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Women’s amateur golf in this part of the country is about to get even stronger.
The Texas Golf Association recently partnered with the Women’s Southern Golf Association in an effort to bolster the competitiveness of both entities. Starting Jan. 1, 2020, the TGA will oversee operations for the Women’s Southern Golf Association (WSGA), one of the oldest and most prestigious women’s amateur golf associations in the nation.
The TGA will conduct the Women’s Southern Amateur Championship, Women’s Southern Mid-Amateur Championship and Women’s Southern Senior Amateur Championship as part of a two-year contract.
“Being involved with the TGA affords us an opportunity to partner with an organization whose core competency is tournament administration,” WSGA President Donna Meyer said. “The TGA is one of the elite golf associations in the United States, and we are honored to be able to partner with them. We look forward to growing the game and promoting our brands together.”
First conducted in 1911, the highly regarded Women’s Southern Amateur is one of the country’s longest-running women’s golf championships. Mrs. Roger Smith of Nashville captured the inaugural title at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Over the next century, some of golf’s greatest players have added their names to the WSGA Championship Trophy. LPGA Tour professionals and Major Champions Lexi Thompson and Stacy Lewis are among the list of great players to win the Women’s Southern Amateur. Sierra Brooks of Florida, Lucy Nunn of Oklahoma, Hally Leadbetter of Florida, as well as Texans Robin Burke of Houston and two-time defending champion Calynne Rosholt of Cedar Park are just a few of the top amateurs to recently claim the title.
The 34th Women’s Southern Senior Amateur Championship concludes the 2019 WSGA season at Craft Farms Golf Resort’s Creek Course in Gulf Shores, Ala., on Nov. 5-7. Scheduled for 54-holes of individual stroke play, the 112-player field will compete for the Katherine Graham Senior Trophy. Notable past champions include longtime TGA veteran competitors Anna Schultz, Carolyn Creekmore, Kelly Nittoli and Mina Hardin. Three of those stalwarts – Schultz, Creekmore and Hardin – also are USGA national champions.
TGA Executive Director Stacy Dennis and TGA Director of Women’s Operations Amy Worthington will oversee the day-to-day operations of the WSGA, including the administration of the association’s three championships. The partnership begins with the 2020 Women’s Southern Amateur and 2020 Women’s Southern Mid-Amateur. Both championships will be held concurrently from June 1-5 at The Falls Club of the Palm Beaches in Lake Worth, Fla.
The 2020 Women’s Southern Senior Amateur is scheduled for Oct. 27-29 at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss.
“The TGA is thrilled to be involved with the Women’s Southern Golf Association,” Dennis said. “Texas and the WSGA share multiple past champions, current players and a deep commitment to impacting women’s golf. It is an honor and extremely natural fit to work together. We are excited to find new ways to collaborate to grow women’s golf and expand championship experiences for women in the South.”
Founded as an association in 1910, the WSGA promotes the game of golf among women in the southern states. The association is governed by a Board of Directors who conduct three annual championships and raise funds for college scholarships for graduating high school senior girls. The WSGA is comprised of golf clubs located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and District of Columbia.
“The primary objectives of the WSGA are to attract elite fields in all three of our championships and to be a tournament of choice among competitive amateur women golfers,” Meyer said. “Given the advances in the industry, we feel we will be better served by having someone with the caliber of the TGA to help with our administration.”
For more information on the Women’s Southern Golf Association, click here.
