126th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship Ready to Tee Off in Tennessee

PAR AND YARDAGE  

The Honors Course will be set up at 6,539 yards and will play to a par of 36-36—72.

NOTE: Yardages subject to change. 

THE HONORS COURSE HOLE BY HOLE             

ABOUT THE HONORS COURSE
The Honors Course was designed by Pete Dye and opened for play on July 2, 1983. The course sits at the foot of the White Oak Mountain, near Chattanooga. The club was founded by Coca-Cola bottling heir Jack Lupton, and its mission is focused on amateur golf. The property has a rich history of archaeological treasure dating to the Cherokee Indians in the 1500s. The land was later sold to the Chattanooga Dupont Plant, which in 1912 became known as Atlas Powder Company, a spin-off of Dupont’s munitions operation. A fatal explosion ended all powder manufacturing at the site in 1945.
 

ENTRIES
The championship is open to female amateur golfers who have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4. In 2026, the USGA accepted 1,422 entries for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
 

QUALIFYING
Qualifying, over 18 holes, for the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur took place between June 10 and July 15 at 24 sites across the United States, and one more in Canada. Qualifying results can be found here.
 

CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD

A starting field of 156 players will compete in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Following two 18-hole rounds at stroke play on Aug. 4-5, the field will be cut to the low 64 players for match play. Five 18-hole rounds of match play will determine the finalists who then will square off in a 36-hole championship match on Aug. 9.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY
Practice rounds will take place Aug. 2-3, and the championship schedule is as follows:

Aug. 4 (Tuesday): First round, stroke play
Aug. 5 (Wednesday): Second round, stroke play
Aug. 6 (Thursday): Round of 64, match play
Aug. 7 (Friday): Rounds of 32 and 16, match play
Aug. 8 (Saturday): Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds, match play

Aug. 9 (Sunday): 36-hole championship final, match play

2025 CHAMPION
Megha Ganne, 21, of Holmdel, N.J., defeated Brooke Biermann, of Wildwood, Mo., 4 and 3, in the 36-hole final at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Dunes) in Oregon. A rising senior at Stanford University, Ganne, who was also a member of the victorious 2022 USA Curtis Cup Team and the low amateur in the 2021 U.S. Women's Open, achieved the feat in her seventh U.S. Women's Amateur start. Ganne now plays on the Epson Tour.

Ganne never trailed against Biermann, but the match was tied after nine holes before a faulty putter by the latter on Nos. 11-13 opened the door for the New Jersey native to grab a 3-up lead by the halfway point. Biermann, who survived three extra-hole matches that week to reach the final, never managed to cut the deficit closer than 3 down the remainder of the match. Ganne converted a 35-foot birdie at the 22nd hole for a 4-up lead, and though Biermann would extend the match to the 35th hole, Ganne then sealed it with a two-putt par.

BROADCAST COVERAGE

The 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur will receive at least 15 hours of live network coverage. All times ET.

Thursday, Aug. 6: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Golf Channel

Friday, Aug. 7: 3-6 p.m., Golfchannel.com

Saturday, Aug. 8: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel

Sunday, Aug. 9: 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship is one of the United States Golf Association’s original three championships. It was first conducted in 1895, shortly after the inaugural U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open. The Women’s Amateur has been conducted every year since, except 1917-18, when it was suspended due to World War I, and 1942-45, when it was suspended due to World War II.

The most decorated champion is Glenna Collett Vare, a lifelong amateur who won the Robert Cox Trophy presented to the champion a record six times. Second to Vare is JoAnne Gunderson Carner, who won five U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships. Combined with her two wins in the U.S. Women’s Open and one victory in the U.S. Girls’ Junior, Carner’s eight USGA titles are tied with Jack Nicklaus and eclipsed only by Bob Jones and Tiger Woods, who have each won nine.

