Old Chatham Golf Club to host 2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior
Amy Morton
USGA
Ahead of the 73rd U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship next week, the USGA has announced that the 2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior will be contested at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. The dates of the championship are July 13-18.
“We are excited to continue to provide junior golfers with prestigious stages to achieve their dreams,” said Tracy Parsons, championship director. “The recipe for a good USGA amateur championship is a fantastic golf course, supportive membership and an enthusiastic golf community, and Old Chatham has all those things. The 2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior will be an exceptional experience for all involved.”
The 78th installment of the U.S. Girls’ Junior will be Old Chatham’s second USGA championship. The first was the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2019, when Bob Royak, of Alpharetta, Ga., defeated Roger Newsom, of Virginia Beach, Va., 1 up in the 18-hole final to claim his first USGA title. The club has also hosted the 2018 North Carolina Senior Four-Ball Championship, 2017 Carolinas Super Senior Four-Ball Championship, 2014 North Carolina Mid-Amateur Championship and 2009 North Carolina Amateur Championship.
“We are pleased to welcome the U.S. Girls’ Junior to Old Chatham,” said Allen Wilson, President of Old Chatham Golf Club. “To host the most elite junior players at our club will be a tremendous opportunity for our community. We had a wonderful experience hosting the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur. The golfers enjoyed the challenge and beauty of Old Chatham and mentioned how they felt so welcomed throughout the week. We plan to build on that experience for the girls in 2026 and look forward to shining a light on the future of women’s golf.”
Designed in 2001 by Rees Jones, who has renovated seven U.S. Open courses, Old Chatham sits on 400 acres of protected pine woodlands on the northeast shore of Jordan Lake. Jones and associate Greg Muirhead are currently in the process of overseeing an extensive renovation that included converting fairways to zorro zoysiagrass and greens to Mach 1 hybrid bermudagrass, rebuilding the bunkers and tees and adding a new water feature on the par-four 16th hole.
This championship will be the 39th USGA championship held in North Carolina. The state hosted the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by ProMedica in early June at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, and will next host the Inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club from July 18-20.
This year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior will be played from July 18-23 at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. In 2021, medalist Rose Zhang defeated Bailey Davis, 6 and 4, in the final of the championship’s 72nd edition at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md. Zhang also captured the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur and is currently the No. 1 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking®.
First conducted in 1949, the U.S. Girls’ Junior is open to female amateurs who have not turned 19 by 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, Ariya Jutanugarn and Lexi Thompson. The U.S. Girls’ Junior champion earns an exemption into the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open Championship.