A popular refrain heard by many U.S. Golf Association champions has to do with venue. Where a champion becomes a champion is a critical part of his or her story.
In October, a female mid-amateur will become forever linked to Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Dunes Course in this way. The modern classic gem in Pebble Beach is set to host the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur on Oct. 4-9.
Karen Garcia (above), a native of Cool who won the 2015 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Hillwood Country Club in Nashville, Tenn., knows the bond between host course and player firsthand. Having played MPCC a few times before, Garcia also knows this opportunity will be particularly special.
“You always remember that course, vividly and with great love, regardless of the course it is,” said Garcia, 62, of a USGA champion’s winning venue. “But to say that you won on such a tough course as Monterey Peninsula will be something for those mid-am players.”
The Dunes Course, originally designed by Seth Raynor, underwent a 2016 renovation by Tom Fazio and associates Tim Jackson and David Kahn. The scenic layout begins in the Monterey pines then, after the opening stretch, turns toward the coast with several holes draped along the Pacific Ocean.
“It’s a magical dichotomy of these interior holes and then the coastal ocean holes with our signature hole (No. 14) being the only hole on the west side of 17-Mile Drive,” said J.J. West, General Manager of MPCC.
One of the most distinct aspects of the Dunes Course, West notes, is its pure Bentgrass greens – a rarity even among the most notable courses on the peninsula. Dunes Course greens play firm and fast, especially under tournament conditions, which will add a layer of intrigue to the Women’s Mid-Amateur.
MPCC hosted the 1952 U.S. Girls’ Junior, won by Mickey Wright (left), the 1958 U.S. Senior Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateurs in 1968 and 1976. It has been a recurring host for the California Junior Girls’ State Championship and hosted the California Amateur three times since 2007. In 2024, it hosted the California Senior Amateur.
The Dunes Course is capable of producing volatile match-play scenarios.
“The green complexes, some of the risk-reward shots, some of the more enticing pin locations and how you can set the golf course up will lead to a very spectacular match-play venue – both rewarding, accomplishing those risk/reward shots and obviously on the flip side, pay the price if you don’t,” West said.
Kay Cockerill, on-course commentator for NBC/Golf Channel and an NCGA Hall of Famer, competed in the California Girls’ Junior at Monterey Peninsula in the early 1980s. She has fond memories of playing a prestigious golf course in an event elevated by Helen Lengfeld, a pioneering figure in Northern California women’s golf.
Cockerill doesn’t feel any differently about MPCC now and recently competed in the club’s member-pro tournament. It’s one of those places, Cockerill says, that you never say no if you receive an invitation to play. She has particularly vivid memories of No. 14 on the Dunes Course. It’s the quintessential ocean hole – a par-3 right on the edge of the rugged coastline with waves crashing.
“If you push your shot, you’re in the ocean,” she said. “The tee box is right there by 17-Mile Drive. Cars pull over and people get out or people are walking, and they stop and watch you tee off.”
The U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur is one of three USGA championships coming to NorCal in 2025 and to natives like Cockerill, that’s a big deal. She reiterates the idea that venue is everything for a USGA championship, and that Monterey Peninsula resonates.
“When I heard that they were hosting the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am, I was like, that’s great,” she said. “We want to keep seeing the women’s championship keep going to little gems and big gems in the golf world.”
Catherine Kim, 27, compares the Women’s Mid-Am at Monterey Peninsula to the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links – a tournament she attended in person just three years after becoming hooked on golf during COVID quarantines.
“I thought that was super exciting and the fact that the women’s game was being elevated where the women were playing on the same course that the PGA guys play on every year,” she said. “MPCC being the venue for the Women’s Mid-Amateur, it kind of feels like that again.”
Kim, who lives in Palo Alto, won the 2023 NCGA Women’s Mid-Amateur and is rapidly rising in the game. When she first became eligible for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur that same year, she forgot to sign up for qualifying. She did qualify in 2024 and this year, with Monterey Peninsula as the venue, the date to sign up for qualifying is not only circled on her calendar, she can tell you the day and venue of the qualifier she intends to play.
“I think the finals being held at MPCC is such a good motivator to continue working hard this year to get the opportunity to play there,” she said.
A shot at competing at MPCC is motivating for many competitors, even those outside of California. Jennie Noonan, a Monterey Peninsula member and the host committee general chair for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, attended last year’s U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Mass. Players in the field whom she had never met were drawn to her because of the club logo on her clothing, with many saying they were hoping to secure an exemption with their play that week.
“We want to make this an extraordinarily memorable championship,” Noonan said. “Just being on that golf course, on that ocean, is going to make it super memorable.”
The local community and NCGA members will have an opportunity to participate as volunteers, Noonan notes. To Garcia, the hosting effort – which encompasses both manpower and financial resources – is a big part of what makes the championship so special.
“For Monterey Peninsula to choose to do it for a Women’s Mid-Am, to me, is near and dear to my heart,” she said. “I think Northern California is putting some great effort into supporting women’s golf.”