USGA Adds Pair Of Top Venues: Colorado GC & CC Of Charleston

2019 was already going to be fun with a Pebble Beach U.S. Open, and now the USGA has announced a pair of exciting venues for the U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Mid-Amateur, while also making a great statement with its secondary Mid-Am venue.

First, the news for the Women's Open venue, reviewed in detail here by Ran Morrissett at GolfClubAtlas.com:

COUNTRY CLUB OF CHARLESTON TO HOST 2019 U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN

FAR HILLS, N.J. (Dec. 1, 2015) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) has selected the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, S.C., to host the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, to be conducted May 30-June 2.

This will be the second USGA championship conducted at the Country Club of Charleston. The club previously hosted the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, won by Emma Talley, 2 and 1, over Yueer Cindy Feng.
“We are thrilled to bring the 74th U.S. Women’s Open to the Country Club of Charleston after it served as such a superb venue for the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur,” said Diana Murphy, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “The U.S. Women’s Open is the most sought-after title in women’s golf, and we are confident the course will test the players thoroughly as they compete for the honor of hoisting the Harton S. Semple Trophy in 2019.”

Seth Raynor designed the course at the Country Club of Charleston, which opened in 1925. John LaFoy made revisions in 1990-1991 following Hurricane Hugo, with additional revisions from Brian Silva in 2007.
“The membership and staff of the Country Club of Charleston are honored to host the United States Golf Association again, this time for the U.S. Women's Open,” said Cordes Ford, club president. “Not only will this championship showcase our classic golf course to an international audience, it will bring the world's best female golfers, their families and supporters to our vibrant city and allow them to experience Charleston and all the hospitality our community has to offer."

The Country Club of Charleston has a storied tradition of hosting state and regional tournaments. It first hosted the Carolinas Amateur in 1911 and will serve as host site for the seventh time in 2016. The club has also hosted eight South Carolina Amateurs and four Women’s South Carolina Amateurs. Since 1946, the club has hosted the Azalea Invitational, which includes among its champions Dale Morey, Billy Joe Patton and Webb Simpson. Since the early 1950s, the club has hosted a junior event, now known as the Beth Daniel Junior Azalea Championship.

From 1933-1937, the club hosted the PGA Tour’s Charleston Open, which counted Walter Hagen and Henry Picard among its winners.

The club also boasts a membership rich in championship pedigree. Picard, a World Golf Hall of Fame member who won 27 PGA Tour events, including the 1938 Masters and 1939 PGA Championship, was a longtime member. Daniel, a Charleston native, learned the game at the club and went on to enjoy a career that included two U.S. Women’s Amateur titles, 33 LPGA Tour victories including the 1990 Women’s PGA Championship, and induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000. Other notable club members include Alberta (Bea) Bower, who claimed the 1975 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur; two-time PGA Tour winner and 2010 U.S. Open low amateur Russell Henley; and career amateurs Frank Ford Sr., and his grandson Frank Ford III, who between them won the Azalea Amateur 11 times. D.J. Trahan, the 2000 U.S. Amateur Public Links and 2002 Azalea Amateur champion, is an honorary member.

And Coore and Crenshaw's Colorado Golf Club, host to a Senior PGA and unforgettable Solheim Cup, adds the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur. Common Ground, and affordable daily fee designed by Renaissance Golf, is the "other" stroke play course.

All of the details:

COLORADO GOLF CLUB AWARDED 2019 U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

CommonGround Golf Course Will Serve As Stroke-Play Co-Host Course

FAR HILLS, N.J. (Dec. 3, 2015) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced Colorado Golf Club, in Parker, Colo., as the host site for the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. This will be the first USGA championship contested at the club. The dates for the championship are Sept. 21-26.

“The USGA is pleased to bring a championship to Colorado Golf Club for the first time,” said Diana Murphy, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “The course has a proven record in both stroke-play and match-play competition, and the variety of risk-reward options will allow for exciting and dramatic play, helping to identify a champion worthy of hoisting the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Trophy.”

Designed by Bill Coore and two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, Colorado Golf Club opened for play in 2007. The 1,700-acre property was once an Arabian horse ranch and features views of Colorado’s Front Range, dominated by Pikes Peak, Mount Evans and Longs Peak. The course plays through open meadows, foothills of ponderosa pine, natural gullies and streams. Coore and Crenshaw also created a nine-hole short course and 7,000-square-foot short game area to complement the championship course.

“Colorado Golf Club is a strategic and demanding championship venue, and we could not be more proud to welcome the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship,” said Matt Kellogg, the club’s president. “With its emphasis on the amateur golfer, the Mid-Amateur is meaningful to our members and to golf enthusiasts everywhere. We are thrilled to have the Mid-Amateur as our first USGA championship.”

Located 30 miles southeast of Denver, Colorado Golf Club has already hosted a pair of major golf events. Tom Lehman defeated Fred Couples and David Frost in a playoff to win the 2010 Senior PGA Championship for his first senior major title. The Solheim Cup, a biennial competition that features teams of female professionals representing Europe and the United States, was contested at the club in 2013. Europe defeated the USA, 18-10, for its first win on American soil since the event was established in 1990.

The club hosted a U.S. Open local qualifier in 2008, as well as sectional qualifiers for the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2007.

CommonGround Golf Course, in Aurora, Colo., will serve as the stroke-play co-host course for the 2019 Mid-Amateur. The course, which was designed by Tom Doak and opened for play in 2009, is the home of the Colorado Golf Association and the Colorado Women’s Golf Association. CommonGround also served as the stroke-play co-host course for the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, in Cherry Hills Village, Colo.