Far Hills, N.J. – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced the Country Club of Birmingham, in Birmingham, Ala., as host site for the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. This will be the first USGA championship for the Country Club of Birmingham. The dates of the championship are Oct. 5-10.
“We are very excited about the Country Club of Birmingham hosting the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship,” said Bill McCarthy, the director of the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and director of regional affairs for the Ohio Valley Region for the USGA. “The Country Club of Birmingham has a very long and rich history of contributing to amateur golf and this will only serve to add to that legacy.”
Founded in 1898, the Country Club of Birmingham moved from its original location to farmland in Shades Valley, where two 18-hole courses were designed in 1926 by architect Donald Ross. The 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship will use both the West and East courses for stroke play, while the West will host match play. The Country Club of Birmingham has hosted nine Alabama State Amateurs and served as the companion course to Shoal Creek for the 1986 U.S. Amateur. The course is a sectional qualifying site for this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur.
“The Country Club of Birmingham is honored to continue its long-standing tradition of supporting amateur golf by extending our invitation to the United States Golf Association to host the 2013 Mid-Amateur Championship,” said Richard Anthony, the championship’s general chairman. “This is the first national event CCB has hosted in its 114-year history, and we see it as a great privilege and responsibility. We are truly looking forward to working with the USGA and providing an exceptional experience that the participants and their guests will long remember.”
Forest Creek Golf Club, in Pinehurst, N.C., was originally announced as the host of the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. Due to its conversion to a member-controlled club and the potential impact on championship preparations, Forest Creek asked not to host in 2013, with the opportunity to revisit the possibility in the future.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship was first played in 1981. The championship is open to amateur golfers at least 25 years of age who hold a USGA Handicap Index® not exceeding 3.4. In 2012, the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship will be played at Conway Farms Golf Club, in Lake Forest, Ill., from Sept. 8-13.