Arizona (AGA) Amateur Championship
PHOENIX (May 20, 2005) -- The 81st Arizona Amateur Championship, the state's oldest and most prestigious amateur golf tournament, conducted by the Arizona Golf Association, announces a date and site change. The tournament will now be hosted by Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa July 25 - 30, 2005 (new dates). The event was originally scheduled to be held at Desert Forest Golf Club July 18 - 23.
The change was made as Desert Forest was considering additional course work to be done this summer in anticipation of hosting the USGA Women's Mid-Amateur Championship.
The 156-player field features two days of stroke play competition with the top 64 advancing to match play format to determine the winner. Last year, Ben Kern of Tucson, then an incoming junior at Kansas State University, defeated Morgan Brown of Tucson 2&1 to win the Championship title. Kern's father Jeff, a two-time AGA Player of the Year, won the event in 1997.
Designed by the Scottsdale-based firm of Schmidt-Curley Design, Inc. and PGA Tour star Fred Couples, Southern Dunes offers a unique playing opportunity, designed to test players of all levels of expertise. From the tips, this dunes-style design offers even the scratch golfer a game demanding exacting shots from tee to green. Playing nearly 7500 yards from the tips, and almost 6500 from the forward tees, the Southern Dunes experience challenges with strategic bunker placement, generous landing areas (for the straight hitters) and multi-level greens.
The Arizona Amateur Championship is open to all amateur golfers who are members of the AGA. There are five qualifying tournaments held to determine the field that includes a number of players who are exempt from qualifying. The qualifying sites and dates are:
Yuma G&CC - June 4
Randolph North GC - June 27
Antelope Hills GC - June 28
Las Colinas GC - June 29
Bear Creek GC - June 30
Falcon Dunes GC - July 7
ABOUT THE Arizona Amateur
The event will play host to a maximum field size of 156
players for qualifying rounds, with the field cut to the
top 64 players for the match play championship, all
competing in one division. The event will consist of a
36-hole qualifier, followed by a 64-player match play
championship.
View Complete Tournament Information