The U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading

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 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

(USGA). Female amateurs from all nations are eligible to compete and there are no age restrictions. It was established in 1895, one month after the men's U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open. It is the third oldest USGA championship, over a half century older than the U.S. Women's Open, which was first played in 1946. Along with the

British Ladies Amateur The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of th ...

, the U.S. Women's Amateur is considered the highest honor in women's amateur golf.

Robert Cox Cup

Since 1896 the Robert Cox Cup has been awarded annually by the USGA to the winner. The trophy was donated by Robert Cox of

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, a member of the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

and a golf course designer. It remains the oldest surviving trophy awarded for a USGA championship. Along with a gold medal, a replica of the silver case of Etruscan design is given to the tournament winner. The original trophy is on permanent display at the USGA Museum and Library. The Robert Cox Cup is the only USGA trophy donated by someone from another country. The first tournament attracted a field of 13 and was played over 18 holes. As in the case of the men's U.S. Amateur, entry was originally restricted to members of USGA-affiliated private clubs (and, presumably, international players who were members of clubs affiliated with their nations' golf governing bodies); this policy remained in place until the 1979 tournament. Several thousand women now enter the event, and the USGA conducts sectional qualifying to reduce the number of contestants to a more manageable number. The main tournament opens with two rounds of

stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...

. The leading 64 players then compete in a

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

competition. The matches are played over 18 holes except for the final, which is played over 36 holes. In 1956,

Ann Gregory Ann Gregory (July 25, 1912 – February 5, 1990) was an African-American amateur golfer. Black newspapers had called her "The Queen of Negro Women's Golf." As stated in Arthur Ashe's book, ''Hard Road to Glory'', many observers called Gregory t ...

became the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to compete in the Championship, held that year at the Meridian Hills Country Club in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. There are no age restrictions on entry. Players must have a handicap index of 5.4 or less.

Morgan Pressel Morgan Pressel (born May 23, 1988) is an American professional golfer and golf commentator who played on the LPGA Tour. In 2001, as a 12-year-old, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. She was the 2005 American Ju ...

qualified as a 13-year-old in 2001 and won in 2005 at the age of 17. The 2006 winner Kimberly Kim was only 14 years old, breaking the record previously held by

Laura Baugh Laura Zonetta Baugh (born May 31, 1955) is an American professional golfer, who played the LPGA Tour for 25 years. She is a published writer and golf broadcaster. Early life Baugh was born in Gainesville, Florida. Her father Hale Baugh, a lawye ...

. In 2007, Pearl Jin and Alexis Thompson became the first 12-year-olds to qualify and the first to advance to match play. Jin and Thompson faced one another in the third round match play. Thompson beat Jin, but then lost in the quarterfinals. Because the tournament is dominated by teenagers and college-age players who are working toward careers as tournament professionals, the USGA introduced a separate tournament in 1987 for players age 25 and over, called the

U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur The U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur is one of thirteen United States Golf Association national championships. First played in 1987, it provides amateur women over the age of 25 an opportunity to compete for a national championship. Entrants must have a ...

. It gives older amateur players an opportunity to compete among themselves for a national title; entrants must have a handicap index of 9.4 or less. The USGA rates Glenna Collett Vare as the most noteworthy champion who won the Robert Cox Cup a record six times. Several U.S. Women's Amateur champions who have gone on to become leading professionals including Patty Berg,

Babe Zaharias Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field. She won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summer Ol ...

Louise Suggs Mae Louise Suggs (September 7, 1923 – August 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer, one of the founders of the LPGA Tour and thus modern ladies' golf. Amateur career Born in Atlanta, Suggs had a very successful amateur career, beginni ...

and

Beth Daniel Beth Daniel (born October 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1979 and won 33 LPGA Tour events, including one major championship, during her career. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fa ...

. The two finalists win exemptions to the ensuing U.S. Women's Open, and the winner also wins exemptions to The Women's Open Championship and upon turning 50, the U.S. Senior Women's Open (one year exemption for players who eventually turned professional, and five years for players who did not turn professional).

Winners

Multiple winners

Nineteen players have won more than one U.S. Women's Amateur, through 2021: * 6 wins:

Glenna Collett-Vare Glenna Collett Vare (June 20, 1903 – February 3, 1989) was an American Hall of Fame golfing champion whom the Hall calls the greatest female golfer of her day, and who dominated American women's golf in the 1920s. Biography Born in New Haven, ...

* 5 wins: JoAnne Gunderson Carner * 3 wins:

Beatrix Hoyt Beatrix Hoyt (July 5, 1880 – August 14, 1963) was an American amateur golfer. Hoyt is the third youngest golfer to ever win the U.S. Women's Amateur, and is one of only five competitors to win the championship three consecutive times. She was ...

Margaret Curtis Margaret Curtis (October 8, 1883 – December 24, 1965) was an American golf and tennis champion and lifelong social worker. From the Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts area, she was the youngest of ten children. Her father was a colonel i ...

Dorothy Campbell Dorothy Lee Campbell (24 March 1883 – 20 March 1945) was a Scottish amateur golfer. Campbell was the first woman to win the American, British and Canadian Women's Amateurs. Early life She was born into a golfing family in North Berwick, Midl ...

Alexa Stirling Alexa Stirling Fraser (September 5, 1897 – April 15, 1977) was an American-Canadian amateur golfer. She won the U.S. Women's Amateur golf championship in 1916, 1919, and 1920. She also won the Canadian Women's Amateur title in 1920 and 1934. ...

