Savannah Vilaubi defending her title in Utah

Angelica and Benedetta Moresco will be among the 132 competitors at the Copper Rock Championship, the seventh tournament of the Epson Tour season, taking place from May 16th to May 18th at the Copper Rock Golf Course in Hurricane, Utah.

Copper Rock, schedule

Defending her title is Savannah Vilaubi, a 30-year-old professional since 2016, amidst a field that includes four of the six season winners: Briana Chacon, who also leads the money list (ranked number 3), Colombian player Valery Plata, Taiwanese player Juliana Hung, and Gigi Stoll. With many strong competitors in the field, other notable contenders include Mariel Galdiano, Kim Kaufman, Becca Huffer, Jenny Bae, Kathleen Scavo, Canadian player Alena Sharp, Taiwanese player Ssu-Chia Cheng, Chinese player Miranda Wang, Filipino player Clarisse Guce, New Zealand player Fiona Xu, and Australian player Cassie Porter, among others.

The Moresco sisters have experienced some uncertainty at the start of the season, seeking redemption after missing the cut in the previous Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic. The total prize purse for the tournament is $250,000, with the winner set to receive $37,500.

In the spring of 1744, a small group of players known as the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers approached the city magistrate of Edinburgh to sponsor a prize for a competition they were organizing. The municipal officials agreed to the request by donating a flying trophy in the form of a silver golf club, with the condition that the tournament be open to as many participants as possible. This naturally implied the need to establish written rules of general validity. Thus were born the first 13 rules of golf. When the St. Andrews club also wanted to organize an open tournament in 1754, the organizers adopted without modification the aforementioned 13 rules.

In 1875, seven more rules were added, and in 1885, a decision was made to establish a central institution for this sport, with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) chosen for this purpose. In 1888, the R&A sent a complete set of regulations to all known clubs. In 1893, this regulation underwent considerable reform, coming to include 40 rules and 14 special provisions, as well as 10 articles on golf etiquette.

Almost simultaneously, in 1894, the United States Golf Association (USGA) was founded for the United States and Mexico. Since the regulations in force in England and America diverged, discrepancies often arose. To address this issue, in 1951, the British and Americans decided to collaborate in the development of uniform rules, and equality was finally achieved in 1984.

Since then, a committee of experts composed of members of the R&A and the USGA has reviewed the rules every four years. The last revision took place on January 1, 2012.

In January 2019, the New Rules of Golf came into effect, marking another milestone in the evolution and standardization of this centuries-old sport.