Far Hills, N.J. – Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa., north of Philadelphia, has been selected to host the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, the United States Golf Association announced. The championship will be played July 9 through 12.
Saucon Valley’s Old Course was designed by Herbert Strong and opened in 1922. The club’s golf complex includes 60 holes. The 2009 U.S. Women’s Open will be the sixth USGA championship at the club. It has hosted the 1992 and 2000 U.S. Senior Opens, the 1983 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 1987 USGA Senior Amateur and the 1951 U.S. Amateur. Larry Laoretti won the 1992 Senior Open and Hale Irwin won his second Senior Open and fifth USGA title with a record-setting score of 267 in 2000.
“We are honored and excited to host our sixth USGA championship and bring more great golf to the Lehigh Valley,” says George Burke, Saucon Valley Country Club president. “We are just as excited about the up and coming golfers, who in 2009, will give us an extremely competitive and talented field.”
The Women’s Open, open to any female professional and to female amateurs who meet the handicap index limit requirement of 4.4, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Though the tournament is four years away, Burke says preparation will begin as early as next year. He says they will form committees, arrange for volunteers (as many as 2,000), pre-book hotel rooms and begin selling hospitality packages.
As for the Saucon Valley layout: “There’s not a whole lot we have to do to this course,” Burke says. Aside from applying extra fertilizer to thicken the rough prior to the event, the course is ready for play.
Prior to 2009, the Women’s Open will be played at Newport (R.I.) Country Club, from June 29 through July 2, 2006, at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C., from June 28 through July 1, 2007 and at Interlachen Golf Club in Edina, Minn., from June 26 through 29, 2008.
The 2005 championship is being played this weekend at Cherry Hills Country Club in the Village of Cherry Hills, Colo. Angela Stanford, Karine Icher and amateur Brittany Lang share the first-round lead after firing 69s (2-under). Amateur Michelle Wie (70) is one stroke back and Annika Sorenstam, the No. 1 player in the world, is two strokes behind after an even-par 71.
Saucon Valley’s Old Course was designed by Herbert Strong and opened in 1922. The club’s golf complex includes 60 holes. The 2009 U.S. Women’s Open will be the sixth USGA championship at the club. It has hosted the 1992 and 2000 U.S. Senior Opens, the 1983 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 1987 USGA Senior Amateur and the 1951 U.S. Amateur. Larry Laoretti won the 1992 Senior Open and Hale Irwin won his second Senior Open and fifth USGA title with a record-setting score of 267 in 2000.
“We are honored and excited to host our sixth USGA championship and bring more great golf to the Lehigh Valley,” says George Burke, Saucon Valley Country Club president. “We are just as excited about the up and coming golfers, who in 2009, will give us an extremely competitive and talented field.”
The Women’s Open, open to any female professional and to female amateurs who meet the handicap index limit requirement of 4.4, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Though the tournament is four years away, Burke says preparation will begin as early as next year. He says they will form committees, arrange for volunteers (as many as 2,000), pre-book hotel rooms and begin selling hospitality packages.
As for the Saucon Valley layout: “There’s not a whole lot we have to do to this course,” Burke says. Aside from applying extra fertilizer to thicken the rough prior to the event, the course is ready for play.
Prior to 2009, the Women’s Open will be played at Newport (R.I.) Country Club, from June 29 through July 2, 2006, at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C., from June 28 through July 1, 2007 and at Interlachen Golf Club in Edina, Minn., from June 26 through 29, 2008.
The 2005 championship is being played this weekend at Cherry Hills Country Club in the Village of Cherry Hills, Colo. Angela Stanford, Karine Icher and amateur Brittany Lang share the first-round lead after firing 69s (2-under). Amateur Michelle Wie (70) is one stroke back and Annika Sorenstam, the No. 1 player in the world, is two strokes behind after an even-par 71.
