97th Women’s Amateur Championship and 9th Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship Set For August 1-4

No. 11 at Glen Ridge Country Club

GLEN RIDGE, N.J. – A pair of New Jersey State Golf Association women’s championships will get underway on Monday as the 97th New Jersey Women’s Amateur and 9th Women’s Mid-Amateur will visit Glen Ridge Country Club from August 1-4.

This marks the first time an NJSGA major championship will visit the North Jersey club since the 1979 Four-Ball Championship.

Both events will run simultaneously, however, the 97th Women’s Amateur Champion will be determined after a test of both stroke play and match play formats, while the 9th Women's Mid-Amateur Championship will consist of two rounds of stroke play.

The field is packed with talent and highlighted by our featured group, Christina Parsells, Kelsey Solan and Noelle Maertz. The 1st and 10th holes of NJSGA’s ‘Featured’ Group will be live on Facebook @NJSGA1900. The competitors will tee off at 8:30 a.m. in round one.

Parsells, a two-time NJSGA Champion, won the 2014 NJSGA Junior Girls’ Championship as well as the 2020 NJSGA Mixed Pinehurst Championship and will seek to hoist her first New Jersey Women’s Amateur Championship trophy. In 2018 and ’19, Parsells finished as runner-up in the historic championship. Solan, current USGA Manager of Rules - Technology, Content & Education made her way into the quarterfinals in the 2021 championship at Rumson Country Club. The former James Madison University standout also notched a runner-up finish in the championship in 2015 and won the NJSGA Four-Ball Championship in 2018 alongside Frances Gacos. Rounding out the featured group is Maertz, the 2019 Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion. The 28-year-old won the 2020 NJSGA Four-Ball Championship as well as the 2012 NJSGA Public Links Championship. In 2021, Maertz punched her ticket to the 34th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at the Berkeley Hall Club.

Other notable competitors in the field includes 2020 NJSGA Junior Girls’ Champion Katherine Lu of Forsgate Country, Sydney Kuo, defending NJSGA Public Links Champion and two-time NJSGA Women's Mid-Amateur Champion and two-time NJSGA South Jersey Cup Champion Samantha Perrotta.

Gianchandani, the 2021 Champion is not in this year's field, as she's competing in the 122nd U.S. Women's Amateur at Chambers Bay. From July 25-26, Gianchandani competed in the 102nd New Jersey Open Championship, one of the first two females to compete in the championship.

The champion of the 97th edition of the championship will earn an exemption into the 2023 field of the New Jersey Open Championship, which will be hosted by Hackensack Golf Club.

The Northern New Jersey private golf club was founded by 14 members in 1894 and is one of the oldest clubs in the Garden State. It started as a 9-hole club and in 1918, the new 18-hole course was designed by one of the pioneers of golf course architecture, Willie Park, Jr.

Throughout the stock market crash of the 1920’s, Glen Ridge Country Club remained open and in 1940, saw a whopping 126 new members join.

Fast forward to 2015, as part of their major renovation project, which featured a new pro shop, clubhouse and other amenities, the golf course was redesigned by Rees Jones in order to restore it to its original layout. At 6,158 yards from the tips, the design features challenging green complexes and tree-lined fairways.

“The greens at Glen Ridge are the defense of the golf course,” explained Tommy Monteverdi, Director of Golf at Glen Ridge Country Club. “They’re fast, they’re undulating and being in the right position on the greens is really the key.”

Following 36 holes of stroke play, the match play portion of the Women’s Amateur Championship will feature a tougher test of golf, highlighted by forced layups or long shots over the Third River located throughout Glen Ridge.

“From a course set up perspective I think there are birdies to be made or there are going to be a bunch of pars that are going to win holes out there.” said Monteverdi.

Prior to the 97th Women’s Amateur and 9th Women’s Mid-Amateur, Glen Ridge Country Club has hosted 17 NJSGA Championships, the last being the 2017 New Jersey Senior Amateur Championship.

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