U.S. Women's Amateur Fact Sheet

Aug. 1-7, 2016
Rolling Green Golf Club, Springfield, Pa. (rggc.org)
usga.org/womensam; twitter.com/USGA; #USWomensAm; facebook.com/USGA; instagram.com/USGA

COURSE SETUP
Rolling Green G.C. will be set up at 6,259 yards and will play to a par of 36-35–71. Based on the setup, the Course Rating^™ is 77.5 and the Slope Rating^® is 142.

ABOUT ROLLING GREEN GOLF CLUB  
Legendary golf course architect William Flynn designed Rolling Green, a classic, parkland-style course that opened in 1926. The course retains the same routing conceived in Flynn’s original blueprints, and while modifications such as lengthening have been made, consistency with the initial design has been maintained as demonstrated by a 2006 bunker restoration project done with Forse Design.

RECORD ENTRIES
The USGA received a record 1,381 entries for the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur, breaking the previous mark of 1,303 that was set in 2015. The championship is open to female amateur golfers who have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 5.4. Entries closed on June 15, 2016.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING
Sectional qualifying was conducted over 18 holes at 20 sites between June 27 and July 18.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
A starting field of 156 players will compete in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. Following 18-hole rounds of stroke play on Aug. 1-2, the field will be cut to the 64 players for match play. Six 18-hole rounds of match play will determine the champion.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY
Aug. 1 (Monday) – First round, stroke play
Aug. 2 (Tuesday) – Second round, stroke play
Aug. 3 (Wednesday) – First round, match play
Aug. 4 (Thursday) – Second and third rounds, match play
Aug. 5 (Friday) – Quarterfinal round, match play
Aug. 6 (Saturday) – Semifinal round, match play
Aug. 7 (Sunday) – 36-hole championship final match play

EXEMPT PLAYERS
The following 24 players are fully exempt into the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur:

Celine Boutier (2015 Ladies’ British Open Amateur champion; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Sierra Brooks (2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur runner-up; 2016 USA Curtis Cup Team member; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Mathilda Cappeliez (2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinalist; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Virginia Elena Carta (2016 NCAA Women’s Division I champion; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Tiffany Chan (Top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Hye-Jin Choi (Returned a 72-hole score at the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Katelyn Dambaugh (Top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Maria Fassi (2016 Mexican Women’s Amateur champion)
Mariel Galdiano (2016 USA Curtis Cup Team member; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries; returned a 72-hole score at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open)
Kristen Gillman (2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion)
Lauren Greenlief (2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion)
Muni He (Returned a 72-hole score at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open)
Yupaporn Kawinpakorn (Top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Cheyenne Knight (Top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Pamela Kuong (2015 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur runner-up)
Andrea Lee (2016 USA Curtis Cup Team member; 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinalist)
Mika Liu (2016 USA Curtis Cup Team member; 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinalist; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Lindsey McCurdy (2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinalist)
Anneliese Newell (2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinalist)
Eun Jeong Seong (2015, 2016 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Margaret Shirley-Starosto (2014 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion; 2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur runner-up)
Bailey Tardy (2016 USA Curtis Cup Team member; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Monica Vaughn (2016 USA Curtis Cup Team member; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)
Bethany Wu (2016 USA Curtis Cup Team member; 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinalist; top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries)

TELEVISION COVERAGE

2015 CHAMPIONSHIP

Hannah O’Sullivan, 17, of Chandler, Ariz., won the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Portland Golf Club, earning a 3-and-2 victory over Sierra Brooks, 17, of Sorrento, Fla.

After trailing by three holes through 15, O’Sullivan steadily inched closer, cutting the deficit to 1 down at the 18-hole break, squaring the match through 23 holes, taking the lead on the 24th hole and making a 4-foot par putt on the 34th green to seal the victory.

For more information, visit www.usga.org/womensam.

WHAT THE WINNER RECEIVES

• A gold medal and custody of the Robert Cox Trophy for one year
• Exemption from qualifying for the 2017 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 ROLLING GREEN GOLF CLUB
This will be the second USGA championship conducted at Rolling Green. In 1976, JoAnne Gunderson Carner captured her second U.S. Women’s Open by defeating defending champion Sandra Palmer by two strokes in an 18-hole playoff. It was Carner’s eighth and final USGA victory, the most by any female in USGA championship history.

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. 7-13, 2017 – San Diego Country Club, Chula Vista, Calif.
Aug. 6-12, 2018 – The Golf Club of Tennessee, Kingston Springs, Tenn.

MEDIA INFORMATION
To apply for media credentials, visit www.usga.org/media.html. Throughout the championship, please visit the www.usga.org/onlinemediacenter for up-to-the-minute information and updates.

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.

Please contact Christina Lance for more information regarding U.S. Women’s Amateur coverage at clance@usga.org or 908-963-1691.