Historic Essex County C.C. Hosting 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 on July 30-31. The Women's Amateur includes two days of stroke play followed by two days of match play. The concurrent Women's Mid-Amateur includes two days of stroke-play only. Mid-Amateur contestants will have the opportunity to compete in both events.
Kelly Sim of Alpine, 18, is the defending Women's Amateur champion. Kim is an incoming freshman at Northwestern University. The 2017 runner-up, 21-year-old Yeji Shin of Valley Brook, is on the golf team Texas Christian University. Last year at Somerset Hills Country Club, Sim defeated Shin, 3 and 1, in the final match.
The Women’s Mid-Amateur boasts a strong field, including two defending champions. 2016 champion Helen Bernstein of the Women's Golf Association of New Jersey and 2014 champion Fran Gacos of Copper Hill Country Club are both in the field.
Essex County, a founding member of the NJSGA, has hosted 20 NJSGA Championships, including six Open Championships and the inaugural NJSGA Amateur Championship in 1900.
Essex County was originally designed by NJSGA Hall of Fame inductee A.W. Tillinghast in 1917 and revised a decade later by Seth Raynor and Charles Banks. The course is known for its hilly terrain and challenging greens. Essex County’s back nine is widely considered one of the best nine holes in New Jersey and its par-3 11th hole pops up on ‘Best Par 3s of . . . “ lists constantly.
“The NJSGA is 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 and grateful that the club continues to be such a strong supporter of the NJSGA and women’s golf in New Jersey.”
The Women’s Amateur, one of the NJSGA’s “majors” being contested at one of its most distinguished venues, will once again identify the best players
