The 74th U.S. Girls' Junior Championship kicks off next week on the United States Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course.
The course will be set up at 6,778 yards and will play to a par of 36-36–72. It will be the longest course in U.S. Girls’ Junior history, surpassing Forest Highlands Golf Club’s Meadow Course in Flagstaff, Ariz., which measured 6,718 yards in 2014.
About The U.S. Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course
This will be the first time a course affiliated with a military instillation's facility will host a USGA championship. Known for its challenging greens and views of the nearby Rocky Mountains, the Blue Course was designed by legendary architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. and opened in 1959. Eisenhower Golf Club's Blue Course once played host to an episode on Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf and the 1991 Canon Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event on the American Junior Golf Association circuit.
EISENHOWER GOLF CLUB (Blue Course)
(Yardages/Par Subject to Change)
Hole 1: 361 yards (par 4)
Hole 2: 393 yards (par 4)
Hole 3: 162 yards (par 3)
Hole 4: 365 yards (par 4)
Hole 5: 565 yards (par 5)
Hole 6: 412 yards (par 4)
Hole 7: 143 yards (par 3)
Hole 8: 420 yards (par 4)
Hole 9: 552 yards (par 5)
OUT: 3,373 yards (par 36)
Hole 10: 384 yards (par 4)
Hole 11: 546 yards (par 5)
Hole 12: 370 yards (par 4)
Hole 13: 133 yards (par 3)
Hole 14: 392 yards (par 4)
Hole 15: 405 yards (par 4)
Hole 16: 568 yards (par 5)
Hole 17: 206 yards (par 3)
Hole 18: 411 yards (par 4)
IN: 3,415 yards (par 36)
TOTAL: 6,788 yards (par 72)
Admission
Admission is free. Tickets are not required for this USGA championship and spectators are encouraged to attend.
Entries
This year’s championship accepted a record 1,677 applicants with entries closing on May 17.
The championship is open to female amateur golfers who have not reached their 19th birthday on or before July 22, 2023, and have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 9.4.
Championship Field
A starting field of 156 players will compete in the U.S. Girls’ Junior. Following 18-hole rounds of stroke play on July 17 and 18, the field will be 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.
Qualifying
Qualifying, played over 18 holes, was conducted at 44 sites nationwide between May 25 and June 29. To view qualifying results, visit usga.org/girlsjunior.
Exempt Players
The following players are fully exempt into the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior:
Gianna Clemente (Runner-up in 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior; Top 40 age-eligible player in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Ting Hsuan Huang (Top 40 age-eligible player in Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Sara Im (Semifinalist in 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior)
Katie Li (Semifinalist in 2021 U.S. Girls' Junior)
Hsin Chun Liao (Top 40 age-eligible player in Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Reese McCauley (Quarterfinalist in 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior)
Kaitlyn Schroeder (Top 40 age-eligible player in Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Bailey Shoemaker (Played 72 holes in 2022 U.S. Women’s Open; Top 40 age-eligible player in Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Yana Wilson (2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion; Top 40 age-eligible player in Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Fiona Xu (Quarterfinalist in 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior; Top 40 age-eligible player in Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Schedule of Play
Practice rounds will take place July 15-16, and the championship schedule is as follows:
July 17 (Monday): First round, stroke play
July 18 (Tuesday): Second round, stroke play, field reduced to 64 players for match play
July 19 (Wednesday): Round of 64, match play
July 20 (Thursday): Round of 32/Round of 16, match play
July 21 (Friday): Quarterfinals/semifinals, match play
July 22 (Saturday): 36-hole championship final, match play
Broadcast Schedule
The 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship will receive at least four hours of live coverage on Peacock. Golf Channel will air both semifinal matches on Friday and Saturday’s championship match on tape-delay.
Date Network Broadcast Hours (EDT)
July 21 Peacock Semifinal matches, 5-7 p.m.
Golf Channel Semifinal matches, 8-10 p.m. (tape delay)
July 22 Peacock Championship match, 5-7 p.m.
Golf Channel Championship match, 8-10 p.m. (tape delay)
What the Champion Receives
Exemption from qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open
A gold medal and custody of the Glenna Collett Vare Trophy for one year
Exemption from qualifying for all U.S. Girls’ Juniors prior to her 19th birthday
Exemption from qualifying for the next two U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships
2022 Champion – Yana Wilson
Yana Wilson, 15, of Henderson, Nev., a two-time Drive, Chip & Putt national age-group champion, defeated Gianna Clemente, 14, of Estero, Fla., 3 and 2, in the 36-hole championship match at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. Wilson had reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 championship, only to lose to eventual champion and world No. 1 Rose Zhang. The victory capped a remarkable competitive season for Wilson, who defeated 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Anna Davis in a playoff for the Annika Invitational title by holing out a wedge shot for an eagle-2 from 75 yards out on the first extra hole. That made her 10 of 11 in playoffs and was a key factor in the rising high school junior’s match-play prowess in the heat and humidity of Kentucky.
