U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship

The U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship was, from 1977 through 2014, one of the annual USGA national championships staged by the United States Golf Association. The tournament was discontinued when the USGA decided to replace it with a fourball tournament.

The U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links championship was also called the U.S. WAPL (pronounced "wapple"), and was colloquially known as the Women's Publinks or Publinx. It was played annually at a different public golf course.

The USWAPL was open to women amateur golfers who did not hold playing privileges at private courses — golfers who were not country-clubbers, in other words, but were public-course players. Members of private clubs were not eligible to compete. Prior to 1979, golfers had to belong to a private club affiliated with the USGA in order to enter the U.S. Women's Amateur (or the men's U.S. Amateur). The Amateur Public Links Championships provided competitions for public course golfers. By the time the Amateur Public Links championships were dropped, that U.S. Amateur requirement had long-since been removed.

The Format: The field played two rounds of stroke-play qualifying. The Top 64 moved on to match play, with 18-hole matches. The championship match was also 18 holes from 1977 through 2001; from 2002 through 2014, the championship match was 36 holes.

Winners of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship

36-Hole Final
2014 — Alice Jo def. Eun Jeong Seong, 3 and 2
2013 — Lauren Diaz-Yi def. Doris Chen, 10 and 9
2012 — Kyung Kim def. Ashlan Ramsey, 4 and 2
2011 — Brianna Do def. Marissa Dodd, 1-up
2010 — Emily Tubert def. Lisa McCloskey, 3 and 2
2009 — Jennifer Song def. Kimberly Kim, 7 and 6
2008 — Tiffany Joh def. Jennifer Song, 2 and 1
2007 — Mina Harigae def. Stephany Fleet, 4 and 3
2006 — Tiffany Joh def. Kimberly Kim, 6 and 5
2005 — Eun Jung Lee def. Tiffany Chudy, 1-up (37 holes)
2004 — Yani Tseng def. Michelle Wie, 1-up
2003 — Michelle Wie def. Virada Nirapathpongporn, 1-up
2002 — Annie Thurman def. Hwanhee Lee, 6 and 5

18-Hole Final
2001 — Candie Kung def. Missy Farr-Kaye, 2-up
2000 — Catherine Cartwright def. Russamee Gulyanamitta, 3 and 1
1999 — Jody Niemann def. Sue Billek Nyhus, 1-up
1998 — Amy Spooner def. Natalie Wong, 2 and 1
1997 — Jo Jo Robertson def. Angie Yoon, 3 and 2
1996 — Heather Graff def. Lauri Berles, 5 and 4
1995 — Jo Jo Robertson def. Elizabeth Drambour, 3 and 1
1994 — Jill McGill def. Heidi Voorhees, 6 and 4
1993 — Connie Masterson def. Holly Reynolds, 1-up
1992 — Amy Fruhwirth def. Sara Evens, 3 and 1
1991 — Tracy Hanson def. Carri Wood, 1-up
1990 — Cathy Mockett def. Barbara Blanchar, 5 and 4
1989 — Pearl Sinn def. Kelli Akers, 2 and 1
1988 — Pearl Sinn def. Tami Jo Hemingsen, 2 and 1
1987 — Tracy Kerdyk def. Pearl Sinn, 4 and 3
1986 — Cindy Schreyer def. Victoria Goetze, 3 and 2
1985 — Danielle Ammaccapane def. Kristie Kolacny, 6 and 5
1984 — Heather Farr def. Kristie Kolacny, 3 and 2
1983 — Kelli Antolock def. Nancy Taylor, 1-up
1982 — Nancy Taylor def. Kerri Clark, 2 and 1
1981 — Mary Enright def. Lauri Merten, 3 and 1
1980 — Lori Castillo def. Pam Miller, 2 and 1
1979 — Lori Castillo def. Becky Pearson, 2-up
1978 — Kelly Fuiks def. Diana Schwab, 5 and 4
1977 — Kelly Fuiks def. Kathy Williams, 1-up

U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship Facts & Figures

Most Victories

Five golfers won the USWAPL twice each:

• Kelly Fuiks (1977, 1978)
• Lori Castillo (1979, 1980)
• Pearl Sinn (1988, 1989)
• Jo Jo Robertson (1995, 1997)
• Tiffany Joh (2006, 2008)

Golfers Who Won Both the WAPL and U.S. Women's Amateur

• Pearl Sinn: WAPL, 1988, 1989; Amateur, 1988
• Amy Fruhwirth: WAPL, 1992; Amateur, 1991
• Jill McGill: WAPL, 1994; Amateur, 1993
• Jennifer Song: WAPL, 2009; Amateur, 2009

Trivia:

• Michelle Wie holds the record as youngest USWAPL champion. She was 13 when she won in 2003. That was also, at the time, the record for youngest winner of an adult USGA championship. Wie reached the championship match the following year but lost to Yani Tseng.
• Pearl Sinn is the only golfer to reach the finals three times. She lost in the finals in 1987, then won in 1988-89.
• Sinn was the first of the four golfers to win both the Women's Publinx and the U.S. Women's Amateur, and the first of two to win both in the same year. Jennifer Song is the other golfer who won both in the same year.
• The first winner, Kelly Fuiks, also was the first 2-time winner, winning back-to-back in the first two WAPLs. She is better-known as Kelly Leadbetter. Her husband is famous instructor David Leadbetter and her daughter is golf personality Hally Leadbetter.

Related article: Men's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship