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Klasse Takes Early Lead at MGA Women’s Senior Amateur Championship
CHASKA, Minn. – Looking to claim her sixth victory in the event, Leigh Klasse fired a 1-under 71 Monday to take a five shot lead over Lynn Anderson...
4 min read
The 2026 MGA Women's Amateur Championship will be held at Bearpath Golf & Country Club, Tuesday through Thursday, July 14–16. Eighty-nine competitors will play 54 holes of stroke play for the Patty Berg Memorial Trophy. A tie for the Championship will be broken by a sudden-death playoff.
At a Glance
| Dates | Tuesday–Thursday, July 14–16, 2026 |
| Venue | Bearpath Golf & Country Club, Eden Prairie |
| Format | 54 holes of stroke play |
| Field | 89 competitors |
| Course | 6,251 yards · par 36–36—72 · Course and Slope Rating: 76.7/133 |
| At stake | The winner receives an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, August 3–9, 2026, at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. |
Live Scoring will be available on the MGA web site mngolf.org. Follow us for updates, photos, and results — Instagram: MNGolfAssn · X: @MNGolfAssn
The Field
23 players
There are 23 players in the field with a “plus” USGA Handicap Index (that is, having an index that is better than scratch), with Emma Welch, MN Golf Community, atop the list at +4.5.
12 years, 9 months, 27 days
The youngest player in this year's field is Alexandra Farrell, Interlachen Country Club, at 12 years, 9 months and 27 days.
Bearpath Golf & Country Club
The 2026 MGA Amateur Championship marks the second time the state amateur championship, men's or women's, has visited Bearpath Golf & Country Club. In 2000, John Harris posted a 54-hole total of 211 to capture his fourth state amateur title, coming 26 years after his first in 1974. Harris, the 1993 U.S. Amateur champion and a Walker Cup player and captain, remains one of the most decorated amateurs in Minnesota golf history. Bearpath has hosted other MGA championships, including the 2013 MGA Senior Amateur, where Jim Lehman drained a 40-foot birdie putt on the penultimate hole of the tournament to edge David Kokesh by a stroke at even-par 216. The club has also hosted numerous USGA and MGA qualifiers.
Bearpath was established in 1996 as the centerpiece of the gated Bearpath community in Eden Prairie, a residential development spanning more than 400 acres in the southwest Twin Cities suburbs. The club officially opened on August 5, 1996, with Jack Nicklaus on hand for the grand opening, carding an even-par 72 in his first round on the course he designed.
The golf course architect is Jack Nicklaus, and Bearpath remains the only Nicklaus Signature Design in Minnesota and the upper Midwest. Routed over more than 200 acres of rolling, wooded terrain, the layout stretches to 7,250 yards at par 72 and features bentgrass greens, tees and fairways. From 2021 to 2023, the club completed a master plan renovation led by Nicklaus Design, prompted by a return visit from Nicklaus himself. The project addressed erosion along Riley Creek and included the re-grassing and resizing of all greens, the repositioning and re-lining of every bunker, reshaped fairways and approaches, and new practice facilities featuring an 18-hole putting course. Wetlands and mature hardwoods frame many of the holes, and the well-guarded greens place a premium on precise approach play and course management to test the state's best amateur players.
Course Set Up
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| Yards | 346 | 512 | 370 | 355 | 327 | 163 | 355 | 156 | 494 | 3,078 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Yards | 370 | 195 | 501 | 132 | 355 | 124 | 320 | 371 | 415 | 3,173 |
Bearpath Golf & Country Club Officials
Greg Olson, General Manager; Phillip Olson, Head Golf Professional; and Jim Snell, Golf Course Superintendent
Eligibility
To enter the MGA Women's Amateur Championship, a player must be an associate member of the MGA (through membership of an MGA member club) and carry a USGA Handicap Index of 12.0 or lower at the time of entry.
Pairings/Notice to Competitors
Complete pairings and the Terms of Competition are available online HERE!
About the MGA
Founded in 1901, the Minnesota Golf Association is the governing body over amateur golf in the state, responsible for administering the Rules of Golf, and committed to upholding and promoting the game of golf and its values for all golfers in Minnesota. The MGA conducts 23 major amateur championships and 15 USGA qualifying events each year. Thanks to the support of its member clubs and associate members, and the efforts of its volunteers and staff, the MGA provides a variety of services such as handicapping, course rating and measuring, an online golf news and information resource, mngolf.org, and an official publication, The Minnesota Golfer magazine, which benefits all golfers throughout Minnesota.
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