One of Arkansas’ “hidden gems” golf courses is getting more exposure as it hosts its second national event in as many years. The Hot Springs Country Club will host the 94th Ladies National Golf Association Amateur Championship from July 23 to July 25.

Tee time is 7:30 a.m. for the all-female event, featuring players from five nations, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Singapore. Eighty-two players, ranging in age from 62 to 14, are expected to descend upon Hot Springs for the 54-hole event, including nine from Arkansas and one from Puerto Rico. There will be 15 junior players, 18 and under. Eighteen holes will be played on Tuesday, and then the players will be re-paired by score on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We’re pretty excited to be able to come to Hot Springs and to showcase all the talent that’s out there in women’s golf,” said Tobi Herron, who serves as secretary for the board of the LNGA Board of Directors and also leads the organization’s marketing and communications team. “This year, in particular, is a special year because it is the very first year of the women’s elite amateur series.”

It’s the inaugural year for the Women’s Elite Amateur Golf Series Cup, which includes the Sea Island Women’s Amateur, Southwestern Women’s Amateur, North & South Women’s Amateur, Women’s Western Amateur and finishes at the LNGA Amateur Championship in Hot Springs.

“So, for the first time ever, the premium women’s amateur golf tournament have aligned their schedules in such a way that these top athletes can go from tournament to tournament, play against the best competition and then work to not only improve their golf game but also try and get some points that will hopefully result in exemptions to them for some professional events, TBD, but also to the US Women’s Amateur,” said Herron.

At the end of the series, the top two players, who are not otherwise exempt as of July 25, will be given exemptions and automatically qualify for the US Women’s Amateur. If the top two players are already exempt, the two players to be awarded the exemption must rank in the top 10 of the series.

Jaden Johnson

There will be some familiar faces at the championship, including “hometown favorites” Jaden Johnson, with a 1.7 handicap, and her former teammate, Maggie Huett, who has gone on to join the University of Cincinnati team. The two previously played together for the Lakeside High School team, which claims the course as its home field. Another Arkansas player, Grace Kilcrease from Springdale, is ranked 21st in the series cup, the only ranked player from Arkansas in the tournament. Kilcrease now plays for the University of Tulsa. Seven of the top 25 will take part in the championship.

“Certainly watch out for the Arkansas gals,” Herron said.

The highest-ranked player expected at the championship is Scarlett Schremmer, a University of Texas commit from Birmingham’s Shoal Creek Golf Club. She’s ranked fourth in the series going into Tuesday’s competition.

“She’s kind of our highest elite series gal in here,” Herron said. “But we do have, out of the top 25 of the elite series cup rankings, we have some of those individuals that are in the field with us this week.”

Schremmer returns to the course after tying for 28th place at last year’s 47th Junior PGA Championships held at HSCC. Though there is quite a lot of distance between Birmingham and Hot Springs, Schremmer and Johnson are close friends. During last year’s championships, Schremmer stayed at Johnson’s home and plans to stay there again this year.

“What’s unique about our tournament is that we have the ability to, I’m going to say, ‘sprinkle the glitter’ that is women’s golf across the country,” Herron said. “I mean, it’s just incredible to be able to take our tournament on the road and showcase all the top talent that plays in our events. Honestly, we’ve built friends all across the country.”

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Last year, the LNGA championship was held in Ohio. It’s scheduled to take place in Washington State next year.

“We’ve just been fortunate to host events, and the condition of the course that our superintendent, Trey Rutledge, keeps it pretty much tournament ready every day,” said Barry Howard, general manager and director of golf for the country club. “The reputation it has from that just makes it where people want to come play.”

Howard, originally from Benton, has held his current position since 2002. He started as an assistant pro in 1990 and became the club’s head pro two years later.

Jaden Johnson

He said the membership is accommodating and understands that he and the leadership at HSCC are “trying to grow the game of golf and keep golf going for years to come.” Howard said having events like these is a big part of that effort.

“We’ve got a great history here,” Howard said. “We were kind of a hidden gem, and it’s getting out.”

The club used to be a stop on the PGA tour during the 1950s and ‘60s but has only started hosting numerous USGA events in recent years. Howard hopes to build off of last year’s success and use this year’s event to gain attention for the course but understands that the HSCC still lies off the beaten path with no interstate connecting the town to the outside world.

Herron said the country club, which dates back to the 1800s, is a “beautiful facility” with a long history of hosting events such as this.

“It’s got all the right things to host an event of this caliber,” she said.

The championship starts Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. after a practice round on Monday. Over 80 women are expected to appear, and spectators are welcome.

“Most people can relate to women’s golf so much more than a PGA tour event because usually these women play with angle, they play with strategy and they’ve got incredible short game,” Herron said. “So, we would love for people to come out and see it.”

Fans can keep up with the action without attending in person thanks to live leaderboard updates at www.ladiesnationalgolf.org and on the group’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Jaden Johnson

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