Monthly Archives: March 2025
Sunriver Resort selected to host four USGA Championships
LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. – The USGA announced today that Sunriver (Ore.) Resort will serve as the host site for four USGA championships, beginning with the 2027 and 2028 U.S. Adaptive Opens. The 2031 U.S. Mid-Amateur and 2036 U.S. Junior Amateur will also be conducted at the central Oregon facility.
“We are excited to return to Sunriver Resort and announce the next chapter for the U.S. Adaptive Open,” said Mark Hill, USGA managing director, Championships. “As we head into the 4th iteration this summer, we’re excited to build on the legacy this event has developed in just three years. We’re also very grateful to Sunriver for hosting the U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur and know the players in each of the championships will thoroughly enjoy the golf courses and hospitality.”
The 2027 U.S. Adaptive Open at Sunriver will be the third USGA championship conducted at the property. The resort previously hosted the 2002 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, won by Annie Thurman, and the 2007 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, won by Anna Shultz.
“We’re thrilled to have the USGA return to Sunriver Resort for multiple championships over the next 11 years,” said Josh Willis, VP of Operations at Sunriver Resort. “Set in a world-class setting, both the Meadows and Crosswater courses offer thrilling and challenging play that will make for dynamic championships. We look forward to welcoming these top competitors to our courses and resort.”
Regarded as a top scenic golf destination in America, Sunriver Resort features four golf courses – Meadows, Crosswater, Woodlands and Caldera Links. The Adaptive Open will be played on the Meadows Course, designed by John Fought, while the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur will be conducted on the Crosswater Course, with Meadows serving as the stroke play co-host. Crosswater was designed by Bob Cupp and is also recognized as an Audubon International Certified Cooperative Sanctuary.
Sunriver Resort has hosted a variety of elite competitions, including the 2005 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship and the 2006 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. The 63-hole facility also served as the site of the Oregon Open from 1982-1999 and hosted the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions in 2004, 2011 and 2015. From 2007-10, Sunriver served as the host of what was then the JELD WEN Tradition Champions Tour event, where Fred Funk won twice, both in 2008 and 2010.
The Oregon resort has also featured several PGA of America member championships, including the 50th PGA Professional Championship in 2017. In 2024, the resort hosted the Senior PGA Professional Championship along with the men’s PGA Cup against The PGA of Great Britain & Ireland and women’s PGA Cup against The PGA of Australia, Canada, Great Britain & Ireland and South Africa.
Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. will host the 2025 and 2026 U.S. Adaptive Open Championships. The first two editions in 2022 and 2023 were contested at Pinehurst No. 6 in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C., and in 2024 the championship was conducted at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kan.
Kipp Popert, 26, of England, and Bailey Bish, 24, of Tucson, Ariz., captured the men’s and women’s overall titles in the 3rd U.S. Adaptive Open. Popert, the defending champion who was born with cerebral palsy and competes in the coordination impairment category, posted a 54-hole total of 14-under-par 202. He became the first back-to-back champion in the nascent championship. Bish, who also competes in the coordination impairment category after being diagnosed with dystonia and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, posted 8-over 224 to edge 2022 champion Kim Moore by four strokes.
The U.S. Adaptive Open is open to both male and female professional and amateur golfers with a Handicap Index of 36.4 or less and an eligible impairment confirmed by a WR4GD Pass. The championship is contested over 54 holes of stroke play. Multiple sets of tees are utilized, and carts are permitted for all players and caddies.
In 2024, Trevor Gutschewski, of Omaha, Neb., defeated U.S. National Junior Team member Tyler Watts, of Huntsville, Ala., 4 and 3, in the 36-hole final of the U.S. Junior Amateur at historic Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course), in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. The championship begins with a 264-player field that competes in two rounds of stroke play, resulting in the low 64 scorers advancing to match play. The Junior Amateur is open to any amateur golfer who has not reached their 19th birthday by completion of the championship and whose Handicap Index also does not exceed 2.4. The winner receives an exemption into the following year’s U.S. Open, along with the same year’s U.S. Amateur, the following year’s U.S. Amateur and exemption from qualifying from future U.S. Junior Amateur championships. The 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur will be contested at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas, from July 21-26.
