92nd Carolinas Women's Amateur Championship Preview

Last year's champion, Rachel Kuehn shot three-under-par in the final round of the 91st Carolinas Women's Amateur Championship to win her first CGA title.

By: Brittany Stewart/CGA Communications Intern

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (May 30, 2018) -- The Carolinas Golf Association will conduct the 92nd Carolinas Women's Amateur Championship at the Green Valley Country Club in Greenville, S.C. from June 3-5, 2018.

Related: Championship Web Site | Full Field of Players | Starting Times | Scoring | History
 

Players to watch:

• Last year's champion, Rachel Kuehn of Asheville, N.C., will return to defend her title at this year's event. In 2017, the 2019 Wake Forest commit shot three-under in the final round of the event to finish with a score of 217 for her first CGA title. She won her second CGA title earlier this summer at the Vicki DiSantis Junior Girls' Championship.

• Courtney McKim of Raleigh, N.C., who is currently the top-ranked female among amateur golfers in the Carolinas, will return to this year's tournament after finishing in ninth place last year. She hopes to capture her first title since 2015, when she won the Carolinas Women's Four-Ball Championship.

• Third-ranked Jessica Spicer of Bahamas, N.C. will also join this year's field with her sister, Sarah Spicer. The Virginia Tech golfer won the 2017 North Carolina Women's Amateur Championship and the 2014 Carolinas Junior Girls' Championship.

• Two-time CGA champion, Reona Hirai of Summerville, S.C. returns this year in hopes of redemption after finishing tied for second place and one shot behind Kuehn at last year's tournament. The rising sophomore at Furman University is currently ranked fourth among amateur female golfers in the Carolinas.

• Lea Venable of Simpsonville, S.C., who is currently ranked seventh in the Carolinas, seeks her fourth CGA title. Finding numerous successes last season such as winning the 2017 WSCGA Match Play Championship and finishing second in the 2017 Carolinas Women's Four-Ball Championship, she hopes to continue that momentum this season.

• Eighth-ranked Anne Taylor Hough of Spartanburg, SC, looks for her first CGA title at this year's event. The rising senior at Virginia Tech was a quarter finalist at the 2017 Carolinas Women's Match Play Championship.

• Anna Redding of Concord, N.C., who is a rising senior at Virginia and currently ranked No. 10 in the Carolinas, seeks her first CGA title. She has already finished close to the top of the leader board this year as she was the runner-up at the 2018 South Atlantic Amateur Championship.

• 2016 champion Ashley Sloup of Southport, N.C., returns to this year's field in hopes of earning her second CGA title at the same event. The recent graduate of Winthrop University shot a 222 at the event in 2016 at the Reserve Club in Pawleys, S.C. to defeat the runner-up by three strokes.

• Katie Kirk of Davidson, N.C. is a two-time winner of the Carolinas Women's Amateur Championship. The former golfer at East Carolina University secured the title in 2014 at Wachesaw Plantation Club shooting a 220, and won in 2015 at Treyburn Country Club with a score of 215.

• Seven-time CGA champion Brenda Corrie Kuehn of Asheville, N.C. will join her daughter, Rachel Kuehn, in this year's tournament field. A former champion of the tournament herself, Kuehn earned the Carolinas Women's Amateur title in 1998 and 2001.

• 2017 Carolinas Junior Girls' Player of the Year, Gracyn Burgess of Lexington, S.C., will join this year's field. The Clemson-commit is a four-time CGA champion, winning the Twin States Junior Girls' Championship in 2016 and 2017, Carolinas Junior Girls' Championship in 2017 and the Vicki DiSantis Girls' Championship in 2017.

Opening its doors in 1958, Green Valley Country Club features 6,952 yards and 18 holes of sweeping golf course tucked into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and alongside the Reedy River. The club was bought by the Kaplan family in 2011 and underwent major renovations shortly after. This will be the first year Green Valley Country Club will host the Carolinas Women's Amateur Championship.

 

Past champions in the field (4):

Rachel Kuehn, Asheville, N.C., 2017

Ashley Sloup, Southport, N.C., 2016

Katie Kirk, Winterville, N.C., 2015, 2014

Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Asheville, N.C., 2001, 1998

The championship is conducted at 54 holes of stroke play (no cut). All players, regardless of Handicap Index, have the option to play in the Championship Division (approximately 6100 yards) or the Carolinas Division (approximately 5200 yards).

Overall champion will be determined from contestants playing in the Championship Division. Awards will also be given for the low senior in the Championship and Carolinas divisions (ages 50-64) and the low Super Senior in the Carolinas division (ages 65 and over).

 

Entry is open to any female amateur golfer who has reached her 13th birthday by June 3, 2018, maintains a residence in North Carolina or South Carolina, is a member of the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) and has an active GHIN USGA Handicap Index at a CGA member club.

 

Scoring will be provided by the CGA throughout the championship, offering 9 and 18-hole updates. Live updates will also be available on the CGA’s official Twitter account, @cgagolf1909. Continue to visit the CGA website throughout this championship and all year long for complete championship coverage including scores, interviews, photos, and recaps.

 

Schedule of rounds:
Sunday, June 3, 2018

Round 1: 8:00 a.m. off #1 and #10 tees

Lunch immediately following play for players.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Round 2: 8:00 a.m. off #1 and #10 tees

Lunch immediately following play for players.

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Round 3: Shotgun start at 9:00 a.m.

Lunch and awards immediately following play for players.