Elite Women Amateurs Look To New And Innovative Events

The best female amateurs throughout the United States find themselves in a strange position of looking for organized competition and not being able to find much of it.

Less than a month from now, that will change thanks to one of the more creative ideas to come out of the golf community during the pandemic: back-to-back U.S. women’s elite amateur golf championships taking place a few miles apart in North Port, Fla., 90 miles south of Tampa. The first three-round event is being held at Heron Creek Golf and Country Club from June 23-25, and Charlotte Harbor National Golf Club will host from June 30-July 2.

“The elite players have been starving for competition throughout this COVID thing and even their summer schedules are being wildly amended,” said PGA professional Rich Smith, the chairman at Charlotte Harbor. “We hosted a Symetra Tour event last year and some of the players from that tournament approached me and said, ‘Can you host an event under social-distancing guidelines?’ And I said, ‘Of course, I have no problem hosting a ...