FAR HILLS, N.J. – The United States Golf Association has accepted entries for 336 teams (or two-player sides) for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship, to be contested May 9-13 on the Pacific Dunes Course at Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Ore.
Entries for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball are open to players who have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 14.4, with no age restrictions. Team partners are not required to be from the same club, state or country, and substitution of partners was permitted until the close of entries.
We are proud that this inaugural U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball has been met with such interest, said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. This championship marks a new era in USGA history, and we are looking forward to seeing what unfolds at Bandon Dunes and beyond.
The USGA received entries from golfers in six countries, including the U.S. Within the U.S., entries were received from 42 states and the District of Columbia.
Sectional qualifying, conducted over 18 holes, will be held at 27 sites in 22 states between Aug. 25, 2014, and March 30, 2015. California has the most sectionals with three, while Florida and Texas will each host two sites. The sectional qualifier originally announced in Idaho has been canceled.
A total of 64 two-player teams will compete in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, with each playing their own ball throughout the round. Each team’s score will be determined using their better-ball score for each hole. After 36 holes of stroke-play competition, the field will be reduced to the low 32 teams for the match-play portion of the championship.
Five teams are exempt from qualifying due to both players being ranked among the top 500 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of the close of entries on Aug. 6. The teams are: Bethany Wu/Andrea Lee, Hannah O’Sullivan/Robynn Ree, Emily Campbell/Cheyenne Knight, Angel Yin/Muni He and Mika Liu/Rinko Mitsunaga.
The 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball will be the fourth USGA championship held at Bandon Dunes, and the second held on the Pacific Dunes Course. The 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship were held concurrently on the Bandon Trails and Old MacDonald Courses and won by Corbin Mills and Brianna Do, respectively. The USA’s victory at the 2006 Curtis Cup Match was played over the Pacific Dunes Course, while Trip Kuehne won the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship on the Bandon Dunes Course.