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Women's Golf Amateur Records

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The two leading women's amateur events are the US Women’s Amateur Championship and the British Women’s Amateur Championship. Records for both can be found below.

The US WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP was launched just one month after the men’s amateur championship and US Open in 1895.

Thirteen women contested the inaugural event at the Meadow Brook Club, New York, on 9 November 1895, and was won by Lucy Barnes Brown, whose 18 hole total of 132 was two strokes better than runner-up Nellie Sargent. The 1895 Championship was over 18 holes stroke play but currently the format sees the competitors play 36 holes of stroke play with the top 64 then playing an 18 hole match-play knockout with the final being over 36 holes.

Victors receive the Robert Cox Cup which was presented to the USGA by Scottish-born member of the British Parliament.

 

Most Wins
Wins Golfer (Country) First Win Last Win
6 Glenna Collett-Vare 1922 1935
5 JoAnne Carner 1957 1968
3 Beatrix Hoyt 1896 1898
3 Margaret Curtis 1907 1912
3 Alexa Stirling   1916 1920
3 Dorothy Campbell (Scotland 1909 1924
3 Virginia Van Wie 1943 1934
3 Anne Quast 1958 1963
3 Juli Inkster  1980 1982
All golfers from the USA unless otherwise stated
Up to and including 2025

Biggest Victories *
Score Winner (Country) Year Runner-up (Country)
14 & 13 Anna Quast 1961 Phyllis Preuss
13 & 12 Glenna Collett-Vare 1928 Virginia Van Wie
11 & 9 Babe Zaharias 1946 Clara Sherman
11 & 9 Saki Baba (Japan)  2022 Monet Chun (Canada)
10 & 8 Virginia Van Wie    1932 Glenna Collett-Vare
9 & 8 Glenna Collett-Vare 1925 Alexa Stirling
9 & 8 JoAnne Carner 1962 Anne Baker
9 & 8 Morgan Pressel 2005 Maru Martinez (Bolivia)
9 & 7 Kay Cockerill    1996 Kathleen McCarthy
* In the match-play final | Up to and including 2025
All golfers from the USA unless otherwise stated

Countries Providing the Most Winners
Wins Country First Win Last Win
107 USA 1895 1925
3 Scotland 1909 1924
2 England 1913 1936
2 Canada  1956 1978
2 South Korea    1998 2016
2 Japan 1985 2022

The following countries have all won once: France 1969, Italy 1997, Thailand 2003, Colombia 2007, New Zealand 2012, Australia 2019, Philippines 2024

Up to and includng 2025


Winners of the US & British Amateur Championships in the Same Year
Year Golfer (Country)
1909 Dorothy Campbell (Scotland)
1936 Pam Barton (England)
1969 Catherine Lacoste (France)
1996 Kelli Kuehne (USA)
Up to and including 2025

BRITISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Launched as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship in 1893 the first event was held at Lytham and St Anne’s (now Royal Lytham) between 13-15 June. The inaugural event consisted of 38 entrants and was won by Lady Margaret Scott who beat Issette Pearson 7 & 5 in the final.

Like its US counterpart, the British Women’s Amateur Championship is a combined stroke play and match-play event with the leading 64 players after a 36-hole stroke play competition take part in an match-play knockout over 36 holes per match. The winners receive the Pam Barton Memorial Salver in memory of Pamela Barton winner of the US and British amateur championship in 1936, who tragically lost her life in a plane crash in 1943 during World War II .

The championship is contested in two phases. It begins with a 36-hole stroke play competition, played over two days. The leading 64 competitors progress to the knock-out match play competition. From 1966-2020, all matches in the knock-out phase were played over 18 holes, but from 2021 the final has been played over 36 holes.

All records up to and including 2025 and all golfers from England unless otherwise stated.


Most Wins
Wins Golfer (Country) First Win Last Win
4 Cecil Leitch 1914 1926
4 Joyce Wethered 1922 1929
3 Lady Margaret Scott 1893 1895
3 May Hezlet (Ireland *)  1899 1907
3 Enid Wilson  1931 1933
3 Jessie Anderson Valentine (Scotland) 1937 1958
3 Brigitte Varangot (France 1963 1968

* May Hezlet was born in County Tyrone, which is currently in Northern Ireland but when she won her three titles, Northern Ireland had not been created, and Tyrone was part of the island of Ireland at the time.

The following have all won the event twice: Rhona Adair, Pam Barton, Liz Chadwick, Julie Hall, Rebecca Hudson, Marley Spearman, Frances Stephens, Mickey Walker (all England), Dorothy Campbell (Scotland), Helen Holm, (Scotland)  Louise Stahle (Sweden)


Biggest Victories *
Score Winner (Country) Year Runner-up (Country)
9 & 8 Louise Duncan (Scotland) 2021 Jóhanna Lea Lúðvíksdóttir (Iceland)
9 & 7 Joyce Wethered 1922 Cecil Leitch
8 & 7 Wiffi Smith (USA)  1926 Mary Patton Janssen (USA)
8 & 7 Cecil Leitch 1956 Marjorie Ross Garon
8 & 6 Muriel Dodd    1913 Evelynn Chubb

* In the match-play final
 
There have also been eight instances of golfers winning 7 & 6, the most recent being in 2023 when Germany’s Chiara Horder beat Annabelle Pancake of the USA.


Countries Providing the Most Winners
Wins Country First Win Last Win
55 England 1893 2022
15 Scotland 1897 2021
11 USA 1947 2024
10 France 1927 2015
6 Spain 2001 2025
4 Sweden 2004 2016
4 Ireland 1951 2017
3 Germany 2018 2023
2 Northern Ireland * 1979 2012
2 Denmark 1992 2014

Australia (1978) and New Zealand (1986) have won it once.

* Northern Ireland also won it four times in 1899, 1900, 1902, and 1903 but the two golfers (May Hezlet and Rhona Adair) who won those titles were from what is now Northern Ireland, but Northern Ireland had not been created at the time, and they represented the island of Ireland.



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