Fact Sheet

2007 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship
Sept. 29 - Oct. 4, 2007
Desert Forest Golf Club
Carefree, Ariz.

PAR AND YARDAGE – Desert Forest Golf Club will play at 6,209 yards with par of 37-36—73.

WHO CAN PLAY? – The U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship is open to female amateur players who will have reached their 25^th birthday on or before Sept. 29, and who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 9.4.  

CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE HOLE BY HOLE – 6,209 yards, par 73

ARCHITECT – Desert Forest, widely considered the first desert-style course ever built, was designed by Robert "Red" Lawrence and opened in 1962. Lawrence carved the course from existing desert landscape, with virtually no soil having been removed or shaped during course construction. There are no fairway bunkers or water hazards on the course.

COURSE RATING AND SLOPE – The USGA Course Rating^TM for Desert Forest Golf Club is 76.5; Slope Rating^® is 143.

COURSE LAYOUT – The fairways will measure .500" in height. The intermediate rough will measure 1.0 inch with a width approximately 6 feet (with adjustments as needed). Depending on density, the primary rough will stand at approximately 1.75 inches high. The goal is to have the putting greens run 10.5-11 feet on the USGA Stimpmeter.

TICKETS – Admission for all six days of the championship is free of charge. Spectators are invited to walk the fairways behind the players, but no cameras are allowed during the days of competition.  

SCHEDULE – Practice rounds will be held Sept. 27 (Thursday) and Sept. 28 (Friday). The starting field of 132 players will play two rounds of stroke play, with the low 64 scorers advancing to match play. The schedule is as follows:

• Sept. 29 (Saturday) – First round of stroke play
• Sept. 30 (Sunday) – Second round of stroke play
• Oct. 1 (Monday) – First round of match play
• Oct. 2 (Tuesday) – Second and third rounds of match play
• Oct. 3 (Wednesday) – Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, match play
• Oct. 4 (Thursday) – Final, match play (18 holes)

ENTRIES – Entries closed Aug. 1. The USGA accepted 483 entries for the 2007 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. The record for most entries, 533, was set in 2000.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING – Sectional qualifying was held at 23 sites from Aug. 14-28.

DEFENDING CHAMPION – Meghan Bolger, 28, of Oxford, Miss., defeated Thuhashini Selvaratnam, 30, of Sri Lanka, to win the 2006 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. Bolger, then the University of Mississippi women’s golf coach and the local favorite throughout the championship, won her first USGA title. She qualified for the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open.

TOP RETURNEES – Eighteen golfers are exempt into this U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship by virtue of their play in past USGA events. They are:

• Deborah Anderson of Rancho Mirage, Calif. – 2006 Senior Women’s Amateur semifinalist
• Meghan Bolger of Oxford, Miss. – 2006 Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, 2007 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier
• Robin Burke of Houston, Texas – 2005 Women’s Mid-Amateur semifinalist
• Laura Coble of Augusta, Ga. – 2006 Women’s Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist
• Carolyn Creekmore of Dallas Texas – 2005 Copa de las Americas player
• Virginia Grimes of Meridian, Miss. – 1998 Women’s Mid-Amateur champion; 2006 USA Curtis Cup team; 2005 Women’s Mid-Amateur semifinalist, 2006 Women’s Mid-Amateur semifinalist
• Jill Hardy of Canada – 2006 Women’s Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist
• Marilyn Hardy of Houston, Texas – 2006 Women’s Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist
• Diane Lang of Jamaica – 2006 Senior Women’s Amateur champion
• Mary Ann Lapointe of Canada – 2005 Women’s Mid-Amateur champion
• Mari Miezwa of Brooklyn Park, Minn. – 2006 Women’s Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist
• Ellen Port of St. Louis, Mo. – 2000 Women’s Mid-Amateur champion; 2002 Women’s Mid-Amateur runner-up; 2006 Women’s Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist
• Kerry Postillion of Burr Ridge, Ill. – 2005 Women’s Mid-Amateur runner-up
• Anna Schultz of Rockwall, Texas – 2006 Senior Women’s Amateur runner-up
• Thuhashini Selvaratnam of Sri Lanka – 2006 Women’s Mid-Amateur runner-up
• Carol Semple Thompson of Sewickley, Pa. – 1997 Women’s Mid-Amateur champion
• Corey Weworski of Carlsbad, Calif. – 2004 Women’s Mid-Amateur champion
• Toni Wiesner of Fort Worth, Texas – 2006 Senior Women’s Amateur semifinalist

ANOTHER USGA CHAMPION IN THE FIELD – In addition to the fully exempt players, one other past USGA champion – 1988 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur winner Martha Lang of Birmingham, Ala. – has also qualified for the 2007 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.

ARIZONA PLAYERS – Six golfers from Arizona have qualified for the championship. They are: Lisa DeSimone (Phoenix); Missy Farr-Kaye (Scottsdale); Kristi Joiner-Simpson (Phoenix); Kelly Loeb (Tuscon); Monica Marquardt (Peoria); and Lynn Simmons (Phoenix).

FOR THE WINNER – The champion of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur will receive:

• A gold medal and custody of the Mildred Gardiner Prunaret Trophy for the ensuing year. The runner-up receives a silver medal; the other semifinalists receive bronze medals. The qualifying medalist receives a bronze medal
• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs, if otherwise eligible
• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next two U.S. Women’s Amateurs
• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, if otherwise eligible
• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next two USGA Senior Women’s Amateurs, if otherwise eligible
• An exemption from local qualifying for the next five U.S. Women’s Opens

THE USGA AND ARIZONA – The 2007 Women’s Mid-Amateur marks the 14th USGA championship held in the state. Most recently, the state hosted the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur, which was contested at Forest Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff. This will be the second time the Women’s Mid-Amateur will be played in Arizona. Desert Highlands Golf Club in Scottsdale hosted the 1991 championship, won by Sarah LeBrun Ingram.

DESERT FOREST GOLF CLUB – Desert Forest is hosting its second USGA championship. In 1990, Jackie Cummings won the USGA Senior Amateur at the club.

HISTORY OF THE WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR – The Women’s Mid-Amateur, the USGA’s 13^th national championship, was created in 1987 to provide a national competitive arena for amateurs age 25 and older. By 1987, it had become increasingly difficult for female amateur golfers beyond college to compete equitably with their collegiate counterparts, for whom golf was nearly a full-time vocation.

As with any new championship, there was initial concern with the level of entries. In this case, women amateurs responded with enthusiasm. The first championship attracted 320 entries, only 22 fewer than the number that had entered the 1987 Women’s Amateur a few weeks earlier.

MULTIPLE VICTORIES – Three players have won multiple U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships. Sarah LeBrun Ingram (1991, 1993, 1994) and Ellen Port (1995, 1996, 2000) have each won three. Carol Semple Thompson (1990, 1997) has won two.

ONLINE - Log on to the USGA Internet site at www.usga.org/championships/ or www.wmidam.org for the latest and most complete U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship information.

FUTURE WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP SITES – The 2008 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur will be conducted at Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor, Mich., Sept 6-11, while the 2009 championship is set for Golden Hills Golf & Turf Club in Ocala, Fla., Oct. 3-8.

MEDIA CONTACT – Beth Murrison and David Shefter will be the USGA media contacts at the 2007 Women’s Mid-Amateur. Prior to the championship, they can be reached at (908) 234-2300, or via e-mail at (Beth) bmurrison@usga.org or (David) dshefter@usga.org.