Girls Amateur Championship

Currently the championship involves two rounds of stroke-play after which the 64 lowest scores compete in six rounds of match-play. Ties for 64th place are decided by countback. All match-play rounds are over 18 holes, except the final which is played over 36 holes, with extra holes played, if necessary, to decide the winner. Girls need to be under 18 on 1 January in the year of the championship.

The first attempt to run the event was in 1914, when The Gentlewoman magazine organised an event, for which Princess Mary, then 17, presented a trophy. The event was to have been played on 17 and 18 September at Stoke Poges Golf Club but was cancelled because of the start of World War I.[2]

The 1919 event was organised by Mabel Stringer, the sports editor of The Gentlewoman.[2] It was played on 17 and 18 September at Stoke Poges. 16 girls competed, having qualified through local events. Two rounds were played each day. The first winner of the Princess Mary trophy was Audrey Croft, from Ashford Manor, who beat Christina Clarke, from Reddish Vale, by 1 hole in the final.[3] The two finalists in 1919 met again in 1920, Miss Clarke winning this time at the 21st hole.[4] The first overseas winner was Simone de la Chaume from France, who beat Dorothy Pearson in 1924.[5] The 1926 championship was won by another French girl, Diana Esmond, who beat Margaret Ramsden in the final. Ramsden had beaten Esmond's sister, Sybil in the semi-final.[6] Diana Fishwick became the first two-time winner, winning in 1927 and 1928 while Pauline Doran won three times in a row, 1930, 1931 and 1932. Doran had beaten Dorrit Wilkins in the final in both 1930 and 1931 and beat Aline de Gunzbourg from France, in 1932.[7][8]

1932 was the first year that The Bystander magazine organised the event. The Gentlewoman magazine had merged with Eve: The Lady's Pictorial, later to become Britannia and Eve, and the event had been known as the Eve's Girls Championship since 1927. Nancy Jupp became the youngest winner when she won the 1934 championship at the age of 13, beating Joan Montford, nearly five years older, in the final.[9] There was a French winner again in 1937, Lally Vagliano beating the defending champion, Peggy Edwards, in the final.[10] The 1939 championship was planned for September but was cancelled because of the start of World War II. The first England–Scotland match was held in 1935, on the Monday before the start of the championship. Scotland won by 5 matches to 2.[11]

The event was not restarted after the war until the Ladies Golf Union took over the organisation of the event in 1949. Played at Beaconsfield Golf Club, the tournament was won by Pam Davies, a Coventry medical student, who beat Arlette Jacquet, from Belgium, by one hole.[12] The first post-war overseas winner was Brigitte Varangot from France who won at North Berwick in 1957, beating the defending champion Ruth Porter in the final.[13] Varangot reached the final the following year at Cotswold Hills but lost to Tessa Ross Steen in the final.[14] It was not until 1969 that there was another overseas winner, Joyce de Witt Puyt, from the Netherlands, beating the Belgian Corinne Reybroeck in the final. Reybroeck had also been runner-up in 1968. Since 1969 the number of overseas winners has increased, outnumbering British winners, although two Scots, Jane Connachan and Mhairi McKay are the only girls since the war to win the championship twice. The event is now run by The R&A, following the merger with the LGU in 2017. In 2022 the final was extended from 18 to 36 holes.

