Far Hills, N.J. (Nov. 1) – Biltmore Forest Country Club in Asheville, N.C., has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the site of the 2013 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. The dates of the championship are Oct. 5-10.
Biltmore Forest, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains adjacent to George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate, was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1922. Brian Sylva oversaw extensive renovations in 1994 to restore Biltmore Forest to the original Ross design.
The club previously hosted the 1999 U.S. Women’s Amateur, won by Dorothy Delasin. In addition, Biltmore Forest hosted the 1925 and 1949 Southern Amateurs and its own Biltmore Invitational, a premier amateur event that was contested from 1922-64 and included champions such as Harvie Ward, Charlie Harrison, Billy Joe Patton and P.J. Boatwright. Professional tournaments at Biltmore Forest included the Land of the Sky Open, which was won by Ben Hogan three consecutive times.
Today, the club conducts the Jess Sweetser Memorial Tournament, which honors the longtime member and resident who won the 1922 U.S. Amateur and 1926 British Amateur and represented the USA at six Walker Cup Matches. Two-time U.S. Open champion Cary Middlecoff was also a longtime member at the club. Current Biltmore Forest members include 1995 USGA Senior Amateur champion Jim Stahl and two-time USA Curtis Cup Team member Brenda Corrie Kuehn.
“The long and storied golf history at Biltmore Forest Country Club lends itself to the tradition and legend of USGA championship golf,” said Bill Brazil, club president of Biltmore Forest. “As we were in 1999 when we hosted the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, we are honored and privileged to host the 2013 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.”
The U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, which was first conducted in 1987, is a national championship for female golfers 25 years of age and older who hold USGA Handicap Indexes of not higher than 7.4.
Prior to 2013, the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur will be played at Bayville Golf Club in Virginia Beach, Va., from Sept. 17-22, 2011, and at Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas, from Oct. 6-11, 2012.
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 (bmurrison@usga.org)
Web Address: www.usga.org
USGA Phone: (908) 234-2300
