Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Westchester Country Club to Host 2021 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship

Championship will return to the New York course for the first time since 1923

(LIBERTY CORNER N.J.) - Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., has been selected by the USGA as the host site for the 121st U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, which will be contested Aug. 2-8, 2021 on the club’s West Course.

Three-time U.S. Amateur champion Walter J. Travis laid out two 18-hole courses at Westchester Country Club, just 30 miles outside New York City, that opened in 1922. The courses were built by the Philadelphia-based architectural firm of Toomey and Flynn, which also constructed the modern course at Shinnecock Hills that opened in 1931 and will host the 118th U.S. Open in June. Westchester previously hosted the 1923 U.S. Women’s Amateur, won by Edith Cummings.

“The USGA is thrilled to bring the U.S. Women’s Amateur to Westchester Country Club for the second time,” said Stuart Francis, USGA Championship Committee chairman. “One of the USGA’s three oldest championships, the Women’s Amateur consistently identifies the world’s top female players, and we are confident Westchester will provide the ultimate test for the championship’s 121st playing.”

Westchester’s West Course has hosted many professional golf events, including a PGA Tour event from 1967 through 2007, as well as the 2011 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship (won by Fred Couples), and the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (won by Inbee Park). The club also features the 18-hole South Course and a nine-hole executive course.

“We are proud and excited to again host the world’s best female amateur competitors here at Westchester and to work with the USGA, which always puts on a world-class championship,” said Thomas Pisano, president of Westchester Country Club. “Our membership believes strongly in supporting the amateur game and we look forward to showcasing our course and facility.”

The 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur will be the 74th USGA championship held in New York and the first Women’s Amateur in the state since Kristen Gillman defeated Brooke Henderson, 2 up, at Nassau Country Club in 2014.

The U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship was first conducted in 1895 as one of the USGA’s first three championships. It is open to female amateurs who have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 5.4. Notable champions include Juli Inkster, Glenna Collett Vare, Patty Berg, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Carol Semple Thompson, Beth Daniel, Danielle Kang and Lydia Ko.

Sophia Schubert, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., won the 2017 Women’s Amateur at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif. The 2018 championship will be played Aug. 6-12 at The Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs. The 2019 championship will be played Aug. 5-11 at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss., and the 2020 championship will be played Aug. 3-9 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.

To learn more, visit usga.org.

No comments: