Wednesday, July 31, 2024

124th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship – Fact Sheet

The 2024 US Women's Amateur Championship kicks off next week from Southern Hills Country Club.

Here's a look inside the course, history, and field.

PAR AND YARDAGE   

Southern Hills Country Club will be set up at 6,437 yards and will play to a par of 35-36—71. 

(NOTE: Yardages subject to change.)  

SOUTHERN HILLS COUNTRY CLUB HOLE BY HOLE   

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total

Par 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 3 4 35

Yards 452 409 377 330 558 133 388 178 358 3,183

Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total

Par 4 3 4 5 3 4 5 4 4 36

Yards 371 150 392 592 188 386 522 315 401 3,254

ABOUT SOUTHERN HILLS COUNTRY CLUB 

Southern Hills Country Club, which was designed by Perry Maxwell, opened for play in 1936 and is situated on land that was donated by oilman Waite Phillips. There have been several course modifications over the decades, including a recent restoration by Gil Hanse. In addition to three U.S. Opens, the course hosted the 1946 U.S. Women’s Amateur, when the legendary Babe Didrikson Zaharias defeated Clara Sherman, 11 and 9, in the championship final. Zaharias would go on to win three U.S. Women’s Open titles. 

Retief Goosen won the first of his two U.S. Opens in an 18-hole playoff with Mark Brooks in 2001 at Southern Hills. Tommy Bolt and Hubert Green won their U.S. Opens there in 1958 and 1977, respectively. 

Southern Hills has also been the site of five PGA Championships, most recently in 2022 when Justin Thomas defeated Will Zalatoris in a playoff. Other winners of PGA Championships at Southern Hills include Tiger Woods (2007), Nick Price (1994), Raymond Floyd (1982) and Dave Stockton (1970). 

ENTRIES

The championship is open to female amateur golfers who have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4. In 2024, the USGA accepted 1,588 entries for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, the second most in championship history. 

QUALIFYING

Qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur took place between June 19 and July 18. 

CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD 

A starting field of 156 players will compete in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Following 18-hole rounds of stroke play on Aug. 5-6, 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 on Aug. 11. 

SCHEDULE OF PLAY 

Practice rounds will take place Aug. 3-4, and the championship schedule is as follows: 

Aug. 5 (Monday): First round, stroke play 

Aug. 6 (Tuesday): Second round, stroke play 

Aug. 7 (Wednesday): Round of 64, match play 

Aug. 8 (Thursday): Rounds of 32 and 16, match play 

Aug. 9 (Friday): Quarterfinal round, match play 

Aug. 10 (Saturday): Semifinal round, match play 

Aug. 11 (Sunday): 36-hole championship final, match play 

2023 CHAMPION 

Auburn University standout Megan Schofill, of Monticello, Fla., defeated fellow Floridian and Southeastern Conference rival Latanna Stone (LSU), of Riverview, 4 and 3, in the 36-hole final at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. Schofill became the first Floridian to hoist the Robert Cox Trophy since Morgan Pressel in 2005. 

BROADCAST COVERAGE 

The 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur will receive at least 15 hours of live network coverage. All times ET. 

Wednesday, Aug 7 – 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel 

Thursday, Aug. 8 – 3-6 p.m., Peacock 

Friday, Aug. 9 – 3-6 p.m., Peacock 

Saturday, Aug. 10 – 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel 

Sunday, Aug. 11 – 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel 

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 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 tied with Jack Nicklaus and eclipsed only by Bob 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. 

WHAT THE WINNER RECEIVES: 

A gold medal and custody of the Robert Cox Trophy for one year

Exemption from qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. 

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 

Invitation to the 2025 Augusta National Women's Amateur 

Likely exemptions into The Chevron Championship, AIG Women's Open and Amundi Evian Championship 

USGA AND SOUTHERN HILLS 

This will be the 10th USGA championship and the second U.S. Women’s Amateur held at Southern Hills Country Club. The 1946 U.S. Women’s Amateur won by Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the first USGA championship held there. The club most recently hosted the 2009 U.S. Amateur, won by Byeong-Hun An, and has hosted three U.S. Opens (1958, 1977, 2001). 

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT SOUTHERN HILLS 

1946 U.S. Women's Amateur (Babe Didrikson Zaharias) 

1953 U.S. Junior Amateur (Rex Baxter Jr.) 

1958 U.S. Open (Tommy Bolt) 

1961 U.S. Senior Amateur (Dexter Daniels) 

1965 U.S. Amateur (Bob Murphy) 

1977 U.S. Open (Hubert Green) 

1987 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur (Cindy Scholefield-McConnell) 

2001 U.S. Open (Retief Goosen) 

2009 U.S. Amateur (Byeong-Hun An) 

OTHER NOTABLE EVENTS AT SOUTHERN HILLS 

1970 PGA Championship (Dave Stockton) 

1982 PGA Championship (Raymond Floyd) 

1994 PGA Championship (Nick Price) 

1995 Tour Championship (Billy Mayfair) 

1996 Tour Championship (Tom Lehman) 

2007 PGA Championship (Tiger Woods) 

2021 Senior PGA Championship (Alex Cejka) 

2022 PGA Championship (Justin Thomas) 

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN OKLAHOMA 

The 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur will be the 23rd USGA championship and third U.S. Women’s Amateur contested in the state of Oklahoma. It is the first time since 1960 that the championship has been played in the state. The most recent USGA championship held in Oklahoma was the 2015 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Tulsa Country Club, won by Eun Jeong Seong. 

U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEURS IN OKLAHOMA 

1946: Southern Hills C.C., Tulsa (Babe Didrikson Zaharias) 

1960: Tulsa C.C., Tulsa (JoAnne Gunderson Carner) 

MOST USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS HOSTED BY VENUES IN OKLAHOMA 

(Includes 2024 championships) 

10 – Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa 

3 – Tulsa Country Club, Tulsa 

2 – Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, Norman 

2 – Oak Tree National, Edmond 

FUTURE U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEUR SITES 

Aug. 4-10, 2025 – Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore. 

Aug. 3-9, 2026 – The Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tenn. 

Aug. 2-8, 2027 – Pinehurst Resort & Country Club Course No. 2, Village of Pinehurst, N.C. 

Aug. 7-13, 2028 – Brae Burn Country Club, West Newton, Mass. 

Aug. 6-12, 2029 – Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. 

Aug. 5-11, 2030 – The Olympic Club, San Francisco, Calif. 

Aug. 4-10, 2031 – Baltimore Country Club, Baltimore, Md. 

Aug. 2-8, 2032 – Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore. 

Aug. 7-13, 2034 – The Country Club, Salt Lake City, Utah 

Aug. 6-12, 2035 – Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga. 

TBD, 2037 – The Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst, N.C. 

Aug. 8-14, 2039 – Canterbury Golf Club, Cleveland, Ohio 

TBD, 2041 – Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore. 

TBD, 2046 – Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa. 

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