Pre-World War I In late 1892 several members of Wimbledon Ladies Golf Club contacted other ladies' clubs, in hopes of forming a ladies' golf union and holding a ladies' championship. The men's
Amateur Championship had been held since 1885. Independently the
Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, who had not been sent the circular, also decided to organise a ladies' championship. The two clubs combined their efforts in the
Ladies' Golf Union, holding their first championship from Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 June 1893 on the ladies' links of the
Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, a 9-hole course, then at Mayfield Road. There were 38 entries, requiring 6 knock-out rounds. Two rounds were played per day with the semi-finals and final played on the Thursday. All matches were over 18 holes, with extra holes played to ensure a result. The winner received a championship cup valued at 50 guineas, and a gold medal. The runner-up received a silver medal, and the other semi-finalists received bronze medals.
Lady Margaret Scott beat
Issette Pearson in the final by a score of 7&5. She was less than two weeks past her 17th birthday.
Joyce Wethered did not enter and
Cecil Leitch won, the first woman to win the event four times. and retained the championship, winning by a score of 7&6. In 1933 at
Gleneagles, Wilson won the title for the third year in succession, having beaten
Doris Park, in the semi-finals. The 1934 championship at
Royal Porthcawl produced two new finalists with
Helen Holm beating
Pam Barton in the final.
Enid Wilson had been excluded from the event as she was deemed to have lost her amateur status. In 1935, Pam Barton reached the final again, beating her sister
Mervyn in the semi-finals, but lost, this time to
Wanda Morgan. In 1936
Bridget Newell led the qualifying and reached the final where she met Pam Barton. Barton won the final 7&5 to win her first championship. The 1937 championship was played at
Turnberry. Bridget Newell had died just before the event, causing the
Home Internationals to be cancelled. However, the championship continued as normal. There had been a reduction in the number of entries and qualifying was dropped, the event returning to the earlier Monday to Friday dates. There was all-Scottish final,
Jessie Anderson beating
Doris Park 6&4. Another Scot,
Helen Holm, won for the second time in 1938. Pam Barton won her second title in 1939 beating
Jean Marks in the final at
Royal Portrush.
Post-World War II The championship resumed at
Hunstanton in 1946 but was not played until late in the year, finishing in early October. It was won by
Jean Hetherington who beat
Philomena Garvey in a close final. The 1947 event was held in June and was won by
Babe Zaharias, the first American winner. There was an all-American semi-final in 1948 with
Louise Suggs beating
Dorothy Kielty and winning the title the following day.
Frances Stephens won in 1949, beating Garvey in the semi-finals and another Irish woman,
Clarrie Reddan, in the final. Stephens reached four finals in six years from 1949 to 1954, winning again in 1954 but losing in 1951 and 1952. The
Vicomtesse de St Sauveur, Lally Segard, won in 1950 beating
Jessie Valentine, the 1937 champion, in the final. 1950 also saw the first Australian semi-finalist,
Judith Percy. The 1951 championship was won by
Kitty MacCann, the first Irish winner since 1907, while
Moira Paterson won in 1952. Garvey reached the final again in 1953 but lost to the Canadian
Marlene Stewart. Stewart reached the semi-finals the following year, 1954, but lost to Stephens at the 22nd hole. Stephens went on to win the title.
Jessie Valentine won for the second time in 1955, 18 years after her first success, beating
Barbara Romack in the final. There were three American semi-finalists in 1956, and all-American final, with
Wiffi Smith beating
Mary Patton Janssen.
Philomena Garvey beat Valentine in the 1957 final, having twice lost in the final previously. Valentine reached the final again in 1958, her third appearance in four years, and won the title for the third time.
Elizabeth Price won in 1959, having previously lost two finals. As in 1956, there were three American semi-finalists in 1960.
Barbara McIntire beat Garvey in the final.
Marley Spearman won in 1961 and repeated her success in 1962, becoming the first woman to successfully defend the title since
Enid Wilson in 1933. From 1962 to 1966 the championship was played in late September or early October, returning to June from 1967. French women had considerable success in the 1960s.
Brigitte Varangot won in 1963, 1965 and 1968 while
Catherine Lacoste won in 1969. In addition
Claudine Cros-Rubin reached the final in 1968 and was a losing semi-finalist three times, in 1961, 1963 and 1965. The American
Carol Sorenson won in 1964, beating
Bridget Jackson at the 37th hole.
Liz Chadwick won successive titles in 1966 and 1967, matching
Marley Spearman's achievement in 1961 and 1962. In 1965 the championship finished in early October. The final was reduced from 36 to 18 holes. It was the first 18-hole final since 1912. Qualifying was reintroduced in 1966, for the first time since the 1930s. 36 holes were played on the Tuesday and Wednesday with the match-play on Thursday to Saturday. Originally it was intended that 64 players would qualify, but with the prospect of early morning fog, this was reduced to 32. The match-play draw was seeded. There were also 32 qualifiers in 1967, the final remaining at 18 holes even though it was the only match on the final day. In 1968, bad weather reduced the qualifying to one round and, as a result, the number of qualifiers was increased to 64. Lacoste led the qualifying in three of the first four years, 1966, 1967 and 1969, and went on to win the championship in 1969. In 1970,
Dinah Oxley repeated
Catherine Lacoste's achievement in 1969, leading the qualifying and then winning the championship, beating
Belle Robertson in the final, Robertson's third loss in a final.
