SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point, Wis., has been selected by the USGA as the host site for the 71st U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. A public, parkland course in central Wisconsin, SentryWorld will host its second USGA championship July 22-27, 2019.
“We look forward to bringing the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship to SentryWorld and the state of Wisconsin for the first time in 2019,” said Stuart Francis, USGA Championship Committee chairman. “The world’s best female junior golfers are consistently identified in this championship, and we are confident that SentryWorld is a grand stage worthy of providing the ultimate test for these talented competitors.”
SentryWorld is Wisconsin’s first destination golf course and was developed by Sentry Insurance in 1982 as part of a sports complex that includes indoor tennis courts, banquet space, and restaurants. At the heart of the 200-acre property lies the 7,237-yard championship golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. In 2013, Jones returned to oversee a major renovation that increased the total yardage and upgraded nearly every feature of the course, including new tee boxes to create a greater variety of shots. The project was led by architects Bruce Charlton and Jay Blasi.
“The USGA’s championships are undoubtedly among the most prestigious golf events in the world, and we’re excited to host the 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship,” said Mike James, general manager of SentryWorld and vice president of Sentry Services. “We look forward to hosting athletes from all over the globe on our redesigned course, and SentryWorld will truly provide a world-class environment for all players, officials, and fans.”
SentryWorld hosted the 1986 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, which was won by Cindy Schreyer and holds the entry record (1,085) for that USGA championship, which was conducted annually from 1977-2014.
First conducted in 1949, the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship is open to female amateurs who have not turned 19 on or before the final day of the championship and have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 9.4. Notable champions include three-time winner Hollis Stacy, Mickey Wright, Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Pat Hurst, I.K. Kim, Inbee Park and Lexi Thompson. Starting in 2017, Girls’ Junior champions earn an exemption into the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open Championship.
The 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship will be contested July 16-21 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, Calif. Home of the Northern California Golf Association, Poppy Hills is also a public course designed by Jones.
