USGA

1999 U.S. Girls' Junior
Championship Preview

1999 U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
August 2-7, 1999
Green Spring Valley Hunt Club, Owings Mills, Md.

VENUE - The golf course at Green Spring Valley Hunt Club was completed in 1914. It was designed and built by Ben Read and Robert Barker Harrison and, then, redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Nine new holes, designed by the R.T. Jones Sr, were added in 1958.

TICKETS - Admission for all six days of the championship is FREE of charge.

PAR AND YARDAGE - Green Spring Valley Hunt Club will be set up at 6,180 yards and par 35-37 - 72.

HISTORY - First played in 1949, the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship will be conducted for the 51st time in 1999.

SCHEDULE - Practice rounds will be held Saturday, July 31, and Sunday, Aug. 1. The championship proper will be conducted Monday, Aug. 2-Saturday, Aug. 7. Following two days of stroke play (Monday, Aug. 2 and Tuesday, Aug. 3), the field of 156 golfers will be reduced to the lowest 64 scorers, who will advance to match play. The 18-hole, match-play final is scheduled for Saturday (Aug. 7) at 9 a.m.

DEFENDING CHAMPION - Leigh Anne Hardin of Martinsville, Ind. defeated Brittany Straza of Fort Myers, Fla., 2 up. The all-Hoosier State golfer and basketballer will be making her fifth appearance at the U.S. Girls' Junior. Hardin concentrated her efforts on golf and bypassed basketball this winter.

1998 RE-CAP - Leigh Anne Hardin, an all-Indiana performer in golf and basketball, was extended to the 18th hole for the first time in the final against Brittany Straza. Hardin won her first five matches comfortably and then worked her way through a back-and-forth battle that stood at all square after 16 holes. She won the 17th and 18th holes with pars on each. "I lost 17 and 18 because of poor putting," said Straza. "By then, my stroke had left me. That and the nerves were not very good."

WWW.USGA.ORG - Log onto the USGA Internet (www.usga.org) for the latest U.S. Girls' Junior information during the championship.

CAN I PLAY? - The U.S. Girls' Junior Championship is open to female amateur golfers who will not have reached their 18th birthday on or before Aug. 7, 1999, and who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 18.4.

ENTRIES - The USGA received 666 entries for the 1999 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, the first time since 1996 that numbers were not larger than the year before. Sectional qualifying was first conducted for this championship in 1996, and since then, entries have experienced a sharp increase. The 1995 championship, last without qualifying, attracted 267 entries. The following year, 618 entries were accepted. With the 1998 record of 813, entries for the U.S. Girls' Junior had increased more than 300% in the last three years.

EXEMPT PLAYERS - Ten players were fully exempt from sectional qualifying for the 1999 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship. They are: 1998 champion Leigh Anne Hardin of Martinsville, Ind., Nancy Abiecunas of Fort Collins, Colo., Jeanne Cho of Orlando, Fla., Ina Kim of Encino, Calif., Candie Kung of Fountain Valley, Calif., Deb Means of Burnsville, Minn., Lorena Ochoa Reyes of Guadalajara, Mexico, Tai Perry of Kennett Square, Pa., Kelly Robb of Concord, Mass., and Kristin Thompson of Napa, Calif.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING - One hundred forty-six golfers survived sectional qualifying to gain berths in the 1999 championship field. Eighteen-hole qualifying was conducted at 30 sites in 28 states from June 28-July 9.

MARYLAND AND THE USGA - Entering the 1999 championship season, Maryland had served as host to 17 USGA championships. The Girls' Junior has been to Maryland one previous time - in 1959 at Manor Country Club in Rockville. The Baltimore area has been host to six USGA championships, the most recent being the 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur, which was conducted at Caves Valley Country Club also in Owings Mills. It will host the U.S. Senior Open in 2002.

MULTIPLE VICTORIES - Because of the age limitations on the competitors in the Girls' Junior Championship, it is unusual for a player to win the championship more than once. However, the feat has been accomplished several times. Judy Eller was the championship's first repeat winner, with titles in 1957 and 1958. In 1970, Hollis Stacy matched Eller with her second consecutive win. The next year, she became the first (and only player to date) to win three championships in a row. Nancy Lopez was the last player to capture multiple titles, with wins in 1972 and 1974. In fact, since Lopez' second win, no player has even reached the final match more than once.

GIRLS' JUNIOR SPRINGBOARD - In the first 51 U.S. Girls' Junior championships, an impressive list of ladies have won the title. And many of them have gone onto quite successful careers in the professional ranks. Former champions who have played professionally include: Brandie Burton, Marlene Bauer, Mickey Wright, JoAnne Carner, Janis Ferraris, three-time winner Hollis Stacy, Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott, Penny Hammell, Laurie Rinker, the late Heather Farr, Kim Saiki, Dana Lofland, Pat Hurst, Michelle McGann, Sandrine Mendiburu, Emilee Klein and Kelli Kuehne.

GIRLS' JUNIOR AND USGA SUCCESS: Girls' Junior winners have continued their successes in other USGA championships. Four (Amy Alcott, JoAnne Carner, Hollis Stacy and Mickey Wright) have gone on to win the U.S. Women's Open title.

HOME COURSE OF WINNERS: Three-time U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champion Sara LeBrun Ingram learned to play at Green Spring Valley Hunt Club under the tutelage of current professional Curtis Mabrey. LeBrun Ingram, who now lives in Nashville, Tenn. won the Mid-Amateur in 1991, 1993 and 1994, and also was a member of the 1992, 1994 and 1996 Curtis Cup squads. Jess Sweetser, the 1922 U.S. Amateur champion, who also played on the 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1928 and 1932 Walker Cup squads, was a long-time club member at GVHC. Roland MacKenzie, another fine amateur player, was a member of the 1926, 1928 and 1930 Walker Cup squads. His son, Clark MacKenzie - an excellent player in his own right, serves as the general chair of this year's Girls' Junior championship

THE WINNER RECEIVES - The champion receives a gold medal and custody of the Glenna Collett Vare Trophy for the ensuing year. With other players finishing in the top 16, the champion automatically qualifies for the 2000 championship, if otherwise eligible. She also receives an exemption from sectional qualifying for the next two U.S. Women's Amateur championships and the next U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, if otherwise eligible.

FUTURE GIRLS' JUNIORS - The U.S. Girls' Junior will be conducted at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore., July 31-Aug. 5, 2000.

HOLE BY HOLE - Holes 1-9; No. 1, 183-yard, par 3; No. 2, 355-yard, par 4; No. 3, 384-yard, par 4; No. 4, 379-yard, par 4; No. 5, 153-yard, par 3; No. 6, 497-yard, par 5; No. 7, 364-yard, par 4; No. 8, 347-yard, par 4; No. 9, 358-yard, par 4. 3,020 yards and par 35

Holes 10-18. No. 10, 311-yard, par 4; No. 11, 391-yard, par 4; No 12, 352-yard, par 4; No. 13, 381-yard, par 4; No. 14, 284-yard, par 4; No. 15, 341-yard, par 4; No. 16, 439-yard, par 5; No. 17, 524-yard, par 5; No. 18, 137-yard, par 3. 3,160 yards and par 37. Total: 6,180 yards and par 72.