uswamateur.org
Aug. 10-16, 2015
Portland (Ore.) Golf Club
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FREE ADMISSION
Admission is free. Tickets are not required and spectators are encouraged to attend.
PAR AND YARDAGE
Portland Golf Club will be set up at 6,360 yards and will play to a par of 35-37–72.
(NOTE: yardages subject to change)
PORTLAND GOLF CLUB HOLE BY HOLE
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Par 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 4 35
Yards 391 418 327 123 489 345 348 181 356 2,978
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total
Par 5 4 3 4 4 5 4 3 5 37
Yards 505 368 180 377 384 535 371 140 522 3,382
COURSE SETUP
Based on the course setup for the championship, the Course Rating™ is 78.0. Its Slope Rating® is 146.
ARCHITECT
Nestled along Fanno Creek, Portland Golf Club was established in 1914 by a small group of businessmen who built the initial course based on its proximity to frequent passenger rail service from downtown Portland via the Oregon Electric Railroad. Today, the course features century-old trees, rolling hills and undulating greens.
WHO CAN ENTER
The championship is open to any female amateur golfer with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 5.4. The USGA received a record 1,303 entries for the 2015 Women’s Amateur, breaking the previous mark of 1,209 set in 2014. This marks the fourth consecutive year the championship has received record entries.
SECTIONAL QUALIFYING
Sectional qualifying, played over 18 holes, was conducted at 19 sites between July 6 and July 22.
2014 CHAMPION
Kristen Gillman earned a 2-up victory over Brooke Mackenzie Henderson in the 36-hole championship match of the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, conducted at Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, N.Y.
Gillman, 16, of Austin, Texas, was 3 down through 26 holes to Henderson, 16, of Canada. But Gillman, a junior at Lake Travis High School, birdied five of the final 10 holes to complete the remarkable rally.
FIELD AND EXEMPT PLAYERS
A field of 156 golfers will compete in the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. The following 23 players are fully exempt into the championship:
Celine Boutier (2015 Ladies British Open Amateur winner; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™)
Sierra Brooks (Top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™)
Mathilda Cappeliez (Returned a 72-hole score at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open)
Justine Dreher (Top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™)
Maria Fassi (2015 Mexican Women’s Amateur champion)
Mariel Galdiano (2015 Canadian Women’s Amateur champion; returned a 72-hole score at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open)
Kristen Gillman (2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™)
Muni He (Returned a 72-hole score at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open)
Fumie (Alice) Jo (2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion)
Judith Kyrinis (2014 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur runner-up)
Bronte Law (2012 GB&I Curtis Cup Team member; 2014 GB&I Curtis Cup Team member; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™; top-eight individual scorer at the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship)
Andrea Lee (2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinalist; returned a 72-hole score at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™)
Gaby Lopez (Top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™; top-eight individual scorer at the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship)
Hannah O’Sullivan (2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinalist; returned a 72-hole score at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™)
Ellen Port (2013 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion)
Julia Potter (2013 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion; 2014 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur runner-up)
Eun Jeong Seong (2015 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion; 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinalist; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™)
Margaret Shirley (2014 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion)
Mariah Stackhouse (2014 USA Curtis Cup Team member)
Princess Mary Superal (2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion)
Charlotte Thomas (2014 GB&I Curtis Cup Team member)
Bethany Wu (Top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™)
Angel Yin (2015 U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™)
SCHEDULE
Monday, Aug. 10 – First round, stroke play
Tuesday, Aug. 11 – Second round, stroke play (field reduced to 64 players for match play)
Wednesday, Aug. 12 – First round, match play
Thursday, Aug. 13 – Second and third rounds, match play
Friday, Aug. 14 – Quarterfinal round, match play
Saturday, Aug. 15 – Semifinal round, match play
Sunday, Aug. 16 – 36-hole championship final, match play
TELEVISION COVERAGE
The match-play rounds of the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1. Coverage will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12-16. Additionally, bonus coverage will be live streamed on usga.org on Aug. 13 and Aug. 16 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT.
WHAT THE WINNER RECEIVES
- A gold medal and custody of the Robert Cox Trophy for one year
- Exemption from qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open (provided she remains an amateur)
- Exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Women's Amateurs, if eligible
- Exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Girls' Juniors, if eligible
- Exemption from qualifying for the next 15 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateurs, or 15 years from the time the player becomes eligible
- Exemption from qualifying for the next 15 U.S. Senior Women's Amateurs, or 15 years from the time the player becomes eligible
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 surviving trophy for a USGA championship.
THE USGA AT PORTLAND GOLF CLUB
This will be the third USGA championship contested at Portland Golf Club. In 1982, the club hosted the first of Miller Barber’s record three U.S. Senior Open Championship victories, while Bill Ploeger won the 1999 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.
THE USGA AND THE STATE OF OREGON
The 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur will be the 34th USGA championship conducted in Oregon. The first USGA championship in Oregon was the 1933 U.S. Amateur Public Links, played at Portland’s Eastmoreland Golf Club and won by Charles Ferrera. Most recently, in May 2015, Bandon Dunes hosted the inaugural U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship on its Pacific Dunes course, with Mika Liu and Rinko Mitsunaga taking the title.
This will be the sixth U.S. Women’s Amateur in the Beaver State. Waverley Country Club in Portland hosted the 1952, 1981 and 2000 championships, won by Jackie Pung, Juli Inkster and Marcy Newton, respectively. In 2006, 14-year-old Kimberly Kim became the youngest Women’s Amateur champion, at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains. Eugene Country Club hosted Amanda Blumenherst’s victory in 2008.
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship is one of the United States Golf Association’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 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 Danielle 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.
FUTURE U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEURS
Aug. 1-7, 2016 – Rolling Green Golf Club, Springfield, Pa.
Aug. 7-13, 2017 – San Diego Country Club, Chula Vista, Calif.
PHOTO MEDIA SERVICE
The USGA will offer daily complimentary high-resolution photographs during the U.S. Women’s Amateur for news use only. For more information, contact the USGA Photo Archive at photorequests@usga.org.
MEDIA CREDENTIALS
Apply for credentials at mediacredentials.usga.org.
USGA CONTACT
Christina Lance, manager of USGA Championship Communications, is the USGA media contact. She can be reach by e-mail at clance@usga.org.