Virginia Van Wie Virginia Van Wie (February 9, 1909 – February 18, 1997) was an American amateur golfer, best known for winning three U.S. Women's Amateurs, 1932–34. The Illinois-born golfer was the daughter of wealthy parents, and learned the game at the Bev ...

Anne Quast Anne Quast (born August 31, 1937) is an American amateur golfer. She won the U.S. Women's Amateur three times (1958, 1961, 1963) and was runner-up three times (1965, 1968, 1973). She was married several times and played as Anne Decker, Anne Welt ...

Juli Inkster Juli Inkster (born Juli Simpson; June 24, 1960) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. With a professional career spanning 29 years to date, Inkster's 31 wins rank her second in wins among all active players on the LPGA ...

* 2 wins: Genevieve Hecker, Katherine Harley,

Betty Jameson Elizabeth May Jameson (May 9, 1919 – February 7, 2009) was an American professional golfer. She was one of the thirteen founders of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1950. She won three major championships and a total of thi ...

Barbara McIntire Barbara Joy McIntire (born January 12, 1935) is an American amateur golfer. McIntire was born in Toledo, Ohio. Living in Florida, she began playing golf as a young girl and at age 15 made a splash at the 1950 U.S. Women's Amateur by eliminatin ...

Kay Cockerill Kay Cockerill (born October 16, 1964 in San Jose, California) is an American golfer. Amateur and college career She won the U.S. Women's Amateurs in 1986 and 1987. As a non-scholarship player at UCLA she had six individual wins from 1983 to 198 ...

Vicki Goetze Vicki Goetze-Ackerman (born October 17, 1972) is an American professional golfer. Goetze was born in Mishicot, Wisconsin. Living in Hull, Georgia, she was voted "Player of the Year" from 1988 to 1990 by the American Junior Golf Association. In ...

Kelli Kuehne Kelli Kuehne Doremus (born May 11, 1977) is a retired American professional golfer. Amateur career Kuehne was born in Dallas, Texas. She was the Texas UIL 4A Girls Individual State Champion four years in a row, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 while atte ...

Danielle Kang Danielle Grace Kang (born October 20, 1992) is an American professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour. As an amateur, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur twice, in 2010 and 2011. She won the 2017 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, an LPGA ...

Kristen Gillman Kristen Gillman (born September 22, 1997) is an American professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour. As an amateur, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur twice, in 2014 and 2018. Early life, college and amateur career Gillman is one of ...

Seven players have won both the U.S. Women's Amateur and

Open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * Open (Blues Image album), ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * Open (Gotthard album), ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * Open (C ...

Championships, through 2021: * Patty Berg: 1938 Amateur; 1946 Open *

: 1939, 1940 Amateurs; 1947 Open *

: 1946 Amateur; 1948, 1950, 1954 Opens *

: 1947 Amateur; 1949, 1952 Opens *

Catherine Lacoste Catherine Lacoste (born 27 June 1945) is a French amateur golfer and the only player who has won the U.S. Women's Open as an amateur. Early life She was born and grew up in Paris, France, with her parents, René Lacoste and Simone de la Chaume a ...

: 1969 Amateur; 1967 Open * JoAnne Gunderson Carner: 1957, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1968 Amateurs; 1971, 1976 Opens *

: 1980, 1981, 1982 Amateurs; 1999, 2002 Opens Eleven players have won both the U.S. Women's and

Championships, through 2021: *

:^ 1909, 1910, 1924 U.S.; 1909, 1911 British *

Gladys Ravenscroft Gladys Ravenscroft (3 May 1888 – 6 February 1960) was a British amateur golfer. She was born in Cheshire, England in 1888. Ravenscroft won the 1912 British Ladies Amateur at Turnberry in Scotland. In 1913 she traveled to Wilmington, Delawa ...

: 1913 U.S.; 1912 British *

Pam Barton Pamela Espeut Barton (4 March 1917 – 13 November 1943) was an English amateur golfer. She was born in the London suburb of Barnes, the daughter of Henry Charles Johnston Barton and Ethel Maude Barton. 1931 saw Barton's first public appearanc ...

:^ 1936 U.S.; 1936, 1939 British *

: 1946 U.S.; 1947 British *

: 1947 U.S.; 1948 British *

Marlene Stewart Streit Marlene Stewart Streit, (born March 9, 1934) is a Canadian amateur golfer, and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She was born in Cereal, Alberta. She learned golf from Gordon McInnis Sr. at the Lookout Point Golf Club in Fonthill, Ontari ...

: 1956 U.S.; 1953 British *

: 1959, 1964 U.S.; 1960 British *

:^ 1969 U.S.; 1969 British *

Carol Semple Thompson Carol Semple (born October 27, 1948), also known by her married name Carol Semple Thompson, is an American golfer who participated only on the amateur circuit, and never turned pro. Semple was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. She is from a pro ...

: 1973 U.S.; 1974 British *

: 1958, 1961, 1963 U.S.; 1980 British *

:^ 1996 U.S.; 1996 British ^ Won both in same year.

Future sites

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is also slated to host in 2041.

Atlanta Athletic Club Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC), founded in 1898, is a private athletic club in Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb 23 miles north of Atlanta. The original home of the club was a 10-story building located on Carnegie Way, and in 1904 a golf course was buil ...

is slated to host in 2035.
Canterbury Golf Club is slated to host in 2039.

Oakmont Country Club Oakmont Country Club is a country club in the eastern United States, located mostly in Plum with only a very small portion of the property located in Oakmont, suburbs of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania. Established in 1903, its golf course ...

is slated to host in 2046.
Source

Notes

External links

Official site

{{Golf on NBC Amateur golf tournaments in the United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship Women's golf tournaments in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1895 1895 establishments in New York (state)