Maridoe Golf Club, in Carrollton, Texas, has been chosen by the USGA as the host site of the 7th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship. The championship is scheduled for April 24-28, 2021.
“We are thrilled to continue the legacy of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball at Maridoe Golf Club next year,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director, Championships. “The course will provide a true test for our field, and players, volunteers and fans will be welcomed by the hospitality we’ve become accustomed to during USGA championships in Texas.”
Designed by architect Steve Smyers, Maridoe will be hosting its first USGA championship. The club has hosted several state championships, including the TGA Texas Shootout, the TGA Texas Mid-Amateur Championship and the TGA Four-Ball Championship, as well as the Trans-Mississippi Amateur Championship. This year Maridoe will host the 114th Southern Amateur Championship, the inaugural Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in partnership with Golf Channel and the inaugural East-West Matches.
“Maridoe Golf Club is honored to host its first USGA championship,” said Albert D. Huddleston, founder and managing member of Maridoe Golf Club. “We’re thrilled to continue Texas’ long history with the USGA. On behalf of our membership and the surrounding community, we look forward to showcasing our course to some of the best amateur golfers in the world.”
The 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball will be the 32nd USGA championship conducted in the Lone Star State. The 31st will be the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, which will take place at Champions Golf Club in Houston from June 4-7, 2020.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship is open to two-player sides (or teams) of female amateurs with individual Handicap Indexes® not exceeding 14.4. There are no age restrictions and partners are not required to be from the same club, state or country. Entries for the 2021 championship will open in May 2020.
The championship begins with 18-hole qualifying, which commences the previous August and is conducted by Allied Golf Associations on behalf of the USGA. A total of 64 sides advance to the national championship through qualifying or exemptions. Each player plays their own ball throughout the round, and the side’s score is the lower score of the partners for each hole. After 36 holes of stroke play, the field is reduced to the low 32 sides for the championship’s match-play bracket, from which the champion is determined.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball was contested for the first time in 2015 and won by Mika Liu and Rinko Mitsunaga, who prevailed at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore. In 2019, the side of Erica Shepherd, of Greenwood, Ind., and Megan Furtney, of St. Charles, Ill., defeated Floridians Jillian Bourdage and Casey Weidenfeld, 2 and 1, at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla.
The 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship will be played at Quail Creek Country Club in Naples, Fla., from April 25-29. Qualifying began in August 2019 and will continue through March 2020. For more information, visit mediacenter.usga.org.
