# U.S. Women's Amateur

The U.S. Women's Amateur, also known as the United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship, is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA). Female amateurs from all nations are eligible to compete and there are no age restrictions. It was established in 1895, one month after the men's U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open. It is the third oldest USGA championship, over a half century older than the U.S. Women's Open, which was first played in 1946. Along with the British Ladies Amateur, the U.S. Women's Amateur is considered the highest honor in women's amateur golf.

## Robert Cox Cup

Since 1896 the Robert Cox Cup has been awarded annually by the USGA to the winner. The trophy was donated by Robert Cox of Edinburgh, Scotland, a member of the British Parliament and a golf course designer. It remains the oldest surviving trophy awarded for a USGA championship. Along with a gold medal, a replica of the 2-foot-high (0.61 m) silver case of Etruscan design is given to the tournament winner. The original trophy is on permanent display at the USGA Museum and Library. The Robert Cox Cup is the only USGA trophy donated by someone from another country.
The first tournament attracted a field of 13 and was played over 18 holes. As in the case of the men's U.S. Amateur, entry was originally restricted to members of USGA-affiliated private clubs (and, presumably, international players who were members of clubs affiliated with their nations' golf governing bodies); this policy remained in place until the 1979 tournament. Several thousand women now enter the event, and the USGA conducts sectional qualifying to reduce the number of contestants to a more manageable number. The main tournament opens with two rounds of stroke play. The leading 64 players then compete in a match play competition. The matches are played over 18 holes except for the final, which is played over 36 holes.
In 1956, Ann Gregory became the first African American to compete in the Championship, held that year at the Meridian Hills Country Club in Indianapolis.
There are no age restrictions on entry. Players must have a handicap index of 5.4 or less. Morgan Pressel qualified as a 13-year-old in 2001 and won in 2005 at the age of 17. The 2006 winner Kimberly Kim was only 14 years old, breaking the record previously held by Laura Baugh. In 2007, Pearl Jin and Alexis Thompson became the first 12-year-olds to qualify and the first to advance to match play. Jin and Thompson faced one another in the third round match play. Thompson beat Jin, but then lost in the quarterfinals.
Because the tournament is dominated by teenagers and college-age players who are working toward careers as tournament professionals, the USGA introduced a separate tournament in 1987 for players age 25 and over, called the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur. It gives older amateur players an opportunity to compete among themselves for a national title; entrants must have a handicap index of 9.4 or less.
The USGA rates Glenna Collett Vare as the most noteworthy champion who won the Robert Cox Cup a record six times. Several U.S. Women's Amateur champions who have gone on to become leading professionals including Patty Berg, Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs and Beth Daniel.
The two finalists win exemptions to the ensuing U.S. Women's Open, and the winner also wins exemptions to The Women's Open Championship and upon turning 50, the U.S. Senior Women's Open (one year exemption for players who eventually turned professional, and five years for players who did not turn professional).

