The Honors Course hosts the 126th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship starting on Tuesday.
photo by USGA/Russell Kirk
The Honors Course has earned the reputation of being one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the U.S., where landing a coveted invite to the classic course originally crafted by Pete Dye is quite the coup.
Those who have experienced The Honors Course speak of it in hushed tones, almost with a sense of reverential awe. There is a near-spiritual connection between the rolling land at the base of White Oak Mountain near Ooltewah and the Dye’s handiwork that was later touched-up by modern day maestro Gil Hanse.
Spending a day at The Honors Course changes you, allowing those who ease past the unmarked gate at the entrance an immersive experience that calms the soul. The hospitality is unparalleled from the moment you arrive until your departure. The golf is a test of both mental and physical acuity, where Dye’s handiwork continues to stand the test of time.
There is an aura surrounding The Honors Course that permeates a Southern charm in a refined fashion that lacks snooty pretentiousness. Since it opened in 1983 under the vision of founder Jack Lupton, The Honors Course has never wavered from its original mission statement of honoring the amateur game.
The eyes of the golfing world will once again focus on The Honors Course this week it hosts the 126th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. It will be the seventh time a USGA championship has been held at the venue which has also entertained a pair of NCAA Championships as well as countless other state and regional championships.
Gary Chazen, who was recently named the club’s Chairman after Lupton’s hand-picked successor, Joe Richardson, assumed the role of Chairman Emeritus, views the opportunity in hosting these major events as part of the club’s core values.
“I think it’s just carrying on from Mr. Lupton of what he saw here at The Honors and what it meant for amateur golf,” Chazen said at the recent media day for the upcoming tournament. “To have the Curtis Cup here, to have the U.S. Amateur under here in ’91, and to just continue the tradition with USGA has been really special.”
The field of 156 players will begin play on Tuesday with the first of two days of 18-hole rounds of stroke play. The field will then be cut to the low 64 players for match play which begins on Thursday and will conclude with the 36-hole championship final on Sunday.
The tournament presents the opportunity to witness the future stars of women’s golf while seeing their skills tested by the intricacies of The Honors Course. Attendance to the U.S. Women’s Amateur is complimentary and does not require a ticket for admission.
Public parking is available by traveling north off the Ooltewah exit #11 and following the signage off Lee Highway past Cambridge Square shopping center. There will be free shuttles to carry patrons to the entrance. Gates will open at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday and at 7 a.m. on the other days of competition.
Fans are invited to purchase championship merchandise in the Golf Professional Shop, and food and beverage will be available for purchase on the property located at 7 green, 11 green and 14 green. Credit cards will be accepted, and complimentary water stations will be available on the golf course for all fans.
The tournament will be shown on Golf Channel and Golfchannel.com starting with Thursday’s match play rounds and will conclude with Sunday’s championship match.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur is the latest chapter in the club’s long relationship with the USGA, which began with the 1991 U.S. Amateur, won by Mitch Voges over Manny Zerman, 7 and 6, in the 36-hole final. In 1994, The Honors Course hosted the Curtis Cup Match, which ended in just the third tie in that competition’s history. Kevin Marsh recorded the largest-ever margin of victory in a U.S. Mid-Amateur, defeating Carlton Forrester, 10 and 9, in 2005. Terri Frohnmayer captured the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in 2011, and five years later, in the U.S. Junior Amateur, Min Woo Lee beat Noah Goodwin. Most recently, Louis Brown won the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur, and the U.S. Amateur is scheduled to return in 2031.
Three participants who hail from Tennessee are among the field including Rachel Heck of Memphis, Hanley Long of Clarksville, and Franklin’s Molly Hardwick.
Last year’s championship was won by Megha Ganne of Holmdel, N.J., who defeated Brooke Biermann, of Wildwood, Mo., 4 and 3, in the 36-hole final at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Dunes) in Oregon. Ganne was a rising senior at Stanford University and a member of the victorious 2022 USA Curtis Cup Team and the low amateur in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open who achieved the feat in her seventh U.S. Women’s Amateur start. She turned professional prior to the U.S. Women’s Open in June.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com