The 10th edition of the Women’s Stroke Play Championship, the second major of the season, will be held from July 12-14 on the Player Course at The Woodlands Country Club in The Woodlands.
Founded in 1978, The Woodlands Country Club is a sprawling 99-hole facility set amid a verdant natural landscape located approximately 30 miles north of downtown Houston. The Player Course opened in 2002 and is a signature design by World Golf Hall of Famer Gary Player.
“We are thrilled to partner with The Woodlands Country Club and look forward to showcasing its exceptional facilities as host of this year’s Women’s Stroke Play,” said Justin Guthrie, TGA Tournament Director. “The Player Course has proven to be an elite championship venue and will serve as a great test for our players as they compete for this prestigious title.”
The courses at The Woodlands Country Club, as well as its extensive range of first-class amenities, are widely recognized among the finest in Texas. The Woodlands Country Club is a longtime member club of the TGA and has hosted a great many of its men’s and women’s competitions, most recently the 2016 Texas Pinehurst, won by Jewell Malick and Anna Schultz. The club is also well-known as the site for numerous professional events as well, including the PGA Tour’s Houston Open from 1985-2002, the LPGA Tour’s 2003 Samsung World Championship, and the PGA Tour Champions’ Insperity Invitational since 2008.
Framed by towering pine and oaks trees, the Player Course is the newest of the five courses at The Woodlands Country Club and is sure to present a stern challenge for the competitors. The par-72 layout, which has the flexibility to be set up from 6,200 yards to 6,500 yards from the middle set of combination tees, is noted for its distinctive mounding, deep greenside bunkers guarding crowned greens, and having water coming into play on more than half the holes.
“With its tighter playing corridors and heavily protected putting surfaces, the Player Course can be especially demanding,” Guthrie said. “The design is very straightforward, you can see what you need to do, you’ve just got to execute the shots at the right time. It’s a fantastic course with a lot of character and risk-reward features, and I think it is going to be an outstanding test for the players.”
The 54-hole stroke play competition gets underway with a practice round on Thursday, July 11, and championship rounds beginning on Friday, July 12, at 8:00 a.m. off both No. 1 and No. 10 tees. The top 30 players with the lowest World Handicap System Indexes® will compete in the Championship Flight, plus those players who opted into the Championship Flight at the time entries were submitted. The remaining players will compete in additional flights.
At the 2023 Women’s Stroke Play Championship, Megan Tang of Fort Worth won the title in a three-way playoff at Harbor Lakes Golf Club in Granbury. The University of Illinois Chicago senior made par on the first extra hole to beat defending champion Camryn Carreon of San Antonio and Mia Nixon of Martins Mill. The three players finished the regulation 54 holes tied at 2-under 214.
Nixon is the highest finisher from the 2023 championship returning this year and will head the 84-player starting field at The Woodlands Country Club. Joining Nixon are two other top-ten finishers from last year, Avery Blake of The Woodlands (T5) and Alise Knudson of Dallas (T5).
Other notable players competing that showcases the state’s remarkable depth of talent at all ages includes recent Texas Junior Amateur champions Kate Pickrell of Austin (2022) and Lauren Nguyen of Katy (2020), and Texas Golf Hall of Famer Mina Hardin of Fort Worth, the 3-time and reigning Women’s Senior Stroke Play champion.
For more on the 10th Women’s Stroke Play, click here.