Evan Beck, 34, of Virginia Beach, Va., claimed the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur championship with an impressive 9-and-8 victory over 36-year-old Bobby Massa, of Dallas, Texas, in the 36-hole final at Kinloch Golf Club, in Manakin-Sabot, Va., avenging his championship-match loss a year earlier to Stewart Hagestad at Sleepy Hollow Country Club. The U.S. Mid-Amateur also begins with a 264-player field with the low 64 advancing to match play, and the championship is open to any amateur golfer aged 25 and older and whose Handicap Index does not exceed 2.4. The winner of the U.S. Mid-Amateur receives an exemption into the following year’s U.S. Open, exemptions from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Mid-Amateurs and two U.S. Amateurs and a likely invitation to the following year’s Masters Tournament. The 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur will be contested at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., from Sept. 13-18.
40 USGA championships have been conducted in the state of Oregon, most recently the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Waverley Country Club in Portland. The Beaver State is slated to host ten USGA championships over the next decade, along with the 2028 Walker Cup Match.
Upcoming USGA championships in Oregon
2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur, Aug. 4-10 (Bandon Dunes)
2026 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, Sept. 26-Oct. 1 (Portland Golf Club)
2027 U.S. Adaptive Open, July 5-7 (Sunriver Resort)
2028 U.S. Adaptive Open, July 3-5 (Sunriver Resort)
2031 U.S. Mid-Amateur, Sept. 6-11 (Sunriver Resort)
2032 U.S. Women’s Amateur, Aug. 2-8 (Bandon Dunes)
2032 U.S. Amateur, Aug. 9-15 (Bandon Dunes)
2034 U.S. Senior Amateur, Aug. 26-31 (Portland Golf Club)
2035 U.S. Girls’ Junior, July 16-21 (Bandon Dunes)
2036 U.S. Junior Amateur, July 21-26 (Sunriver Resort)
2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, The Chevron Championship Partner to Create Texas Major Passport
FRISCO, Texas, and THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and The Chevron Championship announced the two women’s major championships are partnering to create the Texas Major Passport ticket package, a unique opportunity for golf enthusiasts to purchase tickets to attend both The Chevron Championship and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2025.
The Texas Major Passport celebrates an unprecedented three-month stretch of major championship golf in Texas, as the Lone Star State will host two major championships in the same year for the first time in history. Adding to the milestone, this year marks the debut of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.
“We are thrilled to partner with The Chevron Championship to introduce the Texas Major Passport, offering spectators a unique opportunity to experience two of the most prestigious events in women’s golf, all within the same year and state,” said 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Director Jason Mengel. “This collaboration provides ticket purchasers with the rare opportunity to witness the best women players in the world compete for a Major title twice over a three-month span.”
Priced at $286, the Texas Major Passport provides access to all four days of competition at both major championships. This is the only way to guarantee spectator attendance at both events.
“The launch of the Texas Major Passport underscores this year’s historic significance for women’s golf,” said Glenn Weckerlin, Executive Director of The Chevron Championship. “At The Chevron Championship, we look forward to welcoming some of the world’s top players to The Woodlands, and we are proud to partner with the PGA of America to offer fans the opportunity to be part of this exceptional stretch of golf in Texas.”
The Chevron Championship, the first of five annual women’s golf majors, will be played April 24-27, 2025, at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. Since 1983, The Chevron Championship has been the first major event of the LPGA Tour calendar, with a grand history of setting the stage for an incredible competitive season. Some of the best players in the world have recently captured the Dinah Shore Trophy, including defending champion Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko, Lydia Ko, Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson.
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the second-oldest women’s Major Championship, will be contested June 19-22, 2025, on Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco. The Championship showcases the best female players in the world, including 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Champion Amy Yang, competing on a world-class course for their place in golf history.
Only three players in history have won The Chevron Championship and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in the same year – Pat Bradley (1986), Annika Sörenstam (2005) and Inbee Park (2013).
