MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The New Jersey State Golf Association is headed to Montclair Golf Club for the Inaugural Women’s Open Championship, which will be contested on the second and third nines from June 21-22.
Founded in 1893, Montclair Golf Club has been a long staple of New Jersey golf history. The club was one of the six founding clubs of the NJSGA, making it one of the oldest golf clubs in the Garden State. All four nine’s made by 1928 were designed by a culmination of architects in Tom Bendelow, Donald Ross, and Charles Banks. Over the years, the designs of the courses have been reworked along with an 18-million-dollar renovation project in 2019 that included upgrades across the entire property.
Montclair Golf Club has hosted seven New Jersey Open Championships in the past, the most recent being in 2018, when Marc Issler of Toms River Golf Center claimed the C.W. Badenhausen Champions Trophy.
The club is best known for its green shapes and contours, vast fairways and bunker depths. Director of Golf Tim Bolton alluded to the distinctiveness of the course.
“Unique to Montclair Golf Club are the four nines. The inaugural Women’s Open is going to be hosted on nines two and three, which was originally designed by Donald Ross and recently restored by Brian Schneider of Renaissance Golf. He did an amazing job on those two nines. We’re very excited and proud to showcase those holes to the players.”
Montclair Golf Club is making history by hosting New Jersey’s first Women’s Open, which only adds to the excitement around the event.
“We’re a very welcoming and diverse club,” expressed Bolton. “We’re trying to look to the future, so it’s very exciting for us to be a part of this inaugural event. We are also very proud that we can be a small part of growing the game with the New Jersey State Golf Association because it’s who we are as a club, welcoming to all golfers.”
Overall, Montclair Golf Club has hosted 56 NJSGA championships, with nine of them being women’s events. This will be one of their more notable events to date as the club is breaking new ground with a new women’s championship.
5 Things to Know about the Inaugural New Jersey Women’s Open
- New Jersey joins 12 other Allied Golf Associations (AGA) to host a Women’s Open.
- The championship purse is $20,000, with the winner’s share $6,000.
- Montclair Golf Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary of hosting the 1973 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, won by Carole Semple Thompson.
- The trophy came to the Garden State from London and is from 1865.
- The average age of the field is 31.5.
Inside the Field
There is a fascinating mix of golfers competing in the Women’s Open. The mix comprises a collection of 20 professionals and 38 amateurs.
Eight professionals in Noelle Maertz, Sinead Sexton, Karen Noble, Christine Reuss, Rylee Plitz, Juliet Little, Kathleen Ricci and Wendy Ferrara hail from the Garden State, while the remaining 12 professionals are visiting New Jersey from around the region.
Meaghan Francella, is coming off an appearance at the LPGA ShopRite Classic. Out of Philadelphia Cricket Club, Francella won on the LPGA Tour in 2007, defeating LPGA great, Annika Sorenstam in a playoff at the MasterCard Classic.
Rylee Plitz, head golf professional at Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Lakewood will be competing in the Women’s Open after a 2022 appearance in the New Jersey Open at The Ridge at Back Brook. She earned a spot in the field after winning the Women’s NJPGA Professional Championship.
In addition, highly decorated NJSGA Hall of Famer Karen Noble will be competing; she is a three-time New Jersey State Women’s Amateur champion, winner of the Trans National Championship in 1990, and competed as an amateur in the 1989-90 U.S. Women’s Open.
On the amateur side, several former NJSGA Champions in 2021 New Jersey Women’s Mid-Am Champion Kate Granahan, three-time New Jersey Women’s Mid-Am Champion Samantha Perrotta, 2021 New Jersey Women’s Amateur Champion Ami Gianchandani and 2022 New Jersey Women’s Amateur Champion Katie Lu highlight the field.
The NJSGA Featured Group
For the opening round of the championship, amateurs Gianchandani, Lu and professional Michelle Murphy will be highlighted as the NJSGA’s ‘Featured Group’ for their opening hole at 8:30 a.m. ET. Follow @NJSGA1900 on Instagram to stay tuned to the live action.
The group is made up of the 2021 New Jersey Women’s Amateur Champion, Gianchandani, 2022 Women’s Amateur Champion, Lu and a long-time professional in Murphy. Gianchandani is coming off a stellar collegiate career, most recently earning the 2023 LPGA Dinah Shore Award honoree, given to women’s golf student-athletes who excel in academics (3.2 on a 4.0 scale) and athletics—playing at least 50% of the team’s scheduled events, while maintaining a scoring average of 78 or less. Nominees must also demonstrate outstanding leadership skills and community service. For Lu, a rising junior at Michigan State University had a standout sophomore season competing for the Spartans. Posting a 74.1 scoring average in 33 rounds, Lu helped guide Michigan State to the NCAA Championships and as an individual, finished top-30 in the country. Murphy, of Sherrill, N.Y. is the CEO of Murphy Performance Golf and regularly competes in the Central New York PGA Section events.
NJSGA Social Media
For the latest updates and news, visit njgsa.org or follow New Jersey State Golf Association on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @NJSGA1900.
Rebecca Gaona
Manager, Communications
New Jersey State Golf Association
3 Golf Drive
Suite 206
Kenilworth, NJ 07033
C: 908-907-5515
O: 908-241-4653
