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Portland Golf Club in Oregon chosen to host 2015 U.S. Women's Amateur

By PGA.com news servces
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Portland Golf Club in Oregon chosen to host 2015 U.S. Women's Amateur

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland Golf Club will host the 2015 U.S. Women's Amateur, the U.S. Golf Association has announced.

It will be the third USGA championship tournament held at Portland GC. The last was the 1999 Senior Amateur.

“Portland Golf Club holds a very special place in golf history,” said Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., USGA vice president and chairman of the Championship Committee. “The USGA is proud to bring another championship to the club and add another page to the Portland Golf Club history book.”

In 1982, the club hosted the first of Miller Barber’s record three U.S. Senior Open Championship victories, while Bill Ploeger won the 1999 USGA Senior Amateur Championship. 

Oregon has hosted the U.S. Women's Amateur six times, most recently in 2008, when Amanda Blumenherst won the title at the Eugene Country Club.

Nestled along Fanno Creek, Portland GC was established in 1914 by a small group of businessmen who built the initial course based on its proximity to frequent passenger rail service from downtown Portland via the Oregon Electric Railroad. Today, the course features century-old trees, rolling hills and undulating and lightning-fast greens.

Portland GC hosted the 1946 PGA Championship, which was won by Ben Hogan, but it is perhaps best known for helping to revive the Ryder Cup by hosting the 1947 matches after a 10-year hiatus for World War II. The U.S. team, which was captained by Hogan and included Walter Hagen, Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson, defeated the British team, 11-1.

Champions of other tournaments hosted by Portland GC include Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Cary Middlecoff, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Payne Stewart, Fred Couples, Billy Casper, Kathy Whitworth, Donna Caponi and Nancy Lopez.

The U.S. Women’s Amateur was first conducted in 1895 as one of the USGA’s first three championships. It is open to female amateurs who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 5.4. The 2013 championship will be conducted Aug. 5-11 at the Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina, while the 2014 championship will be held Aug. 4-10 at Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, N.Y. In 2016, the championship will be conducted Aug. 8-14 at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pa.