The Big Ten is coming.
The prestigious, Power Five conference has selected the Fox Chapel Golf Club for the site of its women’s golf championships over the next two seasons.
This year’s event will be from April 22-24, with a practice round on April 21.
There will be six female golfers from each the conference’s 14 schools vying for the championship.
The Big Ten footprint is usually related to places like Columbus, Ann Arbor or Chicago.
But conference officials liked what they saw with the Fox Chapel facility.
“Fox Chapel is a high-quality course that is located within our footprint,” said Megan Althoff, assistant director of communications for the Big Ten. “It will allow for an excellent experience for our student-athletes, while also competing on a challenging course. Fox Chapel has been enthusiastic about hosting our event, and we are grateful for their willingness to provide our institutions a well-rounded championship experience.”
It all started innocently enough with the Ohio State team playing in Florida three years ago. A friend of Fox Chapel Golf Club planning committee member Gina Cammuso mentioned Fox Chapel when it was discovered that the Big Ten coaches make recommendations for the site.
“In the third week of April, the conference has tried to do this in Michigan, Wisconsin and some snowy climates,” Cammuso said. “When my friend mentioned Fox Chapel, it clicked off a lot of checkmarks because it’s a great course, and it’s centrally located. They came out and played the course, loved the course and the dialogue began.”
Last year’s tournament was held in Indianapolis.
“Our coaches and administrators review the recommendations, discuss what we need with the potential hosts and ultimately decide whether to move forward,” Althoff said.
The Fox Chapel Golf Club membership is anxious to show off its renovated facility. After a three-year stint hosting the Senior Players Championship, the membership decided to renovate the historic, 6,707-yard course to its original Seth Raynor design.
The two-year course restoration was completed in 2020.
“Seth Raynor was known for geometrically-shaped bunkers, rectangles, circles, triangles,” Cammuso said. “Not kidney-shaped or mis-shapened. A lot of our bunkers were taken back to where they were originally designed, deeper into the fairways. The ladies are super excited about coming here.”
Already, planning is taking place for next year’s Big Ten Tournament and the golf club’s 100th anniversary in 2023.
The club was founded at a dinner on Jan. 26, 1923, where 50 attendees pledged $150,000 in construction bonds. The golf course began play June 15, 1925.
The “Fox Chapel” name was suggested by R.B. Mellon.
“We want to give back to the game,” Cammuso said. “And what better way to allow a collegiate event to take place here.”
The four lowest scores from each day from each team comprise the cumulative team score over the three days. The lowest of the 12 scores will be the winner of the Big Ten for the team. Concurrently, an individual champion will be determined.
Winners will advance to the NCAA Regionals May 9-11.
The women’s championship tournament will be from May 20-25 at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
If you’re going
Big 10 women’s golf championship
April 22-24, Fox Chapel Golf Club
Admission: Free
Tee times: Friday and Saturday 8:30 a.m., Sunday 8 a.m.