## Winners

| Year | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 2024 | Southern Hills Country Club | Rianne Malixi | 3 & 2 | Asterisk Talley |
| 2023 | Bel-Air Country Club | Megan Schofill | 4 & 3 | Latanna Stone |
| 2022 | Chambers Bay | Saki Baba | 11 & 9 | Monet Chun |
| 2021 | Westchester Country Club | Jensen Castle | 2 & 1 | Hou Yu-chiang |
| 2020 | Woodmont Country Club | Rose Zhang | 38 holes | Gabriela Ruffels |
| 2019 | Old Waverly Golf Club | Gabriela Ruffels | 1 up | Albane Valenzuela |
| 2018 | Golf Club of Tennessee | Kristen Gillman (2) | 7 & 6 | Jeon Ji-won |
| 2017 | San Diego Country Club | Sophia Schubert | 6 & 5 | Albane Valenzuela |
| 2016 | Rolling Green Golf Club | Seong Eun-jeong | 1 up | Virginia Elena Carta |
| 2015 | Portland Golf Club | Hannah O'Sullivan | 3 & 2 | Sierra Brooks |
| 2014 | Nassau Country Club | Kristen Gillman | 2 up | Brooke Henderson |
| 2013 | Country Club of Charleston | Emma Talley | 2 & 1 | Yueer Cindy Feng |
| 2012 | The Country Club (Cleveland) | Lydia Ko | 3 & 1 | Jaye Marie Green |
| 2011 | Rhode Island Country Club | Danielle Kang (2) | 6 & 5 | Moriya Jutanugarn |
| 2010 | Charlotte Country Club | Danielle Kang | 2 & 1 | Jessica Korda |
| 2009 | Old Warson Country Club | Jennifer Song | 3 & 1 | Jennifer Johnson |
| 2008 | Eugene Country Club | Amanda Blumenherst | 2 & 1 | Azahara Muñoz |
| 2007 | Crooked Stick Golf Club | Mariajo Uribe | 1 up | Amanda Blumenherst |
| 2006 | Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club | Kimberly Kim | 1 up | Katharina Schallenberg |
| 2005 | Ansley Golf Club | Morgan Pressel | 9 & 8 | Maru Martinez |
| 2004 | The Kahkwa Club | Jane Park | 2 up | Amanda McCurdy |
| 2003 | Philadelphia Country Club | Virada Nirapathpongporn | 2 & 1 | Jane Park |
| 2002 | Sleepy Hollow Country Club | Becky Lucidi | 3 & 2 | Brandi Jackson |
| 2001 | Flint Hills National Golf Club | Meredith Duncan | 37 holes | Nicole Perrot |
| 2000 | Waverley Country Club | Marcy Newton | 8 & 7 | Laura Myerscough |
| 1999 | Biltmore Forest Country Club | Dorothy Delasin | 4 & 3 | Jimin Kang |
| 1998 | Barton Hills Country Club | Grace Park | 7 & 6 | Jenny Chuasiriporn |
| 1997 | Brae Burn Country Club | Silvia Cavalleri | 5 & 4 | Robin Burke |
| 1996 | Firethorn Golf Club | Kelli Kuehne (2) | 2 & 1 | Marisa Baena |
| 1995 | The Country Club | Kelli Kuehne | 4 & 3 | Anne-Marie Knight |
| 1994 | The Homestead | Wendy Ward | 2 up | Jill McGill |
| 1993 | San Diego Country Club | Jill McGill | 1 up | Sarah LeBrun Ingram |
| 1992 | Kemper Lakes Golf Club | Vicki Goetze (2) | 1 up | Annika Sörenstam |
| 1991 | Prairie Dunes Country Club | Amy Fruhwirth | 5 & 4 | Heidi Voorhees |
| 1990 | Canoe Brook Country Club | Pat Hurst | 37 holes | Stephanie Davis |
| 1989 | Pinehurst Resort | Vicki Goetze | 4 & 3 | Brandie Burton |
| 1988 | Minikahda Club | Pearl Sinn | 6 & 5 | Karen Noble |
| 1987 | Rhode Island Country Club | Kay Cockerill (2) | 3 & 2 | Tracy Kerdyk |
| 1986 | Pasatiempo Golf Club | Kay Cockerill | 9 & 7 | Kathleen McCarthy |
| 1985 | Fox Chapel Country Club | Michiko Hattori | 5 & 4 | Cheryl Stacy |
| 1984 | Broadmoor Golf Club, Seattle | Deb Richard | 37 holes | Kimberly Williams |
