For the first time, a military organization’s golf course will play host to a USGA championship. The Eisenhower Golf Course at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been chosen as the host site for the 72nd U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, which is scheduled for July 13-18, 2020. The championship will be conducted on the Blue Course of the 36-hole facility, which was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and opened in 1959.

“We are so excited to bring the U.S. Girls’ Junior to the United States Air Force Academy,” said Tracy Parsons, championship director. “The championship annually hosts the world’s elite female junior golfers, and we know the Blue Course at Eisenhower will provide the ideal test in identifying a USGA champion.”

The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, whose founding partners are the Colorado Section of The PGA of America and the Colorado Golf Association, will be the host group for the championship.

The Blue Course can be stretched to almost 7,500 yards and is well known for its challenging greens and its scenic views of the Rocky Mountains.

“We are so thrilled to welcome the U.S. Girls’ Junior to our state, and to be able to partner with the USGA for this championship,” said Mike Schultz, president of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. “It’s an honor to be able to work with them to allow a local golf course to host a prestigious national championship.”

First conducted in 1949, the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship is open to female amateurs who have not turned 19 on or before the final day of the championship and have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 9.4. Notable champions include three-time winner Hollis Stacy, Mickey Wright, Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Pat Hurst, I.K. Kim, Inbee Park and Lexi Thompson. Starting in 2017, Girls’ Junior champions earn an exemption into the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open Championship. In 2018, the U.S. Girls’ Junior set a record with 1,606 entries.

The 2020 U.S. Girls’ Junior will be the 34th USGA championship in Colorado. The 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur is scheduled to take place at Colorado Golf Club in Parker from Sept. 14-19. The last time the U.S. Girls’ Junior was held in the state was in 1982 at Greeley Country Club, when Heather Farr defeated Caroline Keggi, 2 and 1, in the championship’s final match. The U.S. Girls’ Junior was also held at Lakewood C.C. in Denver in 1957, as well as at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen in 1965.