Family Winners in USGA Championships (Brothers, Sisters, Parent-Child)
The United States Golf Association runs more a dozen national championships, the most-famous of which are the men's and women's U.S. Opens and the men's and women's U.S. Amateurs. Have any family members — e.g., a pair of brothers, or a mother-and-daughter — each won a USGA championship? Yes, it has happened ... but not very often.
Below are all the golfers who belong to families that boast more than one USGA national champion. There aren't many of them. (Note that we are talking about family members who won any USGA championship, not the same tournament — although there are a couple families that have done that.)
Father-Son Winners
- The Richardsons: Only one father-and-son have both won USGA championships. John Richardson, the father, won the 1987 U.S. Senior Amateur. His son, Kemp Richardson, won the same tournament in both 2001 and 2003.
Mother-Daughter Winners
- The Corneliuses: Kathy Cornelius won the 1956 U.S. Women's Open, and was a successful golfer for three decades on the LPGA Tour. Her daughter Kay Cornelius won the 1981 Girls' Junior. She was 14 years old, which made her, at the time, the youngest winner of a USGA Championship (a record since broken).
Brothers Who Were USGA Champions
- The Barenabas: The Barenaba brothers won the same USGA tournament in back-to-back years. Charles Barenaba won the 1974 U.S. Amateur Public Links, then Randyn Barenaba won it in 1975. Charles won his at stroke play, Randyn won his at match play.
- The Kuehnes: We'll see the Kuehnes again in this article. But Hank Kuehne and Trip Kuehne make their first appearance here. Hank won the 1998 U.S. Amateur, and Trip won the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and the 2007 State Team titles.
- The Lees: Stan Lee won the 2007 Senior Amateur and Louis Lee won the 2011 Senior Amateur.
- The Mudds: Eddie Mudd won the 1976 Amateur Public Links and Jodie Mudd won the same tournament in 1980 and 1981. Jodie went on to win on the PGA Tour, including the 1990 Players Championship.
- The Smiths: The Smith brothers, Willie and Alex, are the only pair of brothers to both win the U.S. Open. Willie Smith won the 1899 U.S. Open, then Alex won the 1906 U.S. Open and 1910 U.S. Open. In 1906, Willie was runner-up to Alex; and in 1910, Alex won a playoff that included a third brother, Macdonald Smith. Macdonald won more than 20 times on the PGA Tour, making the Smiths one of the most successful sets of brothers in golf history.
Sisters Who Won USGA Championships
- The Curtises: The Curtis sisters are most-famous today as the namesakes of the Curtis Cup. They were famous in their own time as early winners of the U.S. Women's Amateur. Harriot Curtis won that title in 1906, and Margaret Curtis won the U.S. Women's Amateurs of 1907, 1911 and 1912. Margaret beat Harriot in the championship match in 1907.
- The Stacys: Hollis Stacy's six wins in USGA championships is among the highest totals in USGA history. She won the Girls' Junior three years running, 1969, 1970 and 1971; and as a pro, Hollis won the U.S. Women's Open three times, in 1977, 1978 and 1984. Her sister Martha (Stacy) Leach put the family on this list when she won the 2009 Women's Mid-Amateur.
Brother-Sister Winners
- The Kuehnes: We've already seen the Kuehne brothers, Hank and Trip, on the list above. But it was their sister Kelli Kuehne who first won a USGA title for the family. Kelli won the 1994 Girls' Junior, and then won the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1995 and 1996.
- The Lees: Minjee Lee won the 2012 Girls' Junior and the 2022 U.S. Women's Open. Her brother Min Woo Lee claimed the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur. Both Lee siblings are successful pro golfers, especially Minjee who became one of the LPGA Tour's top players.
