The Australian Women's Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It was first played in 1894 and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, it became a 72-hole stroke play event in 2021, having last been played as a stroke play event in 1927.
History
In 1894 the ladies of the Geelong and Melbourne clubs started an annual "Ladies Championship", to be played alternately on the two courses, the first event to be held at Geelong. The precise status of the event is unclear with some reports calling it the "Ladies' Championship of Victoria" and others the "Ladies' Championship of Australia". It was initially decided by a bogey competition over two rounds. Evelyn MacKenzie finished 9 down on bogey, two holes better than Jean Davie. McKenzie won again in 1895 at Royal Melbourne, this time a score of 1 up, and for a third time at Geelong in 1896, finishing 6 down but 12 holes better than anyone else. McKenzie did not complete in 1897 and Davie won the title. The format was changed to match-play in 1898 and was won by McKenzie who beat Ethel Guthrie in the final. In 1899 Louise Shaw won a close final at Royal Melbourne to win the title.
The Australian Golf Union was formed in 1898 and organised their first championship meeting at Royal Sydney in 1899, the main event being the Australian Amateur. The 1899 championship meeting did not include a ladies event but in 1900, when it was held at Adelaide Golf Club, a ladies championship was arranged before the men's event. It took the form of a 36-hole stroke-play event, played over two days. Evelyn Calder won with a score of 209, 23 strokes ahead of the runner-up, some sources referring to her as "the first lady champion of Australia". The Geelong/Royal Melbourne championship continued to be played and became clearly established as the "Ladies' Championship of Victoria" until the Victorian Ladies' Golf Union took over that event in 1907. The championship meeting returned to the Sydney area in 1901, being played at The Australian Golf Club. There was a separate ladies' championship meeting, held at Royal Sydney, starting immediately after the men's meeting, starting with a mixed foursomes event. Ethel Guthrie won the ladies championship with a score of 199. The 1902 championship meeting was held at Royal Melbourne for the first time, with the ladies championship following the men's events. The championship was extended to 54 holes and was won by Evelyn Calder. In 1903 the meeting returned to Adelaide Golf Club with the ladies championship played immediately before the men's event. Nellie De Little won with a score of 282.
In 1904 the men's championship meeting was held at The Australian Golf Club and included the first men's interstate team match and the first Australian Open. As in 1901, there was a separate ladies' championship meeting, held at Royal Sydney, although on this occasion it was held before the men's meeting. Mabel Trevor-Jones won the ladies championship by 10 strokes. From 1905 the ladies championship was played after the men's events, and the meeting eventually became known as "the open, amateur, and ladies' championship meeting" with the championships being played in that order. Myrtle Backhouse, a British visitor, won in 1905 with Elvie Whitesides from Tasmania winning in 1906. Leonora Wray had successive wins in 1907 and 1908 with Nellie Gatehouse taking the title in 1909. A different format was used in 1910 and 1911. There was a 36-hole qualifying stage after which the leading 8 played match-play, all matches being over 18 holes. Nancy Parbury won both times. The event returned to stroke-play in 1912 and resulted in a tie between Violet Binnie and Florence Fowler. The 18-hole playoff was very one-sided with Fowler conceding the match on the 15th hole. There was another Tasmanian winner in 1913, with Lucy Harrison taking the title.
The championship restarted in 1920 using the pre-war format of 54 holes of stroke-play. As previously it was played the week after the men's amateur championship. The Australian Ladies’ Golf Union was founded in 1921 and jointly ran the event with the Australian Golf Union. Eileen Hope Williams, from New Zealand, won the championship in 1920. Mona MacLeod won in 1921, by 14 strokes, and won again in 1926 and 1927. Other winners included Gladys Hay in 1922, Beth Newton Lees in 1924 and Nellie Gatehouse who won for a second time in 1925.