U.S. Women’s Amateur Returns to Southern California
August 04, 2017
By Julia Pine
For the first time since 1993, the top female amateur golfers in the nation will converge on Southern California next week for the 117th U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, as the USGA brings the world's premier female amateur golf competition to San Diego CC. Running from Monday, Aug. 7 - Sunday, Aug. 13, the tournament will begin with 156 competitors playing 36 holes of stroke play over two days before the field is cut to the top 64 players for match play. Five 18-hole rounds of match play will determine the finalists, who will square off in a 36-hole championship match Saturday. The event is free and open to the public. Round 1 tee times can be found here.
Among those set to compete is a strong contingent of Southern California golfers, including recent SCGA Women's Amateur Champion Andrea Lee, who last year lost to eventual champion Eun Jeong Seong in the Round of 16. Lee, a native of Hermosa Beach, was fully exempt into the Championship and currently sits at No. 6 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. In addition to her SCGA victory, which was her second in the event in the last three years, Lee is also coming off of a freshman season in which she collected three individual collegiate titles as well as earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.
"This SCGA win gives me a lot of confidence," said Lee. "I haven't played a lot of competitive golf this summer, this is only my second event, so winning this really boosts my confidence going into next week. I'm really looking forward to the U.S. Women's Amateur finally being in California and hopefully having some family and friends out there for support."
Other notable SoCal golfers earning exemptions into the U.S. Women's Amateur are fellow Stanford golfer and 2016 Curtis Cup Team member Mika Liu, San Diego's Haley Moore, 16-year-old Brooke Seay of San Diego who recently made the cut in the U.S. Women's Open, UCLA star and 2016 SCGA Women's Amateur Champion Lilia Vu as well as UCLA's Bethany Wu, who in 2015 advanced to the U.S. Women's Amateur semifinals.
For those not exempt, the USGA received more than 1,300 entries into qualifiers, which were held across the country earlier this summer. The SCGA ran two local qualifiers, which sent 14 additional women into the Championship, including Alyya Abdulghany, who will join the USC golf team this Fall. Full results from the Southland qualifiers can be found here. These ladies will look to become the first SCGA member to win the U.S. Women's Amateur since Danielle Kang won two straight titles in 2010 and 2011. In total, 26 players from California are in the field, including six from San Diego County.
Established in 1897 and opened at its current location on Sept. 3, 1921, San Diego CC’s course was designed by William Watson. William P. Bell later completed a project that lengthened the course and added several tees and bunkers. The club also serves as the home course for the men’s golf teams at the University of San Diego and San Diego State University, which since 2011 have co-hosted an intercollegiate tournament at the club. It hosted the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1993, as well as the 1964 U.S. Women's Open, which was won for the fourth and final time by SCGA Hall of Famer Mickey Wright. San Diego CC also hosted the 2013 SCGA Amateur Champion which was won by Beau Hossler.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship is one of the USGA’s original three championships. It was first conducted in 1895, shortly after the inaugural U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open. The Women’s Amateur has been conducted every year since, except 1917-18, when it was suspended due to World War I, and 1942-45, when it was suspended due to World War II.
The most decorated champion is Glenna Collett Vare, a lifelong amateur who won the Cox Trophy a record six times. Second only to Vare is JoAnne Gunderson Carner, who won five U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships. Combined with her two wins in the U.S. Women’s Open and one victory in the U.S. Girls’ Junior, Carner’s eight USGA titles are eclipsed only by Bob Jones and Tiger Woods, who have each won nine.
U.S. Women’s Amateur champions seem to possess a remarkable facility to repeat. Beatrix Hoyt, Alexa Stirling, Vare, Virginia Van Wie and Juli Inkster have all won the U.S. Women’s Amateur three consecutive times. Another seven champions – Genevieve Hecker, Dorothy Campbell, Margaret Curtis, Betty Jameson, Kay Cockerill, Kelli Kuehne and the Southland's Kang – have won two in a row.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur has long identified some of golf’s greatest female players, many of whom have gone on to successful professional careers. Along with the champions listed above, Patty Berg, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Louise Suggs, Marlene Stewart Streit, Anne Quast Sander, Barbara McIntire, Catherine Lacoste, Carol Semple Thompson, Beth Daniel, Morgan Pressel and Lydia Ko have secured a place in golf history.
Schedule of Play
Aug. 7 (Monday): First round, stroke play
Aug. 8 (Tuesday): Second round, stroke play
Aug. 9 (Wednesday): First round, match play
Aug. 10 (Thursday): Second and third rounds, match play
Aug. 11 (Friday): Quarterfinal round, match play
Aug. 12 (Saturday): Semifinal round, match play
Aug. 13 (Sunday): 36-hole championship final, match play
Television Coverage
The 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur will receive at least 15 hours of live network coverage over five days on FS1, beginning with Wednesday’s Round-of-64 matches. All times PDT.
Aug. 9/Wednesday, 3-6 p.m., Round-of-64 matches
Aug. 10/Thursday, 3-6 p.m., Round-of-16 matches
Aug. 11/Friday, 3-6 p.m., Quarterfinal matches
Aug. 12/Saturday, 4-7 p.m., Semifinal matches
Aug. 13/Sunday, 1-4 p.m., Championship match (afternoon 18)