Ed Kageyama, PGA general manager of Kaanapali Golf Courses, said, “The Royal Kaanapali Course will provide a stern test for the highly talented golfers competing for spots in our prestigious national championships.”

KAANAPALI – Kaanapali Golf Courses, managed by Billy Casper Golf, will host aspiring men and women amateur and professional golfers on the Royal Kaanapali Course for Regional and Sectional U.S. Open Qualifying Tournaments, respectively, on Saturday, May 9.

Women vying for a spot in the 70th U.S. Women’s Open Championship on July 6-12 at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, PA, will tee off at 7 a.m.

Qualifying will be over 36 holes of stroke play with second-round tee times beginning just after noon. The top finisher(s) will advance directly to the LPGA’s third major championship of 2015.

Men competing for a berth in the 115th U.S. Open Championship on June 15-21 at Chambers Bay in University Place, WA, will tee off at 9 a.m.

Qualifying will be over 18 holes of stroke play, with top finishers advancing to one of ten sectional sites in Newport Beach, CA; Jupiter, FL; Ball Ground, GA; Rockville, MD; Purchase, NY; Columbus and Springfield, OH; Memphis, TN; Dallas, TX; and Elum, WA.

Roughly 35 women and 60 men are expected to compete at Kaanapali.

“This is the first time Kaanapali has hosted simultaneous qualifiers,” said Ed Kageyama, PGA general manager of Kaanapali Golf Courses.

Kaanapali is one of only about 100 courses nationwide hosting regional and section qualifiers.

In elite company, it is joined by the likes of Bethpage State Park Golf Courses (Farmingdale, NY), Flossmoor Country Club (Flossmoor, IL), The Bear’s Club (Jupiter, FL), Trump National Golf Club (Pine Hill, NJ) and other PGA Tour and “major” tournament hosts.

Last year, the United States Golf Association accepted a record 10,127 entries into the men’s U.S. Open Championship, surpassing 9,860 in 2013.

Applications for the U.S. Women’s Open continue to rise at historic rates, as 1,702 women entered into sectional qualifying in 2014, up from 1,420 the year before.

Eligibility is open for professional golfers and amateurs with handicap indexes of or below 1.4 (men) or 2.4 (women).

For more information, visit www.kaanapaligolfcourses.com.