Year	Venue	Champion	Score	Runner-up
2023	Ganton	Helen Briem	12 & 10	Martina Navarro Navarro
2022	Carnoustie	Lottie Woad	7 & 6	Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio
2021	Fulford	Hannah Darling	2 up	Beth Coulter
2020	Southport and Ainsdale	Cancelled[15]
2019	Panmure	Pia Babnik	4 & 3	Isabella Holpfer
2018	Ardglass	Emma Spitz	2 & 1	Isabella Holpfer
2017	Enville	Lily May Humphreys	7 & 5	Emilie Overas
2016	Royal St David's	Emilie Alba Paltrinieri	4 & 3	Isobel Wardle
2015	West Kilbride	Sandra Nordaas	2 & 1	Marta Perez Sanmartin
2014	Massereene	Alejandra Pasarin	2 & 1	Chiara Mertens
2013	Fairhaven	Jing Yan	1 up	Roberta Liti
2012	Tenby	Georgia Hall	6 & 5	Clara Baena
2011	Gullane No.1	Margaux Vanmol	1 up	Céline Boutier
2010	Royal Belfast	Alexandra Bonetti	7 & 6	Laura Sedda
2009	West Lancashire	Perrine Delacour	2 up	Elizabeth Mallett
2008	Monifieth Links	Laura Gonzalez Escallon	2 & 1	Kelly Tidy
2007	Southerndown	Henrietta Brockway	4 & 3	Kelly Tidy
2006	Portstewart	Belén Mozo	3 & 1	Sally Watson
2005	West Hill	Anna Nordqvist	2 & 1	Azahara Muñoz
2004	Lanark	Azahara Muñoz	4 & 2	Valentine Derrey
2003	Newport	Marianne Skarpnord	2 & 1	Beatriz Recari
2002	Sandiway	Abandoned because of rain
2001	Brough	Clare Queen	1 up	Carmen Alonso
2000	Blairgowrie	Tullia Calzavara	1 up	Rachel Bell
1999	High Post	Suzann Pettersen	3 & 1	Miriam Nagl
1998	Holyhead	Maria Beautell	4 & 3	Miriam Nagl
1997	West Kilbride	Caroline Laurens	2 & 1	Miriam Nagl
1996	Formby Ladies	Marine Monnet	4 & 3	Caroline Laurens
1995	Northop County Park	Anne Thevenin-Lemoine	3 & 2	Jessica Krantz
1994	Gog Magog	Amandine Vincent	1 up	Rebecca Hudson
1993	Helensburgh	Mhairi McKay	4 & 3	Amandine Vincent
1992	Northamptonshire	Mhairi McKay	2 & 1	Sara Beautell
1991	Whitchurch (Cardiff)	Maria Hjorth	3 & 2	Janice Moodie
1990	Penrith	Silvia Cavalleri	5 & 4	Esther Valera
1989	Carlisle	Myra McKinlay	19 holes	Sofie Eriksson
1988	Pyle & Kenfig	Alison MacDonald	3 & 2	Jessica Posener
1987	Barnham Broom	Helen Dobson	19 holes	Stefania Croce
1986	West Kilbride	Stefania Croce	2 & 1	Sarah Bennett
1985	Hesketh	Susan Shapcott	3 & 1	Elaine Farquharson
1984	Llandudno (Maesdu)	Carol Swallow	1 up	Elaine Farquharson
1983	Alwoodley	Evelyn Orley	7 & 6	Adele Walters
1982	Edzell	Claire Waite	6 & 5	Mary Mackie
1981	Woodbridge	Jane Connachan	20 holes	Penny Grice
1980	Wrexham	Jane Connachan	2 up	Laura Bolton
1979	Edgbaston	Sophie Lapaire	19 holes	Pat Smillie
1978	Largs	Marie-Laure de Lorenzi	2 & 1	Debbie Glenn
1977	Formby Ladies	Wilma Aitken	2 & 1	Sue Bamford
1976	Pyle & Kenfig	Gillian Stewart	5 & 4	Susan Rowlands
1975	Henbury	Suzanne Cadden	4 & 3	Lisa Isherwood
1974	Dunbar	Ruth Barry	1 up	Tegwen Perkins
1973	Northamptonshire County	Anne Marie Palli	2 & 1	Nathalie Jeanson
1972	Royal Norwich	Maureen Walker	2 & 1	Suzanne Cadden
1971	North Berwick	Josephine Mark	4 & 3	Maureen Walker
1970	North Wales	Carol Le Feuvre	2 & 1	Mickey Walker
1969	Ilkley	Joyce de Witt Puyt	2 & 1	Corinne Reybroeck
1968	Leven	Carol Wallace	4 & 3	Corinne Reybroeck
1967	Liphook	Penny Burrows	2 & 1	Jill Hutton
1966	Troon Portland	Jill Hutton	20 holes	Dinah Oxley
1965	Formby Ladies	Anne Willard	3 & 2	Shirley Ward
1964	Camberley Heath	Pam Tredinnick	2 & 1	Kathleen Cumming
1963	Gullane	Dinah Oxley	2 & 1	Barbara Whitehead
1962	Alnmouth	Susan McLaren-Smith	2 & 1	Aileen Murphy
1961	Beaconsfield	Diane Robb	3 & 2	Jean Roberts
1960	Kilmarnock (Barassie)	Susan Clarke	2 & 1	Ann Irvin
1959	Woolaton Park	Sheila Vaughan	1 up	Julia Greenhalgh
1958	Cotswold Hills	Tessa Ross Steen	2 & 1	Brigitte Varangot
1957	North Berwick	Brigitte Varangot	3 & 2	Ruth Porter
1956	Seaton Carew	Ruth Porter	5 & 4	Annette Nicholson
1955	Beaconsfield	Angela Ward	5 & 4	Alison Gardner
1954	West Kilbride	Bridget Jackson	20 holes	Dolores Winsor
1953	Woodhall Spa	Susan Hill	3 & 2	Angela Ward
1952	Stoke Poges	Ann Phillips	7 & 6	Suzanne Marbrook
1951	Gullane	Jane Redgate	19 holes	Janette Robertson
1950	Formby	Janette Robertson	5 & 4	Ann Phillips
1949	Beaconsfield	Pam Davies	1 up	Arlette Jacquet
1939–1948: Not played
1938	Stoke Poges	Sheila Stroyan	4 & 3	Joan Pemberton
1937	Stoke Poges	Lally Vagliano	5 & 4	Peggy Edwards
1936	Stoke Poges	Peggy Edwards	3 & 2	Jacqueline Gordon
1935	Stoke Poges	Peggy Falkner	1 up	Joan Pemberton
1934	Stoke Poges	Nancy Jupp	3 & 1	Joan Montford
1933	Stoke Poges	Jessie Anderson	5 & 3	Enid Pears
1932	Stoke Poges	Pauline Doran	19 holes	Aline de Gunzbourg
1931	Stoke Poges	Pauline Doran	2 & 1	Dorrit Wilkins
1930	Stoke Poges	Pauline Doran	19 holes	Dorrit Wilkins
1929	Stoke Poges	Nan Baird	4 & 3	Sylvia Bailey
1928	Stoke Poges	Daina Fishwick	3 & 2	Marion Jolly
1927	Stoke Poges	Diana Fishwick	7 & 6	Irene Taylor
1926	Stoke Poges	Diana Esmond	6 & 5	Margaret Ramsden
1925	Stoke Poges	Enid Wilson	5 & 3	Katharine Nicholls
1924	Stoke Poges	Simone de la Chaume	4 & 2	Dorothy Pearson
1923	Stoke Poges	Mary Mackay	3 & 2	Barbara Strohmenger
1922	Stoke Poges	Muriel Wickenden	4 & 3	Barbara Griffiths
1921	Stoke Poges	Winifred Sarson	5 & 3	Marjorie Parkinson
1920	Stoke Poges	Christina Clarke	21 holes	Audrey Croft
1919	Stoke Poges	Audrey Croft	1 up	Christina Clarke

Sources:[16][17]

• 2024 - Alwoodley[18]

• Official website