Championship History
The U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship was established in 1949, one year after the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Philadelphia (Pa.) Country Club, one of the oldest clubs in the nation, hosted the first championship on its Bala Course, which opened in 1891, three years before the founding of the USGA. Girls’ Junior champions have won the U.S. Women’s Amateur seven times and the U.S. Women’s Open six times. Additionally, 20 champions have gone on to represent the USA on the Curtis Cup Team.
Considering the age limitations on a junior golf career, Hollis Stacy’s record of three consecutive Girls’ Junior Championships (1969-1971) is among the most remarkable accomplishments in USGA history. In 2016, Eun Jeong Seong joined the elite club of back-to-back U.S. Girls’ Junior winners, the first since 1971, and followed her victory by winning the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur, making her the first player to win the two prestigious championships in the same year and just the third female to win multiple USGA championships in the same year.
Kay Cornelius, the 1981 winner, is also among the noteworthy champions. Her mother, Kathy Cornelius, won the 1956 U.S. Women’s Open, making them the only mother-daughter tandem to have captured USGA championships. Other notable winners include Amy Alcott (1973), JoAnne Gunderson Carner (1956), Heather Farr (1982), Pat Hurst (1986), Ariya Jutanugarn (2011), I.K. Kim (2005), Nancy Lopez (1972, 1974), Inbee Park (2002), Lexi Thompson (2008), Mickey Wright (1952) and 2022 U.S. Women’s Open champion Minjee Lee (2012), whose brother, Min Woo, won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2016.
Future U.S. Girls’ Junior Sites
2024: El Caballero Country Club, Tarzana, Calif./July 15-20
2025: Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga./July 14-19
2026: Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham, N.C./July 13-18
2027: Canterbury Golf Club, Cleveland, Ohio/July 12-17
2031: Trinity Forest Golf Club, Dallas, Texas/July 13-18
2035: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore./Dates TBD
2038: Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Dates TBD
2045: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore./Dates TBD
USGA Championships at the United States Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club (Blue Course)
This is the first USGA championship being hosted by the Eisenhower Golf Club.
USGA Championships in Colorado
The 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior will be the 34th USGA championship conducted in Colorado, and the first of two in 2023. Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village will host the 123rd U.S. Amateur in August. This is the first USGA championship in Colorado since the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Colorado Golf Club. This will be the fourth time the U.S. Girls’ Junior will be conducted in the Rocky Mountain State and the first since 1982 at Greeley Country Club.
List of USGA championships and champions in Colorado:
2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur: Colorado Golf Club, Parker (Lukas Michel)
2018 U.S. Senior Open: The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs (David Toms)
2012 U.S. Amateur: Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village (Steven Fox)
2011 U.S. Women’s Open: The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs (So Yeon Ryu)
2008 U.S. Senior Open, The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs (Eduardo Romero)
2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links: Murphy Creek Golf Course, Aurora (Jack Newman)
2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links: Walking Stick Golf Course, Pueblo (Tiffany Joh)
2005 U.S. Women’s Open: Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village (Birdie Kim)
1995 U.S. Women’s Open: The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs (Annika Sorenstam)
1993 U.S. Amateur Public Links: Riverdale Dunes & Knolls, Brighton (David Berganio Jr.)
1993 U.S. Senior Open: Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village (Jack Nicklaus)
1990 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links: Hyland Hills Golf Course, Westminster (Cathy Mockett)
1990 U.S. Amateur: Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village (Phil Mickelson)
1987 U.S. Junior Amateur: Sonnenalp Golf Club, Edwards (Brett Quigley)
1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur: Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village (Jay Sigel)
1982 U.S. Women’s Amateur: The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs (Juli Inkster)
1982 Curtis Cup Match: Denver Country Club, Denver (USA)
1982 U.S. Girls’ Junior: Greeley Country Club, Greeley (Heather Farr)
1982 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur: Kissing Camels Golf Club, Colorado Springs (Edean Ihlafeldt)
1978 U.S. Open: Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village (Andy North)
1976 U.S. Junior Amateur: Hiwan Golf Club, Evergreen (Madden Hatcher III)
1976 U.S. Senior Amateur: Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village (Lewis W. Oehmig)
1965 U.S. Girls’ Junior: Hiwan Golf Club, Evergreen (Gail Sykes)
1965 U.S. Women’s Amateur: Lakewood Country Club, Lakewood (Jean Ashley)
1962 Curtis Cup Match: The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs (USA)
1960 U.S. Open: Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village (Arnold Palmer)
1959 U.S. Amateur Public Links: Wellshire Golf Course, Denver (William Wright)
1959 U.S. Amateur: The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs (Jack Nicklaus)
1957 U.S. Girls’ Junior: Lakewood Country Club, Lakewood (Judy Eller)
1950 U.S. Junior Amateur: Denver Country Club, Denver (Mason Rudolph)
1949 U.S. Amateur Public Links: Wellshire Golf Course, Denver (Smiley L. Quick)
1938 U.S. Open: Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village (Ralph Guldahl)
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