U.S. Women’s Amateur champions have historically possessed a remarkable facility to repeat. Beatrix Hoyt, Alexa Stirling, Vare, Virginia Van Wie and Juli Inkster have all won the U.S. Women’s Amateur three consecutive times. Another seven champions – Genevieve Hecker, Dorothy Campbell, Margaret Curtis, Betty Jameson, Kay Cockerill, Kelli Kuehne and Danielle Kang – have won two in a row.

The U.S. Women’s Amateur has long identified some of golf’s greatest female players, many of whom have gone on to successful professional careers. Along with the champions listed above, Patty Berg, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Louise Suggs, Marlene Stewart Streit, Anne Quast Sander, Barbara McIntire, Catherine Lacoste, Carol Semple Thompson, Beth Daniel, Morgan Pressel and Lydia Ko have secured a place in golf history.

WHAT THE WINNER RECEIVES:

• The JoAnne Carner Medal and custody of the Robert Cox Trophy for one year
• Exemption from qualifying for the 2027 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio
• Exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Women's Amateurs, if eligible
• Exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Girls' Juniors, if eligible
• Likely invitation to the 2027 Augusta National Women's Amateur
• Likely exemptions into The Chevron Championship, AIG Women's Open and Amundi Evian Championship
• Name engraved on 2026 USGA Champions' plaque that will reside in the USGA Museum's Hall of Champions in Liberty Corner, N.J.

USGA AND THE HONORS COURSE
This will be the seventh USGA championship held at The Honors Course. The 1991 U.S. Amateur, won by Mitch Voges, was the first to be held here and the most recent championship was the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur, won by Louis Brown. The famed Tennessee course is also slated to host the 2031 U.S. Amateur, with the championship returning to the club for the first time in 40 years.
 

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE HONORS COURSE

1991 U.S. Amateur (Mitch Voges)

1994 Curtis Cup (Halved; GB&I retained as defending champion)

2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur (Kevin Marsh)

2011 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (Terri Frohnmayer)

2016 U.S. Junior Amateur (Min Woo Lee)

2024 U.S. Senior Amateur (Louis Brown)

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN TENNESSEE

The 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur will be the 18th USGA championship and fourth U.S. Women’s Amateur contested in the state of Tennessee. The most recent USGA championship held in the Volunteer State was the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur, won by Louis Brown.

U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEURS IN TENNESSEE

1937: Memphis Country Club, Memphis (Estelle Lawson Page)

1979: Memphis Country Club, Memphis (Carolyn Hill)

2018: The Golf Club of Tennessee, Kingston Springs (Kristen Gillman)

MOST USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS HOSTED BY VENUES IN TENNESSEE

(Includes 2026 championships)

7 – The Honors Course, Ooltewah

4 – Memphis Country Club, Memphis

2 – Richland Country Club, Nashville

1 – Belle Meade Country Club, Nashville

1 – Hillwood Country Club, Nashville

1 – Holston Hills Country Club, Knoxville

1 – The Golf Club of Tennessee, Kingston Springs

1 – Vanderbilt Legends Club, Franklin

FUTURE U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEUR SITES

Aug. 2-8, 2027 – Pinehurst Resort & Country Club Course No. 2, Village of Pinehurst, N.C.

Aug. 7-13, 2028 – Brae Burn Country Club, West Newton, Mass.

Aug. 6-12, 2029 – Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Aug. 5-11, 2030 – The Olympic Club, San Francisco, Calif.

Aug. 4-10, 2031 – Baltimore (Md.) Country Club

Aug. 2-8, 2032 – Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore.

Aug. 8-14, 2033 – Erin Hills, Erin, Wis.

Aug. 7-13, 2034 – The Country Club, Salt Lake City, Utah

Aug. 6-12, 2035 – Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga.

TBD, 2037 – The Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst, N.C.

TBD, 2038 – Saucon Valley Country Club, Bethlehem, Pa.

Aug. 8-14, 2039 – Canterbury Golf Club, Cleveland, Ohio

TBD, 2041 – Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore.

TBD, 2044 – Pinehurst Resort & Country Club Course No. 2, Village of Pinehurst, N.C.

TBD, 2046 – Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club