FAR HILLS, N.J. – The United States Golf
Association today announced sectional
qualifying sites for the
2014 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, to be
contested June 19-22 at Pinehurst Resort &
Country Club’s
Course No. 2 in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.
Sectional qualifying, conducted over 36 holes,
will be held at 20 sites across the United
States and four
international sites between May 5 and May 30.
Player applications are now available at
www.usga.org/champs/apply. The entry
deadline is 5 p.m. EDT on April 30. The
championship is open to
female professionals, and female amateur
golfers with a Handicap Index® not exceeding
2.4.
“Sectional qualifying is a crucial part of
bringing this most democratic of championships
to the world’s elite
players,” said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice
president and chairman of the Championship
Committee. “With
the cooperation of our partners, both domestic
and international, we look forward to
welcoming the best
players from across the globe to
Pinehurst.”
Industry Hills Golf Club, near Los Angeles, has
held U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying
annually since
2010. Its Eisenhower Course was a local
qualifying site in 2009 (the final year of local
qualifying, which was
conducted from 2002-09), and it hosted
sectional qualifying in 1980 and 1982. The
Eisenhower Course will
also serve as a U.S. Open local qualifying site
on May 6.
In addition to Industry Hills, The Heritage at
Westmoor, in Westminster, Colo., and The
Country Club at DC
Ranch, in Scottsdale, Ariz., will host both U.S.
Women’s Open sectional qualifying and U.S.
Open local
qualifying. The Heritage at Westmoor will hold
U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying on May
14, two days
after U.S. Open local qualifying. The Country
Club at DC Ranch will hold U.S. Open and U.S.
Women’s Open
qualifying on May 12 and May 28, respectively.
Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach, Fla., will
host both U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Open
sectional
qualifying, on May 30 and June 2, respectively.
This will be the second time the club has
hosted U.S. Open
qualifying and the first time for the Women’s
Open.
Carolina Trace Country Club in Sanford, N.C.,
will host U.S. Women’s Open qualifying on its
Lake Course for
the sixth consecutive year. Three courses will
host sectional qualifying for the third time: Oak
Valley Golf
Club in Beaumont, Calif. (2011, 2013, 2014);
Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii
(2012-14); and The
Woodlands (Texas) Country Club’s Player
Course (2012-14). Waialae C.C. was a local
qualifying site in
2002, while The Woodlands C.C. hosted Anne
Sander’s 1989 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
victory.
As previously announced, international U.S.
Women’s Open sectional qualifying will be
conducted for the
first time. Qualifying will be conducted at four
sites, in the People’s Republic of China,
England, Japan and
the Republic of Korea on May 19.
Two U.S. Women’s Open champions have
reached the championship through the
qualifying process: Hilary
Lunke (2003) and Birdie Kim (2005). Lunke won
after advancing through local and sectional
qualifying, while
Kim competed in the sectional stage.
Considered the world’s premier women’s golf
championship, the U.S. Women’s Open is one
of 13 national
championships conducted annually by the
USGA. The Handicap Index limit was lowered
from 4.4 to 2.4 this
year due to the rapid growth of women’s
amateur golf. The championship was first
conducted in 1946 and
its winners include notable players such as
Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Betsy Rawls, Mickey
Wright, Hollis
Stacy, Amy Alcott, Meg Mallon, Annika
Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr,
Paula Creamer and
Inbee Park.
Sectional qualifying sites and dates are subject
to change. For the most up-to-date list, visit
www.usga.org/champs/apply.
2014 U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifying
Sites (24)
May 5
The Honors Golf Club Dallas, Carrollton,
Texas
May 12
Butler (Pa.) Country Club
Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
May 14
The Heritage at Westmoor, Westminster, Colo.
Oak Valley Golf Club, Beaumont, Calif.
May 19
Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Buckinghamshire,
England
CGA Nanshan International Training Centre
(Garden Course), Shandong, China
Higashi Nagoya Country Club, Aichi Prefecture,
Japan
Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Chungnam,
Korea
Dunwoody Country Club, Atlanta, Ga.
Half Moon Bay (Calif.) Golf Links (Old Course)
Hermitage Country Club, Manakin-Sabot, Va.
Indian Hill Club, Winnetka, Ill.
North Oaks (Minn.) Golf Club
May 20
Lake Forest Country Club, Lake St. Louis, Mo.
Rainier Golf & Country Club, Seattle, Wash.
The Woodlands (Texas) Country Club (Player
Course)
May 21
Rumson (N.J.) Country Club
May 27
Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms Resort
(Eisenhower Course), City of Industry, Calif.
Thorny Lea Golf Club, Brockton, Mass.
May 28
The Country Club at DC Ranch, Scottsdale,
Ariz.
The Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club,
Bradenton, Fla.
May 29
Carolina Trace Country Club (Lake Course),
Sanford, N.C.
May 30
Quail Valley Golf Club, Vero Beach, Fla.