Host of past champions highlight 26th Tennessee Women's Open
CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — Sitting in the rolling hills and vast woods on the Cumberland Plateau, Stonehenge Golf Course is a masterpiece. The 6549-yard par 72 layout was brought to life by architect Joe Lee and gets its name from the native stone walls found throughout the property. Bent grass tee boxes, fairways, and greens paired with natural rock outcroppings make way for pristine playing conditions in the heart of the Golf Capital of Tennessee.
This will mark the 16th straight year Stonehenge Golf Club and the Fairfield Glade community have hosted the Tennessee Women’s Open. The tournament will be held on Thursday, July 25 through Saturday, July 27.
Competitors at the tournament tell the Tennessee Golf Association that the Tennessee Women’s Open is one of their favorite tournaments of the year because of the community behind it. Walking up to the 18th green at Stonehenge with the area around the green packed with spectators makes their summer season.
To kick off the Tennessee Women’s Open 3-day tournament in Fairfield Glade, WATE-TV will be on-site at Stonehenge Golf Club with Anchors Bo Williams and Lori Tucker, Reporter Don Dare, Meteorologist Matt Condon and Living East Tennessee Host Amber Lynn Carroll who will start the day at 10 am EST on Thursday, July 25th.
On Saturday, July 27th, after the trophy presentation on the 18th green, there will be a drawing for 2 rounds of golf and a one-night stay on the Robert Trent Jones Trail, (rtjgolf.com). Sign up at Stonehenge Golf Pro Shop on that Saturday. Must be present to win.
About the Tennessee Women’s Open:
Started in 1999, the Tennessee Women’s Open is one of the longest-running women’s Open tournaments in the country. The 54-hole event is split into two divisions, the Championship Division and the Senior Division.
The tournament has been held at Stonehenge Golf Club in Fairfield Glade since 2009. Celebrating 26 years of competition, the Tennessee Women’s Open has consistently attracted top talent from around the globe.
Past winners include current LPGA Professionals Ashli Bunch, Lauren Coughlin and Karlin Beck as well as some of the top amateur golfers in the world like Tennessee Players of the Year Sophie Linder and Lynn Lim, the defending champion at the Tennessee Women’s Open. Her win in 2023 made her just the fourth player in Tennessee golf history to win the Tennessee Women’s Open and Tennessee Women’s Amateur in the same year.
Players to watch:
Bella Bugg (Thompsons Station) - The Florida State Seminole recorded her first TGA title by winning the 2024 Women’s Amateur at Belle Meade Country Club. In her victory at Belle Meade, Bugg was the only player in the field to record three consecutive rounds under par.
Karlie Campbell (Ethridge) - After finishing T3 last year in the Tennessee Women’s Open, Karlie Campbell is another name to watch for. She became just the ninth player ever to win both the TGA Girls’ Junior Championship and the Tennessee PGA Girls Junior Championship in the same year, the first to complete the feat since 1999.
Charlene Chung (Hong Kong) - Just finished her freshman season on the Vanderbilt Women’s Golf Team, but originally hails from Hong Kong. She finished second at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational Junior. She finished second at 2023 Hong Kong Ladies Close Amateur & Mid-Amateur Championship
Mikayla Dubnik (Murrayville, Ga.) - Won the 2023 Georgia Women’s Open, carding a -6 gross score. She plays collegiate golf at Mercer University, where she finished first at the Mercer Invitational and had five Top 20 finishes during the 2022-23 season.
Telerei Hughes (Knoxville) - Won the inaugural Tennessee Women’s Mid-Ameuter in 2017 adn is the owner of Teleri Athletics, a golf apparel company based in Knoxville.
Allie Knight (Knoxville) - A teaching professional at Fairways & Greens in Knoxville, Knight is a fierce competitor on the professional circuit. She recently qualified to play in an LPGA Tour event at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, competing with the likes of Allisen Corpuz, Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson and Charley Hull. Knight has also represented the Tennessee PGA Section the past two years at the annual Challenge Cup matches between the top Tennessee Professionals and Amateurs.
Lynn Lim (Gallatin) - Winner of the 2023 Tennessee Women’s Open, she became just the fourth player in the history of Tennessee Golf to win the Women’s Open and Tennessee Women’s Amateur in the same year. She won the Tennessee Women’s Amateur in 2022 as well.
Alyssa Montgomery (Knoxville) - The 2021 Tennessee Women’s Amateur Champion is a perennial contender at the Tennessee Women’s Open. Montgomery finished second in the 23rd Tennessee Women’s Open in 2021 and sixth in 2022. After graduating from the University of South Florida this spring, Montgomery will compete as a professional for the first time at the Tennessee Women’s Open.
Michaela Morard (Huntsville, Ala.) - Morard returns to the field as one of the Tennessee Women’s Open past champions, first claiming victory in 2020 as an amateur. She’s an 11-time Alabama Golf Association champion who just completed her college career at the University of Southern California and plans to compete as a professional at Stonehenge.
Lauren Slatton (McMinnville) - The future UAB Blazer finished as a semifinalist at the 2024 USGA Women’s Amateur Four-Ball at Oak Hills Country Club.
Lauren Thompson (Dothan, Ala.) - Plays collegiate golf for Lipscomb University, where she earned an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Regional as an individual. She finished in the top-5 six times and earned 7 top-10 finishes over the 2023-24 season. She also was the Individual Champion at the 2023 ASUN Tournament and a medalist at the same tournament in 2024.
Adeena Wilcox (Newark, Ohio) - Recorded her first professional win at the 2022 Tennessee Women’s Open with a score of -2. She took the lead on hole 16 of the final round and kept it through the final two holes.
Senior:
Leslie Letner (Crossville) - Won her first TGA tournament in 2023 in a playoff at the Tennessee Women’s Senior Amateur.
Sue Miller (Loudon) - A contender every year she plays at the Tennessee Women’s Senior Open, Miller has goals of winning it all in 2024. The reigning Tennessee Senior Women’s Player of the Year looks to capture her first Women’s Open title this year at Stonehenge.
Suzanne Rhodes (Crossville) - Finished Top 5 at the 2022 Tennessee Senior Women’s Open. Rhodes is a member of Fairfield Glade, and will be competing in familiar territory.
Rhonda Switzer-Nadasdi (Nashville) - Two-time TGA Champion and most recently the winner of the 2022 Tennessee Women’s Senior Amateur looks to repeat her victory at Stonehenge in 2024.
About Tennessee Golf Association:
Founded in 1914, the Tennessee Golf Association supports and promotes golf throughout the state with the mission to “drive Tennessee’s golf community forward.” What started as an association of five private clubs in Memphis over 100 years ago has since grown to include over 200 member clubs, courses and organizations across the state representing over 42,000 individuals.