Amateur Open to be held for entry into LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic

The LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic will hold its Amateur Open on Monday, Jun 24, at Gearhart (Ore.) Golf Links.

The winner of this one-day qualifier will gain entry into the Portland Classic, which will be held this year on August 1-4 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

The Portland Classic’s Amateur Open originated in 2005 and the Portland Classic was the first LPGA Tour event to provide a sponsor’s exemption to a deserving amateur by winning the one-day Amateur Open event.

The goal of Tournament Golf Foundation, the tournament’s original organizers, was to provide a dream of a lifetime to local female amateur. After its inaugural event in 2005, word got out about the Portland Classic Am Open and it became a big-time amateur event, receiving entry requests from across the U.S. and Canada.

Nearly 30 players who have played in the event have gone on to get their LPGA Tour card. In fact, three previous winners of the Amateur Open are scheduled to play in the 2024 Portland Classic – Sydnee Michaels (2-time Am Open winner), Gigi Stoll (3-time Am Open winner, former PNGA Player of the Year, and native of Tigard, Ore.), and Lee Lopez.

One of the best stories might be M.J. Hur, who played in the 2007 Portland Classic Amateur Open but failed to win. The loss motivated her enough to get her LPGA Tour card later that year. Two years later, in 2009, she came back to Portland to win the Portland Classic.

Ellie Slama of Salem, Ore. (and also a former PNGA Player of the Year) played her way into the Portland Classic twice via the Amateur Open, in 2019 and 2021. She went on to make the cut in both years.

Last year, Oregon State University player and Oregon Amateur Champion Kyra Ly won the event and played in the 2023 Portland Classic.

One of the other special features of the event is that the players who finish in second and third place in the Am Open get another opportunity to qualify for the Portland Classic by receiving an invitation to play in the Monday qualifier during the week of the tournament proper, vying for two additional playing spots.

The entry fee is $110 (which includes a practice round), and all entrants must have a Handicap Index of 1.5 or lower. Spectators are welcome and there is no admission fee.

For more information about the event, visit PortlandClassic.com or email [email protected].