| 1983 | Canoe Brook Country Club | Joanne Pacillo | 2 & 1 | Sally Quinlan |
| 1982 | Broadmoor Golf Club | Juli Inkster (3) | 4 & 3 | Cathy Hanlon |
| 1981 | Waverley Country Club | Juli Inkster (2) | 1 up | Lindy Goggin |
| 1980 | Prairie Dunes Country Club | Juli Inkster | 2 up | Patti Rizzo |
| 1979 | Memphis Country Club | Carolyn Hill | 7 & 6 | Patty Sheehan |
| 1978 | Sunnybrook Golf Club | Cathy Sherk | 4 & 3 | Judith Oliver |
| 1977 | Cincinnati Country Club | Beth Daniel (2) | 3 & 1 | Cathy Sherk |
| 1976 | Del Paso Country Club | Donna Horton | 2 & 1 | Marianne Bretton |
| 1975 | Brae Burn Country Club | Beth Daniel | 3 & 2 | Donna Horton |
| 1974 | Broadmoor Golf Club, Seattle | Cynthia Hill | 5 & 4 | Carol Semple |
| 1973 | Montclair Golf Club | Carol Semple | 1 up | Anne Quast Sander |
| 1972 | St. Louis Country Club | Mary Budke | 5 & 4 | Cynthia Hill |
| 1971 | Atlanta Country Club | Laura Baugh | 1 up | Beth Barry |
| 1970 | Wee Burn Country Club | Martha Wilkinson | 3 & 2 | Cynthia Hill |
| 1969 | Las Colinas Country Club | Catherine Lacoste | 3 & 2 | Shelley Hamlin |
| 1968 | Birmingham Country Club | JoAnne Gunderson (5) | 5 & 4 | Anne Quast Welts |
| 1967 | Annandale Golf Club | Mary Lou Dill | 5 & 4 | Jean Ashley |
| 1966 | Sewickley Heights Golf Club | JoAnne Gunderson (4) | 41 holes | Marlene Stewart Streit |
| 1965 | Lakewood Country Club (Colorado) | Jean Ashley | 5 & 4 | Anne Quast Welts |
| 1964 | Prairie Dunes Country Club | Barbara McIntire (2) | 3 & 2 | JoAnne Gunderson |
| 1963 | Taconic Golf Club | Anne Quast Welts (3) | 2 & 1 | Peggy Conley |
| 1962 | Country Club of Rochester | JoAnne Gunderson (3) | 9 & 8 | Ann Baker |
| 1961 | Tacoma Country and Golf Club | Anne Quast Decker (2) | 14 & 13 | Phyllis Preuss |
| 1960 | Tulsa Country Club | JoAnne Gunderson (2) | 6 & 5 | Jean Ashley |
| 1959 | Congressional Country Club | Barbara McIntire | 4 & 3 | Joanne Goodwin |
| 1958 | Wee Burn Country Club | Anne Quast | 3 & 2 | Barbara Romack |
| 1957 | Del Paso Country Club | JoAnne Gunderson | 8 & 6 | Ann Casey Johnstone |
| 1956 | Meridian Hills Country Club | Marlene Stewart | 2 & 1 | JoAnne Gunderson |
| 1955 | Myers Park Country Club | Patricia Lesser | 7 & 6 | Jane Nelson |
| 1954 | Allegheny Country Club | Barbara Romack | 4 & 2 | Mickey Wright |
| 1953 | Rhode Island Country Club | Mary Lena Faulk | 3 & 2 | Polly Riley |
| 1952 | Waverley Country Club | Jackie Pung | 2 & 1 | Shirley McFedters |
| 1951 | Town & Country Club | Dorothy Kirby | 2 & 1 | Claire Doran |
| 1950 | East Lake Golf Club | Beverly Hanson | 6 & 4 | Mae Murray |
| 1949 | Merion Golf Club | Dorothy Germain Porter | 3 & 2 | Dot Kielty |
| 1948 | Pebble Beach Golf Links | Grace Lenczyk | 4 & 3 | Helen Sigel |
| 1947 | Franklin Hills Country Club | Louise Suggs | 2 up | Dorothy Kirby |
| 1946 | Southern Hills Country Club | Babe Zaharias | 11 & 9 | Clara Sherman |
| 1942–45: No championships due to World War II |||||
| 1941 | The Country Club | Betty Hicks Newell | 5 & 3 | Helen Sigel |
| 1940 | Pebble Beach Golf Links | Betty Jameson (2) | 6 & 5 | Jane S. Cothran |
| 1939 | Wee Burn Club | Betty Jameson | 3 & 2 | Dorothy Kirby |
| 1938 | Westmoreland Country Club | Patty Berg | 6 & 5 | Estelle Lawson Page |
