The Women's Amateur Championship is the oldest and most prestigious event on the Women's Championship schedule. Located in Lake Worth, The Falls Club of the Palm Beaches hosts the 2018 Women's Amateur along with Quail Ridge Country Club as the co-host for the first two rounds. Players will be able to test their skills on both courses played from approximately 6,100 yards. In its 89th year, past Champions include the names of Cristie Kerr, Meghan Stasi, Taffy Brower, and other notables.
The format for the five day event begins with 36 holes of gross individual stroke play on Wednesday and Thursday. The field is then cut to the low 64 players who will compete in match play for the Championship. Round of 64 matches will begin Friday morning, followed by the round of 32 in the afternoon. Round of 16 matches begin Saturday morning with quarterfinal matches in the afternoon. Semifinal matches will commence Sunday morning, and the 18-hole Championship match will be played on Sunday afternoon.
This year's event will consist of 130 of Florida's top women amateur players. Notable names in the field are last year's semifinalists Ramya Meenakshisundaram, and Karoline Tuttle. Also included in the field is last year's runner up Jamie Freedman, who was also the runner up at last year's Women's Amateur Stroke Play Championship. Last year's Women's Amateur Stroke Play champion, Roanne Tomlinson, will also be eyeing the 2018 amateur title.
The impressive field does not stop there, here are more players to watch out for. Morgan Baxendale, from Windemere and Nicolette Donovan from Ponte Vedra Beach. Baxendale is the 2014 Girls' Junior Champion and the top player for the Vanderbilt's Women's golf team. Donovan is a 2016 semifinalist and co-medalist, and currently plays for the University of Central Florida.
Fun fact, the youngest players in the field are 13 years of age, the oldest is 57 with the average age being 19.3.
Live scoring for both rounds of stroke play qualifying beginning Wednesday, June 13 will be available online.
