The Womens Amateur Championship
The Womens Amateur Championship, previously known as the British Ladies Amateur, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union (now merged into The R&A) of Great Britain. Until the dawn of the professional era in 1976, it was the most important golf tournament for women in Great Britain, and attracted players from continental Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. Along with the U.S. Women's Amateur, it is considered the highest honor in women's amateur golf.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | United Kingdom |
| Established | 1893 |
| Organized by | The R&A |
| Format | Stroke play and match play |
| Month played | June |
| Current champion | |
 | |
It is a match play tournament with 18 holes per match. The first tournament was played at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes in Lancashire, England and was won by Lady Margaret Scott, who also won the following two years; her feat of three straight titles remains the record, matched by Cecil Leitch and Enid Wilson. In 1927, Simone de la Chaume of France, who had won the 1924 British Girls Amateur Golf Championship, became the first golfer from outside the British Isles to win the Ladies Championship. The first competitor from the United States to win the title was Babe Zaharias in 1947.
The "Pam Barton Memorial Salver" is awarded to the winner to be held for one year, as the actual Championship Cup is held by the Ladies' Golf Union. The runner-up receives The Diana Fishwick Cup.
Winners
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
Multiple winners
Eighteen players have won more than one Womens Amateur Championship, through 2019:
- 4 wins: Cecil Leitch, Joyce Wethered
- 3 wins: Lady Margaret Scott, May Hezlet, Enid Wilson, Jessie Valentine, Brigitte Varangot
- 2 wins: Rhona Adair, Dorothy Campbell, Helen Holm, Pam Barton, Frances Stephens, Marley Spearman, Elizabeth Chadwick, Mickey Walker, Julie Wade Hall, Rebecca Hudson, Louise Stahle
Eleven players have won both the Womens Amateur and U.S. Women's Amateur Championships, through 2019:
- Dorothy Campbell:^ 1909, 1911 British; 1909, 1910, 1924 U.S.
- Gladys Ravenscroft: 1912 British; 1913 U.S.
- Pam Barton:^ 1936, 1939 British; 1936 U.S.
- Babe Zaharias: 1947 British; 1946 U.S.
- Louise Suggs: 1948 British; 1947 U.S.
- Marlene Stewart Streit: 1953 British; 1956 U.S.
- Barbara McIntire: 1960 British; 1959, 1964 U.S.
- Catherine Lacoste:^ 1969 British; 1969 U.S.
- Carol Semple Thompson: 1974 British; 1973 U.S.
- Anne Quast: 1980 British; 1958, 1961, 1963 U.S.
- Kelli Kuehne:^ 1996 British; 1996 U.S.
^ Won both in same year.
Host courses
The Women's Amateur Championship has been played at the following courses, listed in order of the most times they have hosted (as of 2019):
- 9 Royal County Down Golf Club, Royal Portrush Golf Club
- 6 Royal St David's Golf Club
- 5 Hunstanton Golf Club, Royal Troon Golf Club
- 4 Ganton Golf Club, Gullane Golf Club, Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, St Andrews Links
- 3 Burnham & Berrow Golf Club, Carnoustie Golf Links, Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, Royal St George's Golf Club, Turnberry Golf Club
- 2 Alwoodley Golf Club, Hillside Golf Club, Gleneagles, Littlestone Golf Club, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, Royal North Devon Golf Club, Saunton Golf Club, Silloth-on-Solway Golf Club, Walton Heath Golf Club
- 1 Aberdovey Golf Club, Ashburnham Golf Club, Broadstone Golf Club, Conwy Golf Club, Cruden Bay Golf Club, Dunbar Golf Club, Dundonald Links, Formby Golf Club, Great Yarmouth & Caister Golf Club, Ladybank Golf Club, Lindrick Golf Club, Little Aston Golf Club, Nairn Golf Club, Newport Golf Club, North Berwick West Links, Notts (Hollinwell) Golf Club, Portmarnock Golf Club, Pannal Golf Club, Portmarnock Golf Club, Portstewart Golf Club, Prestwick Golf Club, Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club, Royal Ascot Golf Club, Royal Cromer Golf Club, Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, Sunningdale Golf Club, West Sussex Golf Club, Woodhall Spa Golf Club
Future sites
- 2020 - Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club, Ayrshire.[1]
- 2021 - Hunstanton Golf Club, Norfolk.[2]
References
- "Venues announced for 2020 championships". The R&A. 25 July 2018.
- "The R&A announces 2021 Amateur Championship venues". Golf Today. 6 November 2019.