| 1937 | Memphis Country Club | Estelle Lawson Page | 7 & 6 | Patty Berg |
| 1936 | Canoe Brook Country Club | Pam Barton | 4 & 3 | Maureen Orcutt |
| 1935 | Interlachen Country Club | Glenna Collett-Vare (6) | 3 & 2 | Patty Berg |
| 1934 | Whitemarsh Valley Country Club | Virginia Van Wie (3) | 2 & 1 | Dorothy Traung |
| 1933 | Exmoor Country Club | Virginia Van Wie (2) | 4 & 3 | Helen Hicks |
| 1932 | Salem Country Club | Virginia Van Wie | 10 & 8 | Glenna Collett Vare |
| 1931 | Country Club of Buffalo | Helen Hicks | 2 & 1 | Glenna Collett-Vare |
| 1930 | Los Angeles Country Club | Glenna Collett (5) | 6 & 5 | Virginia Van Wie |
| 1929 | Oakland Hills Country Club | Glenna Collett (4) | 4 & 3 | Leona Pressler |
| 1928 | The Homestead | Glenna Collett (3) | 13 & 12 | Virginia Van Wie |
| 1927 | Cherry Valley Club | Miriam Burns Horn | 5 & 4 | Maureen Orcutt |
| 1926 | Merion Golf Club | Helen Stetson | 3 & 1 | Elizabeth Goss |
| 1925 | St. Louis Country Club | Glenna Collett (2) | 9 & 8 | Alexa Stirling |
| 1924 | Rhode Island Country Club | Dorothy Campbell (3) | 7 & 6 | Mary Browne |
| 1923 | Westchester Country Club | Edith Cummings | 3 & 2 | Alexa Stirling |
| 1922 | The Greenbrier | Glenna Collett | 5 & 4 | Margaret Gavin |
| 1921 | Hollywood Golf Club | Marion Hollins | 5 & 4 | Alexa Stirling |
| 1920 | Mayfield Country Club | Alexa Stirling (3) | 5 & 4 | Dorothy Campbell |
| 1919 | Shawnee Country Club | Alexa Stirling (2) | 6 & 5 | Margaret Gavin |
| 1917–18: No championships due to World War I |||||
| 1916 | Belmont Springs Country Club | Alexa Stirling | 2 & 1 | Mildred Caverly |
| 1915 | Onwentsia Club | Florence Vanderbeck | 3 & 2 | Margaret Gavin |
| 1914 | Nassau Country Club | Katherine Harley (2) | 1 up | Elaine Rosenthal |
| 1913 | Wilmington Country Club | Gladys Ravenscroft | 2 up | Marion Hollins |
| 1912 | Essex County Country Club | Margaret Curtis (3) | 3 & 2 | Nonna Barlow |
| 1911 | Baltusrol Golf Club | Margaret Curtis (2) | 5 & 3 | Lillian B. Hyde |
| 1910 | Homewood Country Club | Dorothy Campbell (2) | 2 & 1 | Mrs. F. M. Martin |
| 1909 | Merion Golf Club | Dorothy Campbell | 3 & 2 | Nonna Barlow |
| 1908 | Chevy Chase Club | Katherine Harley | 6 & 5 | Mrs. T. H. Polhemus |
| 1907 | Midlothian Country Club | Margaret Curtis | 7 & 6 | Harriot Curtis |
| 1906 | Brae Burn Country Club | Harriot Curtis | 2 & 1 | Mary B. Adams |
| 1905 | Morris County Golf Club | Pauline Mackay | 1 up | Margaret Curtis |
| 1904 | Merion Golf Club | Georgianna Bishop | 5 & 3 | Mrs. E. F. Sanford |
| 1903 | Chicago Golf Club | Bessie Anthony | 7 & 6 | J. Anna Carpenter |
| 1902 | The Country Club | Genevieve Hecker (2) | 4 & 3 | Louisa A. Wells |
| 1901 | Baltusrol Golf Club | Genevieve Hecker | 5 & 3 | Lucy Herron |
| 1900 | Shinnecock Hills Golf Club | Frances C. Griscom | 6 & 5 | Margaret Curtis |
| 1899 | Philadelphia Country Club | Ruth Underhill | 2 & 1 | Margaret Fox |
| 1898 | Ardsley Club | Beatrix Hoyt (3) | 5 & 3 | Maude Wetmore |
| 1897 | Essex County Club | Beatrix Hoyt (2) | 5 & 4 | Nellie Sargent |
| 1896 | Morris County Golf Club | Beatrix Hoyt | 2 & 1 | Mrs. Arthur Turnure |
| 1895 | Meadow Brook Club | Lucy Barnes Brown | 132 | Nellie Sargent |

