USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship

PAR AND YARDAGE – The Apawamis Club will be set up at 5,759 yards with a par of 36-36--72.

THE COURSE – The golf course at the Apawamis Club was designed by Willie Dunn Jr. and Maturin Ballou and opened in 1890. It is among the oldest 100 golf courses in the United States. The course was renovated a handful of times over the years. In 1977, George and Tom Fazio did some work on it, and most recently, Gil Hanse was hired in 2001-02.

ADMISSION – The public is invited. Both admission and parking are free.

DEFENDING CHAMPION – Carolyn Creekmore of Dallas, Texas, built a 2-up lead with birdies on holes 10 and 11 and then held on to defeat Liz Haines of Gladwyne, Pa., 1 up, in the championship match at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif. Creekmore never trailed in the final match.

"This is something to want from the time you start playing golf," said the long-hitting Creekmore, who was a quarterfinalist at the 1997 and 1999 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.

COURSE SET-UP – The USGA will aim for green speeds of between 9 feet 5 inches and 10 inches on the Stimpmeter for the championship week. The primary rough will be grown to a height of 2 inches. Bent grasses are used for coverage of the fairways and greens at the Apawamis Club.

WHO CAN ENTER - Open to female amateur golfers who will have reached their 50^th birthday on or before Sept. 17, 2005, and have USGA Handicap Indexes not exceeding 18.4. Entries closed Aug. 3, 2005.

ENTRIES – The USGA accepted a record 457 entries for the 2005 championship. The previous record high of 418 entries was set in 2002.

SCHEDULE – Championship play will be conducted from Sept. 17-22. Following 36 holes of stroke play (Sept. 17-18), the low 64 scorers will advance to match play. Match play rounds are listed below:

Sept. 19 (Monday) - Round one matches
Sept. 20 (Tuesday) - Rounds two and three
Sept. 21 (Wednesday) - Quarterfinal and semifinal matches
Sept. 22 (Thursday) – Final round