Far Hills, N.J. (April 15, 2010) – Hershey (Pa.) Country Club has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the site of the 2012 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. The dates of the championship are Sept. 8-13.
The championship will be played on Hershey’s West Course, which was designed by Maurice McCarthy and opened in 1930. Revisions were made in 1959 and again in 1985. The course’s signature hole is the par-3 fifth, which features Milton S. Hershey’s former home, High Point, as its backdrop. High Point served as the clubhouse for the golf course from 1930 to 1970.
This will be the first national championship conducted at the club. In 1940, Hershey Country Club hosted the PGA Championship, which was won by Byron Nelson. The course also served as the host site of the Hershey Open from 1933 to 1937 and again in 1939 and 1941 and the LPGA Tour’s Lady Keystone Open from 1978 to 1994. In addition, Hershey Country Club has hosted 16 Pennsylvania Opens.
Two Hall of Famers served as golf professionals at Hershey Country Club. Henry Picard, who won the 1938 Masters and 1939 PGA Championship, was the professional at Hershey from 1934 to 1941. Picard was succeeded by Ben Hogan, who won four U.S. Open titles among his nine major victories. Hogan, who won the final Hershey Open in 1941, served as the club’s professional until 1951.
“It’s an honor to host the 2012 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship,” said Ted Kleisner, CEO of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. “Pairing the history of Hershey Country Club with the history of this event will make for a memorable championship.”
First contested in 1962, the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur is the national championship for female amateurs age 50 and older. Prior to 2012, the championship will be contested at Fiddlesticks Country Club in Fort Myers, Fla., from Oct. 9-14, 2010, and at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., from Sept. 10-15, 2011.
About the USGA
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in the USA and Mexico. The USGA annually conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open and 10 national amateur championships. It also conducts two state team championships and helps conduct the Walker Cup Match, Curtis Cup Match and World Amateur Team Championships.
The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, provides expert course maintenance consultations, maintains a Handicap System® and celebrates the history of the game. Since 1983, the USGA Turfgrass and Environmental Research Program has awarded more than $31 million to more than 400 research projects for better turf and a better environment at universities across the country. The USGA also funds an ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program, which has allocated more than $65 million over 13 years to programs that bring the game’s values to youths from disadvantaged backgrounds and people with disabilities.
For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.
Contact:
Beth Murrison
Manager, Championship Communications
908-234-2300 x1485
bmurrison@usga.org