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CHAMPIONSHIPS

Atlanta Athletic Club to Host 3 USGA Amateur Championships

By Jonathan Coe, USGA

| Apr 26, 2022 | Liberty Corner, N.J.

Three future USGA amateur championships are headed to historic Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga. (USGA/Russell Kirk)

The Atlanta Athletic Club, in Johns Creek, Ga., has been chosen by the USGA as the host site for three future amateur championships: the 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior, 2030 U.S. Amateur and 2035 U.S. Women’s Amateur championships. The club has previously hosted six USGA championships. 
 
“We are thrilled to return to Atlanta Athletic Club to conduct these three USGA championships,” said Mark Hill, USGA senior managing director, Championships. “The USGA is looking forward to continuing our strong relationship with this famed club, which has been home to so many memorable USGA championships and legendary champions.” 
 
These will be the seventh, eighth and ninth USGA championships held at Atlanta Athletic Club, including the 1976 U.S. Open, captured by Jerry Pate with a dramatic 5-iron shot on the 72nd hole. The club also hosted the 2014 U.S. Amateur (won by Gunn Yang), the 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur (won by Charlie Beljan), the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open (won by Betsy King), and the 1984 U.S. Mid-Amateur (won by Michael Podolak). The club was also the host of the 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur (won by Beverly Hanson) on its original course, which is now known as East Lake Golf Club. 
 
Atlanta Athletic Club has also hosted the 1963 Ryder Cup, three PGA Championships (1981, 2001 and 2011) and most recently, the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, won by Nelly Korda. In 2023, the club will celebrate its 125th anniversary. 
 
“Atlanta Athletic Club is proud to continue its tradition of hosting national championships,” said Kevin Costello, club president. “Building on our enduring relationship with the USGA, it’s an honor to showcase our golf courses to the world and play host to these prestigious championships that truly embody the spirit of the amateur game and support the next generation of golfers.” 
 
Located 25 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, the Atlanta Athletic Club is a private 36-hole club founded in 1898 and the home club of four USGA champions: nine-time champion Bob Jones, three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Alexa Stirling, and U.S. Women’s Amateur champions Dot Kirby and Martha Kirouac.  
 
The club’s Highlands Course and Riverside Course were designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., with Joe Finger assisting on the Highlands Course. Rees Jones redesigned both courses, completing his work on the Riverside Course in 2003 and the Highlands Course in 2016. The Riverside Course is currently being renovated under the guidance of Tripp Davis, work that is scheduled to be completed by the end of this summer. 
 
The U.S. Girls’ Junior will be contested at the club July 14-19, 2025. The USGA will name a competition course at a later date. First conducted in 1949, the U.S. Girls’ Junior is open to female amateurs who have not turned 19 on or before the final day of the championship and have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 9.4. U.S. Girls’ Junior champions earn an exemption into the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open. Notable champions include Mickey Wright, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Hollis Stacy, Nancy Lopez, Inbee Park, Lexi Thompson and Ariya Jutanugarn. 
 
Atlanta Athletic Club will host its second U.S. Amateur Aug. 12-18, 2030, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Bob Jones’ completion of the “Grand Slam” (victories in the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Open and British Amateur). Jones was a past president and an active member of Atlanta Athletic Club until his death in 1971. 
 
One of the USGA’s three original championships, the U.S. Amateur is open to amateur golfers who have a Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4. A field of 312 golfers will play two 18-hole rounds of stroke play on each of the Highlands and Riverside courses before the championship is cut to 64 players for match play on the Highlands Course. The championship is decided by a 36-hole final, and the champion and runner-up are invited to the following year’s U.S. Open Championship. 
 
The U.S. Women’s Amateur will be held on the Highlands Course from Aug. 6-12, 2035. It is also one of the USGA’s first three championships, having debuted in 1895 along with the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open, marking the beginning of women’s competitive golf in this country. The U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and runner-up receive exemptions into the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open.