Located 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee in the Kettle Moraine region, Erin Hills was designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry, and Ron Whitten. The public facility (which features bentgrass greens and fine fescue fairways) opened for play in 2006. And the same team oversaw a major renovation to the layout in 2010.
"We are thrilled to return to Erin Hills, and to bring the U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Mid-Amateur to such a memorable and deserving course. To bring these championships to a public facility all golfers can enjoy is especially exciting for us. The USGA has a great relationship with the facility, and Erin Hills has proven to be one of the premier golf venues in the nation as well as an excellent test."
The championships will be the fourth and fifth USGA championships conducted at Erin Hills. The course played host to the first U.S. Open in the state of Wisconsin in 2017 when Brooks Koepka shot a final-round 67 to post a four-stroke victory over Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama. Koepka (who birdied three consecutive holes on the inward nine in winning the first of his two consecutive U.S. Open titles) matched Rory McIlroy's championship record in relation to par with a 72-hole score of 16-under 272.
Erin Hills was also the site of the 2011 U.S. Amateur and 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links championships. Kelly Kraft defeated Patrick Cantlay (2 up) in the U.S. Amateur’s 36-hole final. While Tiffany Joh won the second of her two U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links titles with a (2-and-1) victory over Jennifer Song.
Erin Hills owner Andy Ziegler said,
"We're honored that Erin Hills has been selected to host the most prestigious event in women's golf. We made history here two years ago at the U.S. Open and are extremely excited to have the USGA return for more championships in the coming years."The 80th U.S. Women's Open will be the third U.S. Women's Open to be played in Wisconsin. Se Ri Pak won in 1998 and Na Yeon Choi won in 2012. Both championships were played at Blackwolf Run in Kohler.
While the U.S. Mid-Amateur will be contested in the Badger State for the second time, with Steve Wilson winning at Milwaukee Country Club in 2008.
Blue Mound Golf and Country Club is a Seth Raynor-designed golf course that opened in 1926. It hosted the PGA Championship in 1933, and it also served as the stroke-play co-host for the U.S. Amateur in 2011. These will be the 16th and 17th USGA championships held in Wisconsin, with the 2019 U.S. Girls' Junior set to be held at SentryWorld in Stevens Point from July 22nd to 27th.
Upcoming U.S. Women's Open Championships will be contested May 30th to June 2nd (2019) at the Country Club of Charleston (S.C.); June 4th to 7th (2020) at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas; June 3rd to 6th (2021) at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif.; June 2nd to June 5th (2022) at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C.; June 1st to June 4th (2023) at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links; and May 30th to June 2nd (2024) at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club.
The U.S. Women's Open is one of 14 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. It is open to professional female golfers and amateur females with a Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4. The championship was first conducted in 1946 and its winners include Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Hollis Stacy, Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park, and Michelle Wie.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur champion receives a full exemption into the following year's U.S. Open. In 2019, the championship will be played at Colorado Golf Club, in Parker, Colo., from September 14th to 19th. The 2020 U.S. Mid-Amateur will be contested at Kinloch Golf Club, in Manakin-Sabot, Va., from September 12th to 17th. While the site for the 2021 championship will be announced at a later date.
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