Dalhousie to host its first USGA event in September

Top women amateur golfers from all 50 states will converge on Cape Girardeau in September when Dalhousie Golf Club will host the USGA Women's Team Championship.

The three-women team competition that will have a field of 156 golfers -- Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. also are expected to be represented -- will be played out over three days, Sept. 10 to 12, and will be the first USGA event hosted by Dalhousie, which has hosted numerous high-level amateur events since opening in 2002.

Bill Morrow, the general manager of golf operations at Dalhousie, said the club was approached by the USGA about hosting the biennial tournament, one of 14 tournaments put on by the national golf organization. The USGA slate includes the likes of the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Senior Amateur.

"They pick the best facilities," Morrow said. "Recently we were ranked just ranked No. 135 in the United States by Golfweek. We were ranked ahead of Bellerive [Country Club in St. Louis]. It was a pretty big ranking for us."

Dalhousie has distinguished itself as an inviting site, with its Gary Nicklaus-designed par-72 layout challenging and the club having established itself as a cordial and highly competent host.

Dalhousie has hosted four AJGA events, including the elite Tournament of Champions in 2009, and twice was honored with the organization's tournament of the year.

"Hosting the AJGA event, which is the biggest junior golf tour in the world, and you get a lot of recognition off that because you get the right people here to look at the facility and see it," Morrow said. "When we had the AJGA event, you had the golf coach from Harvard, UCLA, Georgia, the biggest schools. And they start talking about how great certain places are and how they should hold things. The golf community is very small. Word gets around."

The club also was the site of the men's Missouri Amateur in 2012, the Missouri Golf Association's top event.

Morrow said the USGA Women's Team Championship, which originated in 1995 to celebrate the centennial of the USGA, is one of the more minor tournaments operated by the organization, but it could lead to major events.

"Hopefully we get another event after this one if we do a great job with it. That's what we're hoping," Morrow said.

Events surrounding the USGA Women's Team Championship will span the entire week. USGA officials will arrive Sept. 7, a Monday, and competitors will have practice rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday. Morrow said a banquet for players and officials will be held at the Show Me Center following Tuesday's practice rounds, and a players reception will be held at the club on the eve of the competition. The tournament will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Morrow said the field of players will not be determined until August, after each state has completed its qualifying process. Performance in state tournaments throughout the spring and summer usually weigh heavily in the process.

"There's not an exact way to do it. They let it up to each state to decide who's going to play in the event," said Morrow, who said accumulated tournament points from state events usually factor into the players chosen.

College players are not eligible due to NCAA bylaws, meaning the field consists primarily of mid-amateur and senior players.

"You want it to come out to be the three best ladies -- whoever played best in that particular year," Morrow said.

Several states have selection committees, including Missouri. Morrow said Dalhousie member Harriette Myers is the honorary captain of the Missouri team, and she is one of the members of the committee that will nominate the three players that will represent the state.

The tournament is scored by the combined totals of the two lowest players on each three-person team each day. The format is repeated for three days, with a total of six rounds accounting for the final team score.

NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio, hosted the event in 2013, which was won by New Jersey.

Georgia had won the previous two titles and three of the previous four.

Morrow said the tournament is a win-win for Dalhousie and community.

"First, it's great for Cape to get all this recognition and get three ladies from every state coming to Cape, that's good," Morrow said. "It's good for the economy, and secondly, it's good for Dalhousie. It gets the word out how great a golf course it is. It's good advertising for us. It's just good for everybody."

Morrow said the club will need around 70 volunteers each day through tournament play and will need additional volunteers for practice rounds.

Those interested in volunteering can find more information at dalhousiegolfclub.com.