Country Club of Charleston to Host 2013 U.S. Women's Amateur


The Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina has been selected by the United States Golf Association to host the 2013 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. The dates of the championship are August 5-11.

The Country Club of Charleston was designed by Seth Raynor and opened in 1925. Revisions were made to the course by John LaFoy in 1990-91, following Hurricane Hugo, and additional revisions were made by Brian Silva in 2007.

The club has a rich history serving as a host site for state and regional tournaments, starting with the 1911 Carolinas Amateur, won by C.C. Allen. The course has hosted the Carolinas Amateur a total of six times, most recently in 2009, won by Jack Fields. The C.C. of Charleston has also hosted eight South Carolina Amateurs, with the first in 1929 (won by W.C. Hale), and the most recent in 1999 (won by future U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover).

From 1933 to 1937, the club hosted the PGA Tour's Charleston Open, which counted Walter Hagen and Henry Picard among its winners. Since 1946, the club has hosted the Azalea Amateur, which counts among its champions Frank Ford Sr. and Frank Ford III, Dale Morey, Billy Joe Patton and Webb Simpson. Since the early 1950s, the course has served as the host site for a junior event, now known as the Beth Daniel Championship. In addition, the Women's South Carolina Amateur has been contested at the C.C. of Charleston four times, first in 1949 and most recently in 1998.

Picard, a World Golf Hall of Fame member who won 27 PGA Tour events, including the 1938 Masters Tournament and the 1939 PGA Championship, was a longtime member of the Country Club of Charleston.

Other notable members of the club include Alberta (Bea) Bower, who claimed the 1975 USGA Senior Women's Amateur, two-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion and Hall of Famer Beth Daniel, and outstanding amateurs Frank Ford Sr., and his grandson Frank Ford III, who between them won 11 Azalea Amateurs and numerous state and regional titles. D.J. Trahan, the 2000 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion and the 2002 Azalea Amateur winner, is an honorary member of the club.

"The Country Club of Charleston is delighted, honored and humbled to be hosting the 2013 U.S. Women's Amateur," said club president David Humphreys. "We will do everything in our power to make sure the championship is a success."

The U.S. Women's Amateur Championship was first played in 1895 and is one of the USGA's three oldest championships, along with the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open. It is open to female amateur golfers with a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 5.4. The 2011 U.S. Women's Amateur is currently underway at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington, R.I. The 2012 championship will be played at The Country Club in Cleveland, Ohio, from August 6-12, and Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, N.Y., will host the 2014 U.S. Women's Amateur from August 11-17.

For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.