The United States Golf Association (USGA) has announced sectional qualifying sites for the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, to be contested June 19-22 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2 in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.
Sectional qualifying, conducted over 36 holes, will be held at 20 sites across the United States and four international sites between May 5 and May 30. Player applications are now available online. The entry deadline is 5 p.m. EDT on April 30. The championship is open to female professionals, and female amateur golfers with a Handicap Index/Factor not exceeding 2.4.
“Sectional qualifying is a crucial part of bringing this most democratic of championships to the world’s elite players,” said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and chairman of the Championship Committee. “With the cooperation of our partners, both domestic and international, we look forward to welcoming the best players from across the globe to Pinehurst.”
Industry Hills Golf Club, near Los Angeles, has held U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying annually since 2010. Its Eisenhower Course was a local qualifying site in 2009 (the final year of local qualifying, which was conducted from 2002-09), and it hosted sectional qualifying in 1980 and 1982. The Eisenhower Course will also serve as a U.S. Open local qualifying site on May 6.
In addition to Industry Hills, The Heritage at Westmoor, in Westminster, Colo., and The Country Club at DC Ranch, in Scottsdale, Ariz., will host both U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying and U.S. Open local qualifying. The Heritage at Westmoor will hold U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying on May 14, two days after U.S. Open local qualifying. The Country Club at DC Ranch will hold U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open qualifying on May 12 and May 28, respectively.
Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach, Fla., will host both U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Open sectional qualifying, on May 30 and June 2, respectively. This will be the second time the club has hosted U.S. Open qualifying and the first time for the Women’s Open.
Carolina Trace Country Club in Sanford, N.C., will host U.S. Women’s Open qualifying on its Lake Course for the sixth consecutive year. Three courses will host sectional qualifying for the third time: Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif. (2011, 2013, 2014); Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii (2012-14); and The Woodlands (Texas) Country Club’s Player Course (2012-14). Waialae C.C. was a local qualifying site in 2002, while The Woodlands C.C. hosted Anne Sander’s 1989 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur victory.
As previously announced, international U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying will be conducted for the first time. Qualifying will be conducted at four sites, in the People’s Republic of China, England, Japan and the Republic of Korea on May 19.
Two U.S. Women’s Open champions have reached the championship through the qualifying process: Hilary Lunke (2003) and Birdie Kim (2005). Lunke won after advancing through local and sectional qualifying, while Kim competed in the sectional stage.