The Women’s Ohio State Golf Association was organized on November 12, 1919, in Columbus by a group of women from Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. In June of 1920, Scioto Country Club hosted the first Women’s State Amateur Championship.
The State Amateur tournament is an individual event conducted for women golfers who are residents of the State of Ohio and who are members of private clubs belonging to WOSGA, as well as non-private club women who meet current qualifications.
At the first championship, there were 101 entries from 31 clubs. The championship is now limited to 80 contestants. Today, approximately 100 clubs from around the state are members of WOSGA, and their members are eligible to enter our tournaments.
The WOSGA championship has been held every year since 1920, except during World War II, and is considered one of the top five state tournaments in the country.
The Amateur Championship, the only one of its kind in the state, attracts the finest women golfers. At present, former contestants are teaching and coaching at golf facilities, colleges, and universities around the country. They include Jamie Fischer, Tammie Green, Amy Langhals, Barbara Mucha, Michelle Redman, and Emily Bastel. Former champions who have competed on the LPGA tour and mini-tours include Cheryl Stacy, Jane Kang, Jodi Logan, Lisa Strom, Kathleen Ekey, Emma Jandel, Allie White, Natalie Goodson, and Hayley Rae Harford.
In 1999, two tournaments were added to the schedule. One was the Women’s Ohio State Senior Invitational Championship with the inaugural event held at Wooster Country Club. The other was the Ohio Junior Girls Championship. The Ohio Junior Girls was founded by Kay Wigton and Andy Fischer in 1976 and has been held every year since at Marion Country Club. WOSGA assumed the leadership of this tournament at the request of its founders.
In 2017, a Mid-Amateur division was added to the State Amateur to encourage players over the age of 35 to keep enjoying tournament golf. At this time, the Mid-Amateur plays concurrently with and at the same Club as the State Amateur; however, the Mid-Amateur players enjoy a more forward set of tees making the course shorter, and hopefully, more fun to play while still being a challenge.
The Cosmopolitan Four-Ball Championship evolved from a three-person team event into the two-person, four-ball tournament played now. It is the only competition in which gross and net champions are crowned. It has found a home at Alliance Country Club in Alliance, Ohio among rolling hills and welcoming staff.
In 2023, the Northern Ohio Golf Association was named as the tournament manager for all of the Women’s Ohio Golf Association tournaments, providing event operations, rules, and scoring to its members, and results reporting and photos to the public.
The Governor’s Trophy
The Governor’s Trophy was donated for the first WOSGA championship by then Governor, the Honorable James A. Cox. The sterling silver trophy was given to the first champion to keep for a year.
Over the years, the traveling trophy began to show signs of wear and thus the WOSGA decided to halt moving the Governor’s Trophy from championship to championship. Today, the Governor’s Trophy is displayed at the Northern Ohio PGA.
Governor Cox served two terms with a four-year gap, so he is considered Ohio’s 46th and 48th Governor. He was a journalist and founded Cox Enterprises. He also ran for President but lost on the fourth ballot. He passed away in 1957.
WOSGA Championship Facts
What was the longest match played in WOSGA history?
The longest match, 43 holes, was played by Janet Schock Beardsley and Dorothy Gardner Knight at Losantiville Country Club in 1940. Janet won 1 up.
Has anyone made a hole-in-one in the finals?
The only ace recorded in the finals was made by Barbara McArthur in 1964 on the 16th hole at Belmont Hills Country Club, St. Clairsville.
Has anyone won a state amateur championship more than once?
Twenty-three women have won the State Amateur more than once. However, only four women have won the tournament a total of four times each: Louise Fordyce of Youngstown Country Club (1922, 1923, 1924, and 1926), Claire Doran Stancik of Canterbury Country Club (1950, 1952, 1953, and 1954), and Lida Fee Matthews of Portsmouth Elks Country Club (1967, 1969, 1971, and 1972).
Who made the most birdies in the final round?
Those watching the 1994 championship witnessed an outstanding display of golfing abilities by both finalists. In route to winning the championship, Shani Roth set a tournament record of thirteen birdies, defeating Pat Milton 3 & 2.
Did Ohio ever win the now-retired USGA State Team?
In 2003, Emily Bastel, Lynn Thompson, and Heather Zielinski represented Ohio and won the 5th USGA State Team Championship.
Has a player won multiple state championships in the same year?
In 1997, Jamie Rishel won the State Amateur and the Ohio Junior Girls Championship. In 2004, Kelsey Lindenschmidt won the State Amateur at the age of fifteen, the same year she won the Ohio Junior Girls Championship. In 2016 and 2017, Suzi Spotleson won the Seniors and the Mid-Am championships.
Has a player won three or more different WOSGA state championships during their career?
In 2020, Janie Dumler Klare won the Mid-Amateur, adding that title to her 1984 Ohio Junior Girls and 1996 State Amateur wins.
What’s the lowest stroke play score shot in a WOSGA tournament?
A score of 65 was shot by Gabrielle Wedding, breaking the prior record of 69 set by Peggy Kirk Bell in 1947 and Vicki Singleton in 1979.