In 2020, national championship golf will return to Connecticut, and, for the fifth time, to Brooklawn C.C. in Fairfield.
The USGA announced that the 3rd U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be played at the club July 6-12, 2020.
Brooklawn, a founding member of the CSGA, has previously hosted the 1974 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 1979 U.S. Women’s Open, the 1987 U.S. Senior Open and the 2003 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.
“Brooklawn is thrilled to continue our long-standing relationship with the USGA,” said Rick Ryan, general chair of the 3rd U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship. “We can’t think of a better way to celebrate our club’s 125th anniversary than hosting this significant USGA championship.”
The most recent of the 13 previous USGA championships to be contested in Connecticut was the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford, when Lexi Thompson became the second-youngest champion at age 13.
“To have such an important championship coming to Brooklawn is exciting for golfers and really everyone in Connecticut,” said Mike Moraghan, Executive Director of the CSGA. “Brooklawn is a wonderful place and has proven on multiple occasions to be an outstanding site for championship golf. For the CSGA in particular, the timing is couldn't be better, given that Brooklawn will host our own Women's Open Championship this year on June 4 and 5. We are seeing considerable enthusiasm about women's golf in our state right now, from high school competitors right up through those players who will compete at Brooklawn this year and next. And that is a very good thing for everyone who enjoys the game and its many benefits.””
Brooklawn, a A.W. Tillinghast design characterized by challenging green complexes, has undergone extensive renovation over the past decade under the direction of architect Ron Forse. Renovation included the elimination of scores of trees to enhance turf growth and the addition of several strategic bunkers, some part of Tillinghast’s original plan for the course.
The U.S. Senior Women’s Open is open to female professionals and female amateurs with a handicap index not exceeding 7.4, who have reached 50 years of age by the start of the championship. The Senior Women’s Open was played for the first time lat year, when Laura Davies won at Chicago Golf Club.
The championship will be contested at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Resort in Pine Needles, N.C. in May. The field comprises 120 players who earn entry into the championship via sectional qualifying or through an exemption category.