### Multiple winners

Nineteen players have won more than one U.S. Women's Amateur, through 2024:
* 6 wins: Glenna Collett-Vare
* 5 wins: JoAnne Gunderson Carner
* 3 wins: Beatrix Hoyt, Margaret Curtis, Dorothy Campbell, Alexa Stirling, Virginia Van Wie, Anne Quast, Juli Inkster
* 2 wins: Genevieve Hecker, Katherine Harley, Betty Jameson, Barbara McIntire, Beth Daniel, Kay Cockerill, Vicki Goetze, Kelli Kuehne, Danielle Kang, Kristen Gillman
Seven players have won both the U.S. Women's Amateur and Open Championships, through 2024:
* Patty Berg: 1938 Amateur; 1946 Open
* Betty Jameson: 1939, 1940 Amateurs; 1947 Open
* Babe Zaharias: 1946 Amateur; 1948, 1950, 1954 Opens
* Louise Suggs: 1947 Amateur; 1949, 1952 Opens
* Catherine Lacoste: 1969 Amateur; 1967 Open
* JoAnne Gunderson Carner: 1957, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1968 Amateurs; 1971, 1976 Opens
* Juli Inkster: 1980, 1981, 1982 Amateurs; 1999, 2002 Opens
Eleven players have won both the U.S. Women's and British Ladies Amateur Championships, through 2024:
* Dorothy Campbell:^ 1909, 1910, 1924 U.S.; 1909, 1911 British
* Gladys Ravenscroft: 1913 U.S.; 1912 British
* Pam Barton:^ 1936 U.S.; 1936, 1939 British
* Babe Zaharias: 1946 U.S.; 1947 British
* Louise Suggs: 1947 U.S.; 1948 British
* Marlene Stewart Streit: 1956 U.S.; 1953 British
* Barbara McIntire: 1959, 1964 U.S.; 1960 British
* Catherine Lacoste:^ 1969 U.S.; 1969 British
* Carol Semple Thompson: 1973 U.S.; 1974 British
* Anne Quast: 1958, 1961, 1963 U.S.; 1980 British
* Kelli Kuehne:^ 1996 U.S.; 1996 British
^ Won both in same year.

## Future sites

| Year | Edition | Course | Location | Dates | Previous championships hosted |
| 2025 | 125th | Bandon Dunes Golf Resort | Bandon, Oregon | August 4–10 | |
| 2026 | 126th | Honors Course | Ooltewah, Tennessee | August 3–9 | |
| 2027 | 127th | Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2 | Pinehurst, North Carolina | August 2–8 | 1989 |
| 2028 | 128th | Brae Burn Country Club | West Newton, Massachusetts | August 7–13 | 1906, 1975, 1997 |
| 2029 | 129th | Oakland Hills Country Club | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | August 6–12 | 1929 |
| 2030 | 130th | Olympic Club | San Francisco, California | August 5–11 | |
| 2031 | 131st | Baltimore Country Club, East Course at Five Farms | Baltimore, Maryland | August 4–10 | |
| 2032 | 132nd | Bandon Dunes Golf Resort | Bandon, Oregon | August 2–8 | 2025 |
| 2033 | 133rd | Erin Hills | Erin, Wisconsin | August 8–14 | |
| 2034 | 134th | The Country Club | Salt Lake City, Utah | August 7–13 | |
| 2035 | 135th | Atlanta Athletic Club | Johns Creek, Georgia | August 6–12 | |
| 2037 | 137th | Country Club of North Carolina | Pinehurst, North Carolina | TBD | |
Saucon Valley Country Club is slated to host in 2038. Canterbury Golf Club is slated to host in 2039. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is also slated to host in 2041. Pinehurst Resort is also slated to host in 2044. Oakmont Country Club is slated to host in 2046. Source