The 102nd West Virginia Womenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Amateur Championship is scheduled to begin Sunday at The Club at Cress Creek in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
A total of 16 golfers will be in the field, and there will be a new champion.
Susan Glasby of Chesapeake, Ohio, is not in the field. She won three consecutive Womenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Ams from 2022-24.
The full list of competitors is as follows: Kimberly Eaton of Charles Town, Marra Johnson of Bridgeport, Kailey Pettit of Moundsville, Sara Veara of Berkeley Springs, Karen Kinnett of Shepherdstown, Savannah Hawkins of Hurricane, Emily Holzopfel of Rayland, Cathleen Wong of Parkersburg, Lisa Younis of Shepherdstown, Alyssa Zhang of Morgantown, Karen Rainey of Daniels, Allison Ballard of Charleston, Daneen Shears of Elizabeth, Diana Watkins of Elizabeth, Leigh Chandler of Fairmont and Valentina Aguilar of Elkins.
Cress Creek is a 5,642-yard par-71 course with a 128 slope and 73.8 rating. The average par-3 hole on the course is 141 yards, while the average par-5 hole is 473-yards. The longest hole on the course is the 537-yard par-5 No. 15, and Cress Creek features two par-5s in the final four holes.
The event has been held at Cress Creek three other times, in 1998, 2007 and 2014. The most recent winner at Cress Creek was Adeena Shears, who won five Womenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Am championships in the span of six tournaments.
Among this seasonòòò½ÊÓƵ™s group, Wong is the lone Womenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Am champion in the field. She won the 2021 tournament at Berry Hills. She placed fifth in 2024.
Hawkins has her sights set on capturing her first.
Hawkins was a statewide phenom at Hurricane High School before signing to play golf at Marshall. In her freshman year last season, Hawkins played in all 10 events for the Thundering Herd and had three top-25 finishes. She averaged a 78 in 30 rounds of play. She placed second, losing in a playoff to Glasby, in last yearòòò½ÊÓƵ™s tournament. Hawkins is likely the favorite as the highest-placing returner.
Kinnett is a four-time winner of the West Virginia Senior Womenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Am, including the event played last month in Lewisburg. She won that tournament three times in four years from 2017-20.
Younis won the 2021 Womenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Senior Am championship and finished fourth in it last month.
Rainey won the Womenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Senior Am in 2018 and finished second in the same event this season.
Shears won the 2022 Womenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Senior Am and placed third in the 2025 tournament.
Johnson plays golf at Fairmont State. She originally signed with Wheeling University as a two-sport athlete in swimming and golf. She was a swimmer and golfer at Bridgeport High School.
Pettit is the golf coach at Bethany College. She played collegiately at West Liberty and Wheeling. She is also a golf instructor at Oglebay in Wheeling for children and junior players.
Veara is entering her senior season at Shepherd University. Last season, she repeated as a second-team All-PSAC selection. She was Shepherdòòò½ÊÓƵ™s top player in 10 of 11 matches played. She played in high school at Berkeley Springs. Veara placed sixth in last yearòòò½ÊÓƵ™s tournament.
Holzopfel finished third in the 101st Womenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Amateur with a 10-over total. She is an assistant coach at Fairmont State.
She played both basketball and golf at Wheeling University.
Zhang, 15, joins Aguiliar, 12, as a pair of exciting junior players who continue to rise in the ranks. Zhang is ranked 166th by the American Junior Golf òòò½ÊÓƵsociation. She recently finished second in the Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Sugarloaf with a 72-79-72 week. Aguiliar won the 10-14 age division of the West Virginia Junior Amateur last week.
