The Girls Amateur Championship is a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournament held annually in the United Kingdom. Girls need to be under 18 on 1 January in the year of the championship. Until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the championship was organised by a series of magazines and always held at Stoke Poges Golf Club near

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

. it was first held in 1919, although an event was planned in 1914 but was cancelled because of the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After

it restarted in 1949 when the

Ladies Golf Union The Ladies' Golf Union (LGU) was the governing body for women's and girls' amateur golf in Great Britain and Ireland. It was founded in 1893 and was based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland until merging with The R&A at the start of 2017. Issette ...

took over the event. It is now run by

The R&A The R&A is the collective name of a group of companies that together play a significant role within the game of golf. Historically, "the R&A" was a colloquial name for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews; in 2004, the club spun off ...

, following the merger with the Ladies Golf Union in 2017..

Format

Currently the championship involves two rounds of stroke-play after which the 64 lowest scores compete in six rounds of match-play. Ties for 64th place are decided by countback. All match-play rounds are over 18 holes, except the final which is played over 36 holes, with extra holes played, if necessary, to decide the winner. Girls need to be under 18 on 1 January in the year of the championship.

History

The first attempt to run the event was in 1914, when ''

The Gentlewoman ''The Gentlewoman'' was a weekly illustrated paper for women founded in 1890 and published in London. For its first thirty-six years its full title was ''The Gentlewoman: An Illustrated Weekly Journal for Gentlewomen''.Nos. 1 to 1,853 dated bet ...

'' magazine organised an event, for which Princess Mary, then 17, presented a trophy. The event was to have been played on 17 and 18 September at Stoke Poges Golf Club but was cancelled because of the start of

. The 1919 event was organised by

Mabel Stringer Mabel Emily Stringer (25 September 1868 – 10 February 1958) was a British golf enthusiast and sporting journalist. She founded a number of golf organisations and served on others. Life Stringer was born in New Romney in 1868. Her parents were ...

, the sports editor of ''The Gentlewoman''. It was played on 17 and 18 September at Stoke Poges. 16 girls competed, having qualified through local events. Two rounds were played each day. The first winner of the Princess Mary trophy was Audrey Croft, from Ashford Manor, who beat Christina Clarke, from Reddish Vale, by 1 hole in the final. The two finalists in 1919 met again in 1920, Miss Clarke winning this time at the 21st hole. The first overseas winner was

Simone de la Chaume Simone Thion de la Chaume (24 November 1908 – 4 September 2001) was a French amateur golfer. In 1924, she became the first foreign player to win the Girls Amateur Championship and in 1927 the first to win the British Ladies Amateur, then the ...

from France, who beat Dorothy Pearson in 1924. The 1926 championship was won by another French girl, Diana Esmond, who beat Margaret Ramsden in the final. Ramsden had beaten Esmond's sister, Sybil in the semi-final.

Diana Fishwick Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) ...

became the first two-time winner, winning in 1927 and 1928 while Pauline Doran won three times in a row, 1930, 1931 and 1932. Doran had beaten Dorrit Wilkins in the final in both 1930 and 1931 and beat Aline de Gunzbourg from France, in 1932. 1932 was the first year that ''

The Bystander ''The Bystander'' was a British weekly tabloid magazine that featured reviews, topical drawings, cartoons and short stories. Published from Fleet Street, it was established in 1903 by George Holt Thomas. Its first editor, William Comyns Beaumon ...

'' magazine organised the event. ''The Gentlewoman'' magazine had merged with ''Eve: The Lady's Pictorial'', later to become ''Britannia and Eve'', and the event had been known as the Eve's Girls Championship since 1927. Nancy Jupp became the youngest winner when she won the 1934 championship at the age of 13, beating Joan Montford, nearly five years older, in the final. There was a French winner again in 1937, Lally Vagliano beating the defending champion, Peggy Edwards, in the final. The 1939 championship was planned for September but was cancelled because of the start of

. The first England–Scotland match was held in 1935, on the Monday before the start of the championship. Scotland won by 5 matches to 2. The event was not restarted after the war until the

took over the organisation of the event in 1949. Played at Beaconsfield Golf Club, the tournament was won by Pam Davies, a Coventry medical student, who beat Arlette Jacquet, from Belgium, by one hole. The first post-war overseas winner was

Brigitte Varangot Brigitte Varangot (1 May 1940 – 12 October 2007) was a French amateur golfer. Early life Varangot was born in Biarritz in the French Basque Country and was a self-taught golfer, who did not take many lessons and did not practice a lot. Lally ...

from France who won at

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...

in 1957, beating the defending champion

Ruth Porter Ruth Porter (later Slark, 6 May 1939 – 15 September 2014) was an English amateur golfer. She had a successful junior career which included winning the 1956 Girls Amateur Championship and the 1958 British Girls' Stroke-play Championship. She ...

in the final. Varangot reached the final the following year at Cotswold Hills but lost to Tessa Ross Steen in the final. It was not until 1969 that there was another overseas winner, Joyce de Witt Puyt, from the Netherlands, beating the Belgian

Corinne Reybroeck __NOTOC__ Corinne may refer to: Places * Corinne, Saskatchewan, Canada, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Oklahoma, United States, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Utah, United States, a town * Corinne, West Virginia, United States, a c ...

in the final. Reybroeck had also been runner-up in 1968. Since 1969 the number of overseas winners has increased, outnumbering British winners, although two Scots,

Jane Connachan Jane Connachan (born 25 February 1964) is a Scottish professional golfer who played on the Ladies European Tour. Amateur career Connachan was considered a child prodigy, playing competitive golf constantly since the age of 10, and in the 17 ye ...

and

Mhairi McKay Mhairi McKay (born 18 April 1975) is a Scottish professional golfer who played mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and was also a member of the Ladies European Tour. Amateur career McKay was born in Glasgow. She is a former pupil of Fernhill ...

are the only girls since the war to win the championship twice. The event is now run by

, following the merger with the LGU in 2017. In 2022 the final was extended from 18 to 36 holes.

Results

Source:

Future venues

*2023 -

Ganton Ganton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the south side of the Vale of Pickering immediately north of the Yorkshire Wolds. Ganton lies west of the coastal town of Filey, and ...

*2024 - Alwoodley

References

External links

* {{The R&A Amateur Championships Junior golf tournaments R&A championships Amateur golf tournaments in the United Kingdom Youth sport in the United Kingdom 1919 establishments in the United Kingdom Recurring sporting events established in 1919