PREVIEW: 101st Women’s Amateur Championship at Essex Fells Country Club
ESSEX FELLS, N.J. –– The Garden State’s top female amateur golfers will compete for one of New Jersey’s most prestigious titles as the 101st Women’s Amateur Championship returns July 13-15 to Essex Fells Country Club for first time since 1996.
Thirty Years Later: Sherry Herman Reflects on Her Championship Legacy
One year after the landmark centennial championship, the state’s premier Women’s Amateur Championship enters its next chapter, with a talented field set to battle it out over three days of competition.
Since 1926, the New Jersey Women’s Amateur Championship has long served as a proving ground for the state’s top players, showcasing elite competition and crowning champions whose names have become etched in New Jersey golf history.
Founded in 1896 and formally incorporated as the Essex Fells Golf Club in 1900, Essex Fells has grown into one of the state’s most storied championship venues. After relocating to its current property in 1913, the club opened its 18-hole course in 1916, with its iconic clubhouse following a year later.
A major transformation came in the 1920s when renowned architect Seth Raynor redesigned and rerouted the course, shaping much of the classic layout of narrow fairways, strategic bunkering and demanding green complexes seen today. Rich in both tradition and golf lore, including recognition as the birthplace of the “mulligan,” Essex Fells provides a fitting stage for New Jersey’s top female amateur golfers.
The 101st Women’s Amateur marks the championship’s first return to Essex Fells since 1996, adding another chapter to the club’s rich history.
Format & Schedule
18-hole-stroke-play qualifying will take place on Monday, July 13 to determine the low 16 players advancing to match play. Ties for final spots will be settled by an immediate hole-by-hole playoff, with the Round of 16 following that afternoon. The Quarterfinals and Semifinal matches will begin on Tuesday, July 14 starting at 7:30 a.m. The final match tees off at 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15.
The champion will gain exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn.
A Look Back
In the centennial Women's Amateur Championship at Hackensack Golf Club Sarah Shao defeated the reigning champion Katie Li in dominant fashion with a 7 & 6 victory. After starting the tournmanent with a steady 1-under par 71, Shao battled through her match-play rounds, defeating Sammie Dolce and Megan Meng in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals in 19 holes. Shao closed out the championship with a strong 2 & 1 victory over Vidhi Lakhawala before claiming victory againt Li in the finale.
Since last years championship, the rising sophomore at Columbia University recently fired in a 3-under par 69 to qualify at a Local Qualifying round for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Copper Hill Country Club. Shao was also named the New Jersey Golf Junior Girls’ Co- Player of the Year Award alongside Megan Meng and Vaidehi Shah in October of 2025.
Inside the Field
The championship field is expected to feature many of New Jersey’s top female amateur players, including accomplished juniors, collegiate standouts, and experienced competitors from across the state. The champion will also earn an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. From Aug. 4-9.
Player Notes
A collection of notable players in the 101st Women’s Amateur Championship.
Grace Lu, 22, enters the field as one of the most consistently dominant players in the state. Lu was named the recipient of the New Jersey Golf Women’s Player of the Year Award after reaching the quarterfinals at the 100th Women’s Amateur at Hackensack Golf Club and placing fourth at the 3rd Women’s Open at The Bedens Brook Club last summer. Lu recently finished her senior season playing for Rutgers University and has hopped off to a quick start to her summer by qualifying with a 3-under-par 69 at Local Qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
Megan Meng,19, looks to add on her first state title after making it to the quarterfinals of the 100th Women’s Amateur Championship and finishing runner-up at the 3rd Women’s Open Championship last summer. Meng, a national champion out of Northwestern University, was awarded the New Jersey Golf Junior Girls’ Co-Player of the Year Award alongside Sarah Shao and Vaidehi Shah for an outstanding 2025 season, which she looks to capitalize on during this year’s competition.
Katie Li, 21, returns to the field as the 2024 New Jersey Women’s Amateur Champion and the 2025 runner-up against Sarah Shao. The rising senior at Duke University has experience in two U.S. Women’s Opens ––2024 at Lancaster Country Club and 2025 at Erin Hills Golf Course. Li has earned All-ACC honors twice in her collegiate career and boasts a scoring average of 72.88 as a Blue Devil.
Samantha Galantini, 21, enters the field as a quarterfinalist during last years championship. The West Orange-native completed her junior season at Quinnipiac University this spring, earning a spot on the 2026 All-MAAC First Team and All-Academic Team. Galantini is no stranger to win in the championship golf circuit, having won the 58th Mixed Pinehurst Championship with her brother, Tyler, in 2024.
Daria Delfino, 28, enters the field poised with experience, and a spring season that could carry momentum towards another championship trophy added to the shelf. A former star out of Loyola University New Orleans, Delfino looks to add to another trophy to her championship resume, which consisted of two wins in 2025 –– the 12th Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and the 13th Women’s Four-Ball Championship alongside long-time friend and four-ball partner, Christina Parsells.
The champion will earn an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. From Aug. 4-9.
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