Beverly Huke nearly repeated the feat in 1971 but lost in the final to
Mickey Walker. At Hunstanton in 1972 the number of qualifiers was increased to 64, with the semi-final and final played on the same day. Walker retained her title beating
Claudine Cros-Rubin in the final. The number of qualifiers returned to 32 in 1973. Walker reached the final for the third successive year but lost to
Ann Irvin. The 1974 and 1975 championships were won by Americans,
Carol Semple and
Nancy Roth Syms. There were 64 qualifiers in 1975 but the number again returned to 32, from 1976. In 1976,
Alison Sheard was the first South African to reached the final, but she lost to
Cathy Panton, the first Scottish winner for 18 years.
Angela Uzielli won in 1977 while
Edwina Kennedy was the first Australian winner in 1978. Kennedy led the qualifying in 1979 but lost to another Australian,
Jane Lock in the semi-finals. Lock was beaten by
Maureen Madill in the final.
Anne Quast Sander won in 1980 beating
Liv Wollin in the final. In 1981
Belle Robertson led the qualifying and went on to win the championship, beating another Scot,
Wilma Aitken, in the final. Robertson, aged 45, became the oldest champion.
Kitrina Douglas won in 1982 and she was followed by
Jill Thornhill in 1983. An American,
Jody Rosenthal, won in 1984 despite having taken 90 in the first qualifying round and only just qualifying.
Lillian Behan, from Ireland, won in 1985 while 17-year-old New Zealander
Marnie McGuire won in 1986. McGuire beat Australian
Louise Briers in the final, and became the youngest winner since
May Hezlet in 1899.
Linda Bayman led the qualifying and was top seed in 1987, 1988 and 1989, but failed to get past the second round.
Janet Collingham,
Joanne Furby and
Helen Dobson won in those three years.
Julie Hall won the championship in 1990, while
Valerie Michaud won in 1991, beating
Wendy Doolan in the final.
Pernille Carlson Pedersen was the first Danish winner in 1992 while
Catriona Lambert won in 1993.
Emma Duggleby won in 1994 beating
Cécilia Mourgue d'Algue in the final, while Hall won for the second time in 1995, beating
Kristel Mourgue d'Algue, Cécilia's daughter, in the final. An American,
Kelli Kuehne won in 1996, while there was another Scottish winner,
Alison Rose in 1997.
Kim Rostron won in 1998, beating
Gwladys Nocera in the final, the third losing finalist from France in five years. However,
Marine Monnet, from France, won in 1999 beating
Rebecca Hudson in the final. In 2000,
Rebecca Hudson led the qualifying, was top seed and won the championship, beating
Emma Duggleby in the final. She was top seed again in 2001 but lost in the second round. She had her second win in 2002, her third final in four years. Continental European golfers dominated from 2001 to 2009. Five Spanish women won the championship in this period:
Marta Prieto in 2001,
Elisa Serramià in 2003,
Belén Mozo in 2006,
Carlota Ciganda in 2007 and
Azahara Muñoz in 2009. Ciganda led the qualifying in 2007, completing the double of being top seed and winning the event. In 2009 Muñoz was joint leader in the qualifying but seeded second on countback. Swedish women also had successes with
Louise Stahle winning in 2004 and 2005, with
Anna Nordqvist winning in 2008 after being runner-up in 2006 and 2007. Stahle was the top seed when she won in 2005. British women won the championship from 2010 to 2013.
Kelly Tidy won in 2010 while
Lauren Taylor beat Tidy in the 2011 semi-finals and went on to win in the championship and, at 16, becoming the youngest winner of the event.
Stephanie Meadow won in 2012 while 17-year-old
Georgia Hall won in 2013. Hall had been a semi-finalist in 2012. Golfers from continental Europe won from 2014 to 2016.
Emily Kristine Pedersen won in 2014 beating
Leslie Cloots in the final, while
Céline Boutier won in 2015 beating
Linnea Ström. 15-year-old
Julia Engström won in 2016, replacing Taylor as the youngest winner of the event. At the start of 2017, the
Ladies' Golf Union merged with
The R&A, which took over the organisation of the championship.
Leona Maguire won in 2017, beating
Ainhoa Olarra in the final.
Leonie Harm beat
Stephanie Lau in the 2018 final. In 2019 the name of the event was changed from the "Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship" to "The Women's Amateur Championship".
Emily Toy beat New Zealander
Amelia Garvey in the final. The 2020 championship was affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic and was not played until late August. Qualifying was reduced to a single round.
Aline Krauter beat
Annabell Fuller in the final. The format was revised in 2021 with the final extended from 18 to 36 holes.
Louise Duncan beat
Jóhanna Lea Lúðvíksdóttir 9&8 in the final, the first 36-hole final since 1964. ==Winners==