The fourth annual Sea Island Women's Amateur is back at The Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga., from May 29 to May 31.
Hannah Levi (2021), Kayla Holden (2022), and Morgan Ketchum (2023) are the three past winners of the event. Ketchum is back in the field this week to defend her 2023 title.
Laney Frye, a senior at Kentucky, has finished 2-T2-T2 in the last three additions of the championship and held the 36-hole lead in 2023. Frye led by five shots heading into the final round, but a final round 7-under 63 from Morgan Ketchum of Virginia Tech saw Frye lose by a devastating one-shot.
This will also be the first event played in the Women's Elite Amateur Series, launched in 2024.
“One of the big things that we want to achieve out of this is a better schedule. There are multiple elite women's events that are on top of each other on the calendar,” Priest said. “We want to try and help incentivize them to work this out to where those conflicts don't exist. That's the one thing that we would like to see on the men's side mirror on the women's side, so these elite events are not competing against each other.”
Just like the Men’s EAGS, there will be a series-long chase for an Elite Amateur Cup. To the victor will go the spoils, which will include USGA exemptions and other professional opportunities. The top finishers in the rankings will also receive professional exemptions. Those will be announced at a later date.
“Since day one, our goal has been to align the top competitive amateur events in the United States, not only for the men’s game but for the women’s game as well,” Andy Priest said in the official announcement back in January. "We are excited to play a leading role in elevating elite women’s golf by providing these athletes with an aligned summer schedule of competition at some of the most renowned venues in the country conducted by historic organizations and world-class resorts.”
Past champions
2023 Morgan Ketchum
2022 Kayla Holden
2021 Hannah Levi
2024 Women’s Elite Amateur Golf Series Schedule:
May 29-31 | 4th Sea Island Women’s Amateur, Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside), St. Simons Island, Ga.
June 12-15 | 4th Southwestern Women’s Amateur, Desert Mountain Club (Outlaw), Scottsdale, Ariz.
June 25-29 | 122nd North & South Women’s Amateur, Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (No. 2/No. 4), Pinehurst, N.C.
July 16-20 | 124th Women’s Western Amateur, Onwentsia Club, Lake Forest, Ill.
July 23-25 | 94th LNGA Amateur, Hot Springs Country Club, Hot Springs, Ark.
ABOUT THE
Sea Island Amateur
Patterned after the highly successful Jones Cup
Invitational tournaments at Sea Island and Ocean
Forest Golf Club, which began in 2001, the Women’s
Amateur follows the Jones Cup tradition
of drawing the nation’s best female golfers to the
world-class setting of Sea Island. The format is 54
holes of stroke play with a field limit of 84 players.
View Complete Tournament Information