The United States Golf Association (USGA) Tuesday announced that The Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC), in Pinehurst, will be the host site for two upcoming USGA championships: the 2030 U.S. Senior Amateur and the 2037 U.S. Women’s Amateur. These will be the fourth and fifth USGA championships held at the club.
“We very much look forward to continuing our relationship with The Country Club of North Carolina, which has been a great partner of ours for more than 40 years,” said Mark Hill, USGA managing director, Championships. “We know the community will support these events, the course will challenge the best amateur players in the world, and the club and its members will provide a world-class experience.”
Opened in 1963 with the first 18 holes (now the Dogwood Course) designed by Ellis Maples and Willard Byrd, CCNC began hosting prominent championships right away, starting with the 1965 North Carolina Amateur. The 2030 Senior Amateur will fall exactly 50 years after the club hosted its first USGA championship, the 1980 U.S. Amateur. Hal Sutton prevailed at CCNC by defeating Bob Lewis Jr., 9 and 8, in the championship match to cap off a remarkable summer in which he claimed the Western Amateur, the North and South Amateur at nearby Pinehurst Resort & Country Club and the Northeast Amateur.
In 2010, Doris Chen defeated Katelyn Dambaugh, 3 and 2, to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior, and most recently, Nick Dunlap captured the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur title, defeating Cohen Trolio, 3 and 2, in the championship’s 36-hole final.
Along with the three USGA championships, CCNC’s history includes several other prominent competitions, with notable champions including Jack Nicklaus (U.S. Professional Match Play), Ben Crenshaw (Southern Amateur), Tom Kite (National Father-Son Invitational), Scott Hoch (North Carolina Amateur) and Webb Simpson (Southern Amateur).
The facility, which includes 36 holes of golf over 2,000 acres, is known for its stunning lakes and rolling hills. In 2016, architect Kris Spence oversaw a renovation to the Dogwood Course that included a move to bermudagrass greens and Zeon zoysiagrass fairways.
The Cardinal Course began as a third nine designed by Willard Byrd in 1970 and was later joined by an additional nine designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. that debuted in 1981. A renovation and integration of the two nines was completed by Arthur Hills in 2001.
“The Country Club of North Carolina is honored to continue our long-standing relationship with the USGA as the host of these two prestigious amateur championships,” said Mark Reinemann, club president. “CCNC has a deep and documented commitment to the amateur game, and we pride ourselves on creating a memorable experience for all competitors. We are excited to join an elite group of clubs to have hosted five separate USGA amateur championships and look forward to welcoming two new players into the group of great champions at CCNC.”
The state of North Carolina recently hosted its 37th USGA championship with the 2nd U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in July. Upcoming championships in the Tar Heel state include the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, the 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur at Biltmore Forest Country Club in Asheville and the 2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, among others.
The U.S. Senior Amateur is open to amateur golfers who have reached age 55 on or before the start of the championship who have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 7.4. The championship features 36 holes of stroke play before the field is cut to the low 64 scorers for match play. Upcoming U.S. Senior Amateur Championships will be contested Aug. 26-31, 2023, at Martis Camp Club in Truckee, Calif.; and Aug. 24-29, 2024, at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur marks the beginning of women’s competitive golf in the United States, having been founded in 1895, the same year as the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open. It is open to female amateur golfers with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 5.4, and it boasts champions such as Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Juli Inkster, Lydia Ko, Danielle Kang and Rose Zhang. The U.S. Women’s Amateur champion earns an exemption into the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open.
The 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur will be held at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif., from Aug. 7-13; the 2024 championship will be hosted by Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.; and the 2025 championship will take place at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.
Feature photo: 17th hole of the Dogwood Course at CCNC. Photo by Russell Kirk/USGA.
Contributed.
