
1897 Essex County Club United States Beatrix Hoyt (2) 5 & 4 United States Nellie Sargent
1896 Morris County Golf Club United States Beatrix Hoyt 2 & 1 United States Mrs. Arthur Turnure
1895 Meadow Brook Club United States Lucy Barnes Brown 132[3] United States Nellie Sargent

Multiple winners[edit]

Nineteen players have won more than one U.S. Women's Amateur, through 2023:

Seven players have won both the U.S. Women's Amateur and Open Championships, through 2023:

Eleven players have won both the U.S. Women's and British Ladies Amateur Championships, through 2023:

^ Won both in same year.

Future sites[edit]

Year Edition Course Location Dates Previous championships hosted
2024 124th Southern Hills Country Club Tulsa, Oklahoma August 5–11 1946
2025 125th Bandon Dunes Golf Resort Bandon, Oregon TBD
2026 126th Honors Course Ooltewah, Tennessee August 3–9
2027 127th Pinehurst Resort Pinehurst, North Carolina TBD 1989
2028 128th Brae Burn Country Club West Newton, Massachusetts August 7–13 1906, 1975, 1997
2029 129th Oakland Hills Country Club Bloomfield Hills, Michigan TBD 1929
2030 130th Olympic Club San Francisco, California August 5–11
2031 131st Baltimore Country Club, East Course at Five Farms Baltimore, Maryland August 4–10
2032 132nd Bandon Dunes Golf Resort Bandon, Oregon TBD 2025
2034 134th The Country Club Salt Lake City, Utah TBD
2035 135th Atlanta Athletic Club Johns Creek, Georgia August 6–12
2037 137th Country Club of North Carolina Pinehurst, North Carolina TBD

Saucon Valley Country Club is slated to host in 2038.
Canterbury Golf Club is slated to host in 2039.
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is also slated to host in 2041.
Pinehurst Resort is also slated to host in 2044.
Oakmont Country Club is slated to host in 2046.
Source[4]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Changes Made to USGA Championship Roster" (Press release). United States Golf Association. February 11, 2013. Archived from the original on February 13, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  2. ^ "Miss Bishop Wins Golf Championship. Defeats Mrs. Sanford in Final Match by 5 Up and 3 to Play. Played in Merion Links. Winner is from the Brooklawn Club of Bridgeport. Large Gallery Sees". The New York Times. October 16, 1904. Retrieved April 18, 2011. Miss Georgianna Bishop, representing the Brooklawn Golf Club of Bridgeport, Conn., won the women's golf championship of the United States to-day by defeating Mrs. E.F. Sanford of the Essex County Country Club of Orange, N.J., by 5 up and 3 to play. ...
  3. ^ The 1895 tournament was an 18-hole stroke play event; match play did not begin until the following year.
  4. ^ "2023 U.S. Women's Amateur Fast Facts". United States Golf Association. Retrieved January 30, 2023.

External links[edit]