USGA

Quick Facts: Senior Women's
Amateur Championship

1999 USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship
September 14-19,1999
at Desert Mountain Club
Scottsdale, Ariz.

PAR AND YARDAGE - Desert Mountain Club will play at 5,760 yards and a par of 36-36-72.

THE COURSE - Golf course architect Jack Nicklaus designed the layout, which opened in 1988.

ADMISSION - The public is invited to attend the championship. Both admission and parking are free of charge.

DEFENDING CHAMPION - Gayle Borthwick, 54, of Canada, defeated Ireland's Valerie Hassett, 4 and 3, to win the 1998 USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship on the par-72, 5,791yard Green Course of the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.

Borthwick became the first player to win this championship in both stroke and match play. She won the championship in 1996 (stroke play) and 1998(match play). The format changed to match play in 1997.

"I love match play," she said. "I think it brings out a different side of you. You have to come up with extraordinary shots," stated Borthwick, a retired teacher from suburban Toronto.

USGA ON THE WEB - Log on to the USGA internet site at www.usga.org for the latest and most complete U.S. Senior Women's Amateur Championship information.

WHO CAN ENTER- Open to female amateur golfers who will have reached their 50th birthday on or before Sept. 14, 1999, and have USGA Handicap Indexes not exceeding 12.4. Entries closed August 4,1999.

STARTING FIELD - The starting field will consist of 132 players. Entries are accepted from the applicants with the lowest Handicap Index. Later, vacancies in the field are offered to alternates in the order of Handicap Index.

HOMETOWN PLAYERS - There are six players in the field from Arizona. They are: Alice Adams of Green Valley, Betsy Bro and Shirley Webb of Scottsdale, Cindy Carroll of Carefree, Kay Daley of Sierra Vista, and Etsu Suzuki of Tucson.

SCHEDULE - Practice rounds will be held Saturday, September 11 through Monday, September 13. Championship play will be conducted Tuesday, September 14 through Sunday, September 19.

FORMAT - The first two days of the Championship, September 14-15, are conducted at stroke play. After 36 holes, the field is reduced to the 64 lowest scorers who will advance to match play. All matches are 18 holes. In the event of a tied match, the winner will be decided immediately by a hole-by-hole playoff.

FOR THE WINNER - Each year the champion: 1)takes possession of the Senior Women's Amateur Championship trophy 2) receives a place in future USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championships 3) An exemption from Sectional Qualifying for the next U.S. Women's Amateur Championship 4) An exemption from Sectional Qualifying for the next three U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championships, if otherwise eligible 5) An exemption from the Sectional Qualifying for the next U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, if otherwise eligible.

THE USGA AND ARIZONA - The United States Golf Association has conducted 11 championships in the state of Arizona. The last time a USGA Championship was contested in Arizona was in 1997 with the Women's State Team (Kierland GC, Scottsdale) and the Men's State Team (SunRidge Canyon, Fountain Hills). Tucson C.C. in Tucson, Ariz., hosted the Senior Women's Amateur in 1992.

HOLE-BY-HOLE SET UP - Desert Mountain Club Cochise Course Holes 1-9: No.1, 279-yard, par 4; No.2, 154-yard, par 3; No.3, 372-yard, par 4; No.4, 438-yard, par 5; No.5, 361-yard, par 4; No.6, 295-yard, par 4; No. 7, 146-yard, par 3; No. 8, 496-yard, par 5; No. 9, 351-yard, par 4. Holes 10-18: No. 10, 317-yard, par 4; No. 11, 125-yard, par 3; No.12, 462-yard, par 5; No. 13, 140-yard, par 3; No.14, 380-yard, par 4; No.15, 458-yard, par 5; No. 16, 357-yard, par 4; No.17, 163-yard, par 3; No. 18, 445-yard, par 5.

HISTORY OF CHAMPIONSHIP- The USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship dates to 1962. The first championship took place at the Manufacturer's Golf and Country Club in Oreland, Pennsylvania. In its 36th year of competition, The USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship has 21 different winners and nine multiple winners (Maureen Orcutt '62,'66; Loma Smith '64, '65; Carolyn Cudone '68,'69,'70,'71,'72; Alice Dye '78,'79; Dorothy Porter '77,'80,'81,'83; Constance Guthrie '84,'86; Marlene Streit '85,'94; Anne Sander '89,'90,'93; Gayle Borthwick '96,'98).

The event became match play in 1997 and was the last of the 10 national amateur championships to adopt a match-play format. With a win, Gayle Borthwick could become the first three-time winner since Anne Sander accomplished the feat in 1993.

2000 USGA SENIOR WOMEN'S AMATEUR - The USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship will be conducted at the Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island, Ga. from September 14-19, 2000.

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