Tournament information | |
---|---|
Location | England |
Established | 1912 |
Organised by | England Golf |
Format | Match play |
Current champion | |
Katie Stephens |
The English Women's Amateur Championship is the women's national amateur match play golf championship of England. It was first played in 1912 and is currently organised by England Golf.
The English Women's Amateur Championship is contested through two phases. It begins with a 36-hole stroke play competition, with the leading 32 competitors progressing to the knock-out match play competition. All matches in the knock-out phase are played over 18 holes except the final, which is played over 36 holes.
It is a close event, entry being restricted to women born in England, or with one parent or grandparent born in England, or resident in England for five years (two years if under 18).
Joyce Wethered has been the most successful player, winning the event five times in succession from 1920 to 1924.
The event was initially organised by the National County Golf Alliance, an organisation formed in 1911, separate from the Ladies Golf Union, with the intention of running county and national events.The first English Ladies Championship was held at Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich in April 1912. 32 players qualified for the match-play stage, after an 18-hole stroke-play round. [1] The final was over 18 holes and was won by Margaret Gardner who beat Beryl Cautley at the 20th hole. Gardner had been 5 up with 5 holes to play, but lost them all and the match went to extra holes. [2] The second event was held in April 1913 at Notts Golf Club and was won by Winifred Brown by one hole, the final being extended to 36 holes. [3]
In 1914, the Ladies Golf Union wanted to organise their own English Ladies Championship and a dispute arose with the National County Golf Alliance, leading to possibility of there being two competing events. However, the Alliance was disbanded in early 1914 and the Ladies Golf Union organised the event at Walton Heath Golf Club in June. [4] The event continued to be restricted to English golfers, using the same format as in 1913. [5] Cecil Leitch beat Gladys Bastin 2&1 in the final. [6]
The Ladies Golf Union continued to run the event until the English Women's Golf Association was founded in 1952. The English Women's Golf Association merged with the English Golf Union in 2011. The English Golf Union was later renamed England Golf.
From 2012 to 2018 the event was run as a 72-hole stroke-play event. It returned to match-play in 2019 with an 18-hole final. Since 2020 the event has been played concurrently with the men's event. From 2020 the final has been played over 36 holes, although the 2023 final was reduced to 18 holes by bad weather.
Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Katie Stephens | 2 up | Shivani Karthikeyan | Seaton Carew | [7] |
2023 | Ellen Yates | 20 holes | Rebecca Earl | Ferndown | [8] |
2022 | Abbie Teasdale | 1 up | Davina Xanh | Lindrick | [9] |
2021 | Kirsten Rudgeley | 37 holes | Isobel Wardle | Moortown | [10] |
2020 | Emily Price | 4 & 3 | Lily May Humphreys | Woodhall Spa | [11] |
2019 | Ellen Hume | 19 holes | Lily May Humphreys | Saunton | [12] |
Year | Winner | Score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Venue | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Georgina Blackman | 280 | 1 stroke | Annabell Fuller Sophie Lamb | Wilmslow | [13] |
2017 | Lily May Humphreys | 289 | 2 strokes | Emma Allen India Clyburn | Lindrick | [14] |
2016 | Samantha Giles | 295 | 1 stroke | Elizabeth Prior | West Lancs | [15] |
2015 | Bronte Law | 275 | 16 strokes | Rochelle Morris Elizabeth Prior | Hunstanton | [16] |
2014 | Bronte Law | 291 | 3 strokes | Inci Mehmet | St Enodoc | [17] |
2013 | Sarah-Jane Boyd | 290 | 2 strokes | Alexandra Peters | King's Norton | [18] |
2012 | Kelly Tidy | 304 | Playoff | Georgia Hall | Royal Birkdale | [19] |
Source: [88]
The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of the professional era in 1976, it was the most important golf tournament for women in Great Britain, and attracted players from continental Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. Along with the U.S. Women's Amateur, it is considered the highest honour in women's amateur golf.
Barbara Amy Bridget Jackson is an English amateur golfer. She won the 1954 Girls Amateur Championship, the 1956 English Women's Amateur Championship and the 1967 Canadian Women's Amateur. She played in three Curtis Cup matches, 1958, 1964 and 1968.
Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship was founded in 1969 by the Ladies' Golf Union of Great Britain.
The Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship is the national women's amateur stroke play golf championship in Scotland. It has been played annually at Royal Troon since 1973 and is organised by the Scottish Golf.
The Scottish Women’s Amateur Championship is the women's national amateur match play golf championship of Scotland. It was first played in 1903 and is currently organised by Scottish Golf.
The Irish Women's Amateur Close Championship is the women's national amateur match play golf championship of Ireland. It was first played in 1894 and is currently organised by Golf Ireland.
Jeanne Mary Bisgood was an English amateur golfer. She won the English Women's Amateur Championship three times, in 1951, 1953 and 1957 and played in the Curtis Cup three times, in 1950, 1952 and 1954.
The Welsh Ladies' Amateur Championship is the women's national amateur match play golf championship of Wales. It was first played in 1905 and is currently organised by Wales Golf.
Wanda Morgan was a leading English golfer of the 1930s. She won the Womens Amateur Championship in 1935, having been a runner-up in 1931. She also won the English Women's Amateur Championship three times, in 1931, 1936 and 1937. She played three times for Britain in the Curtis Cup, in 1932, 1934 and 1936 and for England in the Women's Home Internationals between 1931 and 1953. In early 1938 she took a paid position at Dunlop which resulted in the loss of her amateur status. She was reinstated as an amateur in 1949 but lost her amateur status again in 1954.
Marley Joan Spearman She won the British Ladies Amateur in 1961 and 1962 and the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1964. She was in three Curtis Cup teams, in 1960, 1962 and 1964.
Ann Leslie Irvin is an English amateur golfer. She won the British Ladies Amateur in 1973 and the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1967 and 1974. She was in four Curtis Cup teams, in 1962, 1968, 1970 and 1976.
Dinah Lillianne Henson was an English amateur golfer. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship in 1970. She played in the Curtis Cup four times, in 1968, 1970, 1972 and 1976.
Elizabeth M. Chadwick was an English amateur golfer. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship in 1966 and 1967. She played in the Curtis Cup in 1966.
Julia A. Greenhalgh was an English amateur golfer. She was runner-up in the 1978 Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 1974 and 1975 and the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1966 and 1979. She played in the Curtis Cup five times, in 1964, 1970, 1974, 1976 and 1978.
Angela, Lady Bonallack was an English amateur golfer. She was twice a finalist in the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship and won the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1958 and 1963. She played in six successive Curtis Cup matches from 1956 to 1966. She was married to Michael Bonallack.
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Ruth Porter was an English amateur golfer. She had a successful junior career which included winning the 1956 Girls Amateur Championship and the 1958 British Girls' Stroke-play Championship. She won the English Women's Amateur Championship three times between 1959 and 1965, and played in the Curtis Cup in 1960, 1962 and 1964.
Sally Barber is an English amateur golfer. She won the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1978 and was twice a runner-up. She won the German women's championship in 1958 and played in the 1962 Curtis Cup. She is the sister of Michael Bonallack.
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