The road to the 72nd U.S. Women’s Open Championship will commence with 25 sectional qualifiers, 21 of which will be conducted in the United States.
Sectional qualifying, conducted over 36 holes, begins on May 22 at three sites and concludes on June 12 at six sites. For the fourth consecutive year, sectional qualifying is scheduled at four international sites: Buckinghamshire Golf Club in England (June 5), Lan Hai International Golf Club in the People’s Republic of China (June 5), Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in the Republic of Korea (June 12) and Hino Golf Club in Japan (May 22).
The championship, which will be held at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., July 13-16, is open to female professionals, and female amateurs with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4. Online player registration opened on March 8 and entries close at 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 17. This will be the seventh U.S. Women’s Open to be contested in New Jersey, and the first since 1987 at Plainfield Country Club in Edison.
Industry Hills Golf Club, near Los Angeles, will host Women’s Open sectional qualifying for the ninth consecutive year on May 30. The club was also a sectional site in 1980 and 1982. Additionally, Industry Hills’ Eisenhower Course is scheduled to host U.S. Open local qualifying for the 10th consecutive year in June.
Four past USGA championship sites will host 2017 U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying: Riverdale Golf Course, in Brighton, Colo., on May 24; Hidden Creek Golf Club, in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., and Lake Merced Golf Club, in Daly City, Calif., both on June 5; and The Woodlands (Texas) Country Club on June 6.
Lake Merced, site of the 1990 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior championships, is hosting sectional qualifying for the eighth time. Riverdale Golf Course and Hidden Creek Golf Club will be sectional qualifying sites for the second time. Riverdale hosted the 1993 U.S. Amateur Public Links and Hidden Creek hosted the 2015 U.S. Senior Amateur. The Woodlands Country Club, site of the 1989 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, is hosting sectional qualifying for the sixth consecutive year on its Player Course.
Two U.S. Women’s Open champions have reached the championship through sectional qualifying: Hilary Lunke (2003) and Birdie Kim (2005). Lunke won after advancing through local and sectional qualifying, while Kim competed in the sectional stage.
The grandest stage in women’s golf, the U.S. Women’s Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. The championship was first contested in 1946 and its winners include Betsy Rawls (1951, ’53, ’57, ’60), Mickey Wright (1958, ’59, ’61, ’64), Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1948, ’50, ’54), Susie Maxwell Berning (1968, ’72, ’73), Hollis Stacy (1977, ’78, ’84), Annika Sorenstam (1995, ’96, 2006), Juli Inkster (1999, 2002), Karrie Webb (2000, ’01), Inbee Park (2008, ’13), Paula Creamer (2010), Cristie Kerr (2007) and Michelle Wie (2014).
U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifying Sites (25)
Monday, May 22 (3)
Butler (Pa.) Country Club
The Country Club at DC Ranch, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Hino Golf Club, Shinga Prefecture, Japan
Wednesday, May 24 (1)
Riverdale Golf Course (Dunes Course), Brighton, Colo.
Sunday, May 28 (1)
Poipu Bay Golf Course, Koloa, Hawaii
Tuesday, May 30 (2)
Diamond Oaks Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas
Industry Hills Golf Club (Eisenhower Course), City of Industry, Calif.
Wednesday, May 31 (1)
Legends Club, Prior Lake, Minn.
Friday, June 2 (1)
BallenIsles Country Club (East Course), Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Monday, June 5 (6)
Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Buckinghamshire, England
Hidden Creek Golf Club, Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
Lake Merced Golf Club, Daly City, Calif.
Lan Hai International Golf Club, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
The Legends at Chateau Elan, Braselton, Ga.
Oak Valley Golf Club, Beaumont, Calif.
Tuesday, June 6 (1)
South Shore Country Club, Hingham, Mass.
Wednesday, June 7 (2)
Bogey Hills Country Club, St. Louis, Mo.
The Woodlands (Texas) Country Club (Player Course)
Friday, June 9 (1)
Sugar Mill Country Club, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
Monday, June 12 (6)
Bradenton (Fla.) Country Club
Governors Club, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Muskegon (Mich.) Country Club
OGA Golf Course, Woodburn, Ore.
Prestwick Country Club, Frankfort, Ill.
Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Cheonan, Republic of Korea
