Fact Sheet

July 21-26
The Harford Golf Club
West Harford, Conn.

PAR AND YARDAGE – The Hartford Golf Club will play at 6,265 yards with par of 35-36—71.

WHO CAN PLAY? – The U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship is open to female amateur players who will have not reached their 18^th birthday on or before July 26, and who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 18.4.

CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE HOLE BY HOLE – 6,265 yards, par 71

ARCHITECT – The club originally opened in 1896. The golf course was designed by Donald Ross (in 1914) and Devereaux Emmett (in 1921).

COURSE RATING AND SLOPE – The Course Rating for The Hartford Golf Club is 76.8; Slope is 137.

COURSE LAYOUT – The fairways will measure a little more than 0.55" in height. The intermediate rough will measure 1 inch with a width approximately 6 feet. Depending on density, the primary rough will stand between 2 and 2½ inches high. The putting greens will be prepared so that they measure approximately 11 feet on the USGA stimpmeter.

TICKETS – Admission for all six days of the championship is free of charge. Spectators are invited to walk the fairways behind the players, but no cameras are allowed during the days of competition.

SCHEDULE – Practice rounds will be held July 19 (Saturday) and July 20 (Sunday). The starting field of 156 players will play two rounds of stroke play, with the low 64 scorers advancing to match play. The schedule is as follows:

• July 21 (Monday) – First round of stroke play
• July 22 (Tuesday) – Second round of stroke play
• July 23 (Wednesday) – First and second rounds of match play
• July 24 (Thursday) – Third and quarterfinal rounds of match play
• July 25(Friday) – Semifinals, match play
• July 26 (Saturday) – Final, match play (36 holes)

THE 2007 CHAMPIONSHIP – Kristen Park, 14, of Buena Park, Calif., had never played in a match-play event before heading to the 59^th U.S. Girls’ Junior, played at the par-72, 6,931-yard Tacoma Country and Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash.

That didn’t stop her from winning the 2007 Girls’ Junior Championship with a 4-and-3 victory over Ayaka Kaneko, 17, of Honolulu, Hawaii.   "It’s just so surprising," said Park, who was playing in her first USGA championship. "It’s so much bigger than my goal. I’m really honored."   The two played evenly in the morning round – both players hit nine of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens and both had 30 putts (with the usual match-play concessions) – and were all square after the first 18 holes of the scheduled 36-hole final.   But the fortunes started to turn early in the afternoon’s second round. Park took the lead when she converted a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-4, 355-yard second hole, the 20^th of the match. She would not trail again, and went on to earn a 4-and-3 victory.   Park became the fourth-youngest champion in Girls’ Junior history. Despite her youth and relative inexperience, she understood the significance of her accomplishment. "It means a lot," said Park as she looked at the trophy. "It means so much to be on the list of these players."

ENTRIES – Entries for the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior closed June 4. The USGA accepted a record 929 entries for the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior. The previous record for most entries, 899, was set in 2006.

TOP RETURNEES – Twenty-three golfers are currently exempt into this U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship by virtue of their play in past USGA women’s events, including the U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, U.S. Women’s Open and Curtis Cup Match. They are:

• Sarah Almond of Albemarle, N.C. – 2008 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier
• Sarah Brown of Lopatcong, N.J. – 2007 Girls’ Junior quarterfinalist
• Lindy Duncan of Daytona Beach, Fla. – 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play)
• Courtney Ellenbogen of Blacksburg, Va. – 2007, 2008 Women’s Opens qualifier; 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play);
• Pearl Jin of San Gabriel, Calif. – 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play)
• Danielle Kang of Oak Park, Calif. – 2007 Women’s Open; 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play)
• Kimberly Kim of Hilo, Hawaii – 2006, 2007, 2008 Women’s Opens; 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion; 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play); 2007 Girls’ Junior quarterfinalist; 2006 USA Women’s World Amateur Team, 2008 USA Curtis Cup team
• Stacey Kim of Columbus, Ga. – 2006 Women’s Amateur (match play); 2006 Women’s Open
• Sue Kim of Canada – 2007 Girls’ Junior quarterfinalist
• Erynne Lee of Silverdale, Wash. – 2008 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier
• Isabelle Lendl of Goshen, Conn. – 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur (match play)
• Tiffany Lua of Rowland Heights, Calif. – 2005, 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play); 2007, 2008 Women’s Opens
• Lisa McCloskey of Montgomery, Texas – 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play)
• Cyd Okino of Honolulu, Hawaii – 2008 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier
• Kristen Park of Buena Park, Calif. – 2007 Girls’ Junior champion; 2008 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier
• Victoria Park of Irvine, Calif. – 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play)
• Jane Rah of Torrance, Calif. – 2005, 2006, 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play), 2006 Women’s Open; 2006 USA Curtis Cup team alternate
• Haley Sanders of Rogers, Ark. – 2007 Girls’ Junior quarterfinalist
• Jenny Shin of Torrance, Calif. – 2006 Girls’ Junior champion
• Michelle Shin of Cape Coral, Fla. – 2006, 2007 Girls’ Junior semifinalist, 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play)
• Christine Song of Fullerton, Calif. – 2006 Women’s Amateur (match play)
• Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla. – 2007, 2008 Women’s Open qualifier, 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play)
• Kristina Wong of Bradenton, Fla. – 2007 Women’s Amateur (match play)

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING – Sectional qualifying was held at 31 sites from June 23 - July 2.

