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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

Country Club of Charleston to Host World's Best in 2019

By USGA

| Dec 1, 2015

The Country Club of Charleston, a Seth Raynor design, has been providing golfers a challenging test since it opened for play in 1925. (USGA/Fred Vuich)

The United States Golf Association has selected the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, S.C., to host the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, to be conducted May 30-June 2.

This will be the second USGA championship conducted at the Country Club of Charleston. The club previously hosted the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, won by Emma Talley, 2 and 1, over Yueer Cindy Feng.

“We are thrilled to bring the 74th U.S. Women’s Open to the Country Club of Charleston after it served as such a superb venue for the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur,” said Diana Murphy, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “The U.S. Women’s Open is the most sought-after title in women’s golf, and we are confident the course will test the players thoroughly as they compete for the honor of hoisting the Harton S. Semple Trophy in 2019.”

Seth Raynor designed the course at the Country Club of Charleston, which opened in 1925. John LaFoy made revisions in 1990-1991 following Hurricane Hugo, with additional revisions from Brian Silva in 2007.

“The membership and staff of the Country Club of Charleston are honored to host the United States Golf Association again, this time for the U.S. Women's Open,” said Cordes Ford, club president. “Not only will this championship showcase our classic golf course to an international audience, it will bring the world's best female golfers, their families and supporters to our vibrant city and allow them to experience Charleston and all the hospitality our community has to offer."

The Country Club of Charleston has a storied tradition of hosting state and regional tournaments. It first hosted the Carolinas Amateur in 1911 and will serve as host site for the seventh time in 2016. The club has also hosted eight South Carolina Amateurs and four Women’s South Carolina Amateurs. Since 1946, the club has hosted the Azalea Invitational, which includes among its champions Dale Morey, Billy Joe Patton and Webb Simpson. Since the early 1950s, the club has hosted a junior event, now known as the Beth Daniel Junior Azalea Championship.

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Emma Talley won the 2013 U.S. Women's Amateur, the first USGA championship held at the Country Club of Charleston. (USGA/Chris Keane)

From 1933-1937, the club hosted the PGA Tour’s Charleston Open, which counted Walter Hagen and Henry Picard among its winners.

The club also boasts a membership rich in championship pedigree. Picard, a World Golf Hall of Fame member who won 27 PGA Tour events, including the 1938 Masters and 1939 PGA Championship, was a longtime member. Daniel, a Charleston native, learned the game at the club and went on to enjoy a career that included two U.S. Women’s Amateur titles, 33 LPGA Tour victories including the 1990 Women’s PGA Championship, and induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000. Other notable club members include Alberta (Bea) Bower, who claimed the 1975 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur; two-time PGA Tour winner and 2010 U.S. Open low amateur Russell Henley; and career amateurs Frank Ford Sr., and his grandson Frank Ford III, who between them won the Azalea Amateur 11 times. D.J. Trahan, the 2000 U.S. Amateur Public Links and 2002 Azalea Amateur champion, is an honorary member.

The 2019 U.S. Women’s Open will be the 18th USGA championship in South Carolina. Most recently, the Palmetto State hosted the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur at Colleton River Plantation Club in Bluffton, won by Philip Barbaree. In 2017, the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach will host the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship. The Dunes Club hosted the only other U.S. Women’s Open in South Carolina, Murle Lindstrom’s victory in 1962.

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. It is open to professional female golfers and amateur females with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4. The championship was first conducted in 1946 and its winners include Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Hollis Stacy, Amy Alcott, Meg Mallon, Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Inbee Park and Michelle Wie.

Upcoming U.S. Women’s Open Championships will be contested July 7-10, 2016, at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif.; July 13-16, 2017, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.; and May 31-June 3, 2018, at Shoal Creek in Alabama.

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