ARCHITECT: The Country Club of Charleston was designed by Seth Raynor and opened in 1929. Some of Raynor’s other works include Fishers Island, Fox Chapel outside of Pittsburgh (2002 Curtis Cup) and Yale Golf Club (1952 U.S. Junior Amateur). Raynor was a disciple of Charles Blair Macdonald, considered the father of American golf architecture.WHO CAN ENTER: The championship is open to any female amateur golfer with a USGA Handicap Index® not exceeding 5.4.
COURSE/SLOPE RATING: Based on the course setup for the championship, the USGA Course Rating is 77.3 and the USGA Slope Rating is 137.
ENTRIES: The USGA received a record 1,123 entries for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur, surpasing the previous mark of 1,049 in 2010.
SECTIONAL QUALIFYING: Sectional qualifying, played over 18 holes, will be conducted at 18 sites between July 1-16.
2012 CHAMPION: Lydia Ko, a 15-year-old from New Zealand, became the second-youngest Women’s Amateur champion in history when she won the 2012 championship by defeating Jaye Marie Green 3 and 1 at The Country Club in Cleveland, Ohio. One month later, Ko, the top-ranked amateur in the Women’s World Golf Ranking, won the LPGA Tour’s CN Canadian Women’s Open, becoming the first amateur to win on tour since JoAnne Carner in 1969.
For more information, http://www.usga.org/ChampEventArticle.aspx?id=21474849462.
EXEMPT PLAYERS: A full list of exempt players will be available when entries close.
SCHEDULE: Practice rounds will be held Aug. 3-4. The starting field of 156 players will play two rounds of stroke play, with the low 64 scorers advancing to match play. The schedule is as follows:
Aug. 5 (Monday) – First round of stroke play
Aug. 6 (Tuesday) – Second round of stroke play
Aug. 7 (Wednesday) – First round of match play
Aug. 8 (Thursday) – Second and third rounds of match play
Aug. 9 (Friday) – Quarterfinals, match play
Aug. 10 (Saturday) – Semifinals, match play
Aug. 11 (Sunday) – 36-hole championship final, match play.
THE TROPHY: The Cox Trophy was presented in 1896 by Robert Cox, of Gorgie, Edinburgh, Scotland, a member of Britain’s Parliament. It is the only USGA trophy donated by a person from another country and is the oldest survivor among trophies for USGA championships.
THE USGA AT THE COUNTRY CLUB OF CHARLESTON: The 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur will be the first USGA championship conducted at the Country Club of Charleston. CCC member Beth Daniel won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1975 and 1977.
SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE USGA: The 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur will be the 15th USGA championship conducted in South Carolina. The first was the 1962 U.S. Women’s Open, conducted at Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach and won by Murle Lindstrom. The most recent was the 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur at The Kiawah Island Club, won by Nathan Smith.
This will be the first time that the U.S. Women’s Amateur will be conducted in the state.
TICKETS: Admission to the U.S. Women’s Amateur is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.
HISTORY: The U.S. Women’s Amateur 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 since been conducted every year except 1917-18, when it was temporarily suspended because of World War I, and 1942-45, when it was suspended because of World War II.
FUTURE U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEURS
Aug. 4-10, 2014 – Nassau C.C., Glen Cove, N.Y.
2015 – TBD
Aug. 8-14, 2016 – Rolling Green G.C., Springfield, Pa.
PHOTO MEDIA SERVICE: The USGA will offer daily complimentary high-resolution photographs during the U.S. Women’s Amateur (Monday-Sunday) for news use only. For more information and to register, contact the USGA Photo Archives at photorequests@usga.org.
MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Christina Lance of USGA Championship Communications at clance@usga.org, 908-234-2300 (office) or 908-635-0413 (cell).