FOR THE WINNER – The champion of the U.S. Girls’ Junior will receive:

• A gold medal and custody of the Glenna Collett Vare Trophy for the ensuing year. The runner-up receives a silver medal; the other semifinalists receive bronze medals. The qualifying medalist receives a bronze medal
• An exemption from sectional qualifying for future U.S. Girls’ Juniors, if otherwise eligible
• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next two U.S. Women’s Amateurs
• An exemption from local qualifying for the next five U.S. Women’s Opens
• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, if otherwise eligible

THE USGA AND CONNECTICUT – The 2008 Girls’ Junior marks the 13^th USGA championship and the third U.S. Girls’ Junior held in the state. The 1958 Girls’ Junior, won by Judy Eller, was played at Greenwich Country Club, and Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff won the 2003 Girls’ Junior, played at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield.

THE HARTFORD GOLF CLUB – The club is hosting its second USGA championship. The first, the 1996 U.S. Mid-Amateur, was won by John "Spider" Miller.

HISTORY OF THE GIRLS’ JUNIOR – The U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship was established in 1949, one year after the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. The inaugural Girls’ Junior, played at Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, drew a starting field of 28 girls from 17 states, although 10 of the players were from the Philadelphia area. The first champion, Marlene Bauer, 15, came all the way from Los Angeles to win her first national golf title.   The championship has also helped launch the careers of such outstanding players as Mickey Wright, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott and Hollis Stacy. Stacy’s record of three consecutive Girls’ Junior Championships, from 1969 to 1971, is among the most remarkable accomplishments in USGA history.  

While victory in the U.S. Girls’ Junior by no means guarantees a successful career in women’s golf, Girls’ Junior champions have won the Women’s Amateur 11 times and the Women’s Open 11 times. In addition, 15 Girls’ Junior champions have gone on to represent the United States of America on the Curtis Cup team.

GIRLS’ JUNIOR CHAMPIONS & OTHER USGA TITLES – Thirteen U.S. Girls’ Junior champions (year listed in parentheses) have won other USGA championships, including Inbee Park, the 2002 Girls’ Junior champion who recently won the U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. They are:

Amy Alcott (1973) – U.S. Women’s Open (1980)
JoAnne Gunderson Carner (1956) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1957, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1968), U.S. Women’s Open (1971, 1976)
Lori Castillo (1978) – U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (1979, 1980)
Dorothy Delasin (1996) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1999)
Heather Farr (1982) – U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (1984)
Pat Hurst (1986) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1990)
Kelli Kuehne (1994) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1995, 1996)
Pat Lesser (1950) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1955)
Cathy Mockett (1984) – U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (1990)
Marcy Newton (1995) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (2000)
Inbee Park (2002) – U.S. Women’s Open (2008)
Hollis Stacy (1969, 1970, 1971) – U.S. Women’s Open (1977, 1978, 1984)
Mickey Wright (1952) – U.S. Women’s Open (1958, 1959, 1961, 1964)

ONLINE – Log on to the USGA Internet site at www.usga.org/championships/ or www.usgirlsjunior.org for the latest and most complete U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship information.

TELEVISION COVERAGE – The NBC will air a one-hour highlight program following the championship. More details will be announced shortly.

LPGA-USGA GIRLS GOLF – LPGA-USGA Girls Golf provides an opportunity for girls, ages 7 to 17, to learn to play golf, build lasting friendships and experience competition in a fun, supportive environment preparing them for a lifetime of enjoyment with the game. The only national initiative of its kind, Girls Golf is administered through a partnership between the LPGA Foundation and the USGA. Since 1989, this initiative has brought the game of golf to more than 45,000 girls. In 2006, it reached nearly 5,800 girls at 183 sites across the country. For more about the program, visit www.GirlsGolfOnline.org.

USGA/AJGA PARTNERSHIP – The USGA and American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) are partners in developing junior golfers into the game’s leaders for the future. The USGA will present a President’s Youth Leadership Club Award to a top boy and girl each year at the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions. The USGA will also help the AJGA administratively by providing four paid interns each year.

FUTURE GIRLS’ JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP SITES – Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., will host the 2009 Girls’ Junior from July 20-25. The U.S. Junior Amateur will be held concurrently at Trump National in 2009.

MEDIA CONTACT – Beth Murrison and David Shefter will be the USGA media contacts at the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior. During the championship, they can be reached in the media center at (908) 758-5071 or via e-mail at (Beth) bmurrison@usga.org or (David) dshefter@usga.org.