Essex County C.c To Host Women's Amateur & Mid-amateur Championships

The 93rd NJSGA Women’s Amateur and 5th Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships will be contested concurrently this summer at venerable Essex County Country Club.

The West Orange-based club will host the Women’s Amateur on July 30-Aug. 2 and the Women’s Mid-Amateur July 30-31. Mid-Amateur players may participate in both championships.

Essex County, a founding member of the NJSGA and one of the 25 founding clubs of the USGA, has hosted 20 NJSGA Championships, including six Open Championships as well as the inaugural Amateur Championship in 1900.

Essex County was originally designed by NJSGA Hall of Fame inductee A.W. Tillinghast in 1917 and later redesigned in 1928 by Seth Raynor and Charles Banks. The course is known for its hilly terrain and challenging greens.

“The NJSGA is very excited about conducting the Women’s Amateur and Mid-Amateur Championships at such an historic venue,” said Lisa Lifer, a NJSGA Board of Trustees member and the tournament chair. “We are sure it will appeal to our participants. We are fortunate that Essex County has welcomed the NJSGA in hosting these events.”

The Women’s Amateur is one of the top events on the 2018 NJSGA Championship schedule, which has undertaken many changes including the repositioning of the annual William Y. Dear Boys Championship away from the William Y. Dear Junior Championship. That will enable young men, ages 14 and under, to participate in both championships this summer.

The 48th Boys Championship will be played on Wednesday and Thursday, June 27-28, at Neshanic Valley Golf Course in Neshanic Station, held concurrently with the 64th Junior Girls' Championship at Neshanic Valley. The format will be 36-Holes of Stroke Play.

The 97th Junior Championship takes place August 6-8 at Raritan Valley Country Club in Bridgewater. The Junior Championship is for boys ages 18 and younger who are not currently attending college. Previously, the Junior and Boys' Championships took place simultaneously and participants were required to choose to play in one event.

A LOOK AT 2018 NJSGA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Other relevant changes in the 2018 schedule:

The 35th Men’s Mid-Amateur will be played a month later than in 2017, and is scheduled for June 5-7 at The Bedens Brook Club.

The 117th Men’s Amateur Championship will be played one month later than the previous year and is set for July 10-12 at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield.

The 98th Open Championship is shifted to two weeks later than in 2017 and will be played July 24-26 at Montclair Golf Club in West Orange.

The schedule changes have been made after careful consideration in an effort to maximize participation.

The NJSGA will also conduct six USGA sectional qualifiers: Women’s Open, Wednesday, May 2 at Canoe Brook Country Club; Junior Girls’, Thursday, June 21, at Old York Country Club at Chesterfield; Women’s Amateur, Monday, July 2, at Hackensack Golf Club; Women’s Mid-Amateur, Tuesday, Aug. 14, at Morris County Golf Club; Men’s Four-Ball, Tuesday, Sept. 11, at Green Brook Country Club ; Women’s Four-Ball, Tuesday, Oct. 2, at Glen Ridge Country Club.