Pine Valley Golf Club to Host 2044 Walker Cup Match
LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. – This past weekend at the United States Golf Association’s Annual Meeting, the USGA announced the following championship updates:
- Pine Valley Golf Club will host the 2044 Walker Cup Match
- Stu Francis named USA Captain, 2025 Men’s World Amateur Team Championship
- Kendra Graham named USA Captain, 2025 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship
- Meghan Stasi named 2026 USA Curtis Cup Captain
The venerable Pine Valley Golf Club, in Pine Hill, N.J., will host its fourth USGA championship, having previously hosted the 1936 and 1985 Walker Cup Matches. The renowned venue will also host the 2034 Curtis Cup Match.
“We are committed to bringing our championships to the finest golf courses in the country,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer. “To have Pine Valley as the host site of this prestigious event will not only produce memorable competition but also reinforce the stature of amateur golf worldwide.”
Pine Valley, which began construction in 1913 and was completed in 1922, was designed by George Arthur Crump, who died in 1918. For his one and only design, Crump consulted experienced architects such as Harry Colt, A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross, Hugh Wilson, George C. Thomas Jr. and Walter Travis to conceptualize the course, which from the beginning has been widely considered some of the greatest golf course architecture in America.
Captained by Francis Ouimet, the USA Team won the 1936 Walker Cup Match at Pine Valley in dominant fashion, blanking their Great Britain & Ireland opponents, 9-0. The USA claimed the 1985 Match by a narrow 13-11 margin, with a team featuring playing captain Jay Sigel and future PGA Tour winners Davis Love III, Scott Verplank and Duffy Waldorf.
The 50th Match will be played later this year at the Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, Calif., on Sept. 6-7. The Match is a 10-man amateur team competition contested over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes (alternate-shot) matches. The USA leads the overall series that began in 1922, 39-9-1, but it has been tremendously competitive over the last three decades, with the USA holding just an 11-7 advantage since 1989.
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Past USGA President Stu Francis and recently retired USGA Executive Committee member Kendra Graham will lead the men’s and women’s USA Teams, respectively, for the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore.
“Stu and Kendra are exceptional leaders, and we are honored to have them lead our teams in Singapore,” said Kevin Hammer, chair of the USGA’s Championship Committee. “The World Amateur Team Championships are a worldwide tribute to this great game, and I’m confident that Stu, Kendra and their players will proudly represent the USGA and our country.”
Francis, of Hillsborough, Calif., served as the 66th president of the USGA from 2020-2023. Prior to his presidency, he spent eight years on the USGA Executive Committee. An accomplished amateur golfer, Francis competed in three U.S. Amateur Championships, two NCAA championships and three Canadian National Amateur championships. While earning his B.A. at Princeton University, he was co-captain of the varsity golf team, selected first team All-Ivy League and was named to the Division I NCAA All-American golf team.
“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to represent your country, and I am thrilled to have been named captain of the 2025 USA Men’s World Amateur Team,” said Francis. “I look forward to an exciting championship with our team of three outstanding amateurs competing against the best from around the world.”
Graham, of Vero Beach, Fla., retired from the Executive Committee in 2024 after serving for six years. Previously, she was a member of the USGA staff, working in Rules and Competitions from 1987-2003. Graham grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Wake Forest University, where she was a member of and served as captain of the school’s golf team. She has competed in three USGA championships. Kendra follows in the footsteps of her late mother, Ann, who captained the victorious 1994 USA Women’s World Amateur Team in France and competed in 14 USGA championships, including five U.S. Women’s Opens.
“It is a tremendous honor to serve as captain for the USA Women’s Team, and I look forward to leading these young women in Singapore as we compete for the gold,” said Graham. “I’ve had the privilege of watching women’s amateur golf grow for many years, and with the strength of the game right now, captaining this team will certainly be a highlight of my career.”
The 2023 championships were played at Abu Dhabi Golf Club (National Course) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Republic of Korea won the Espirito Santo Trophy for the fifth time, edging Chinese Taipei by four strokes. In the men’s championship, the USA Team claimed its 16th Eisenhower Trophy, finishing 11 strokes ahead of the silver-medal winning Australian and Norwegian sides.
