United States Open Championship in Golf

United States Open Championship in Golf

Four days ending the third Sunday in June

The U.S. Open, conducted by the United States Golf Association, is the oldest golf tournament in North America, and was first held in 1895. More than 6,000 professional and amateur golfers vie for only 156 available places. Unlike the Masters, which is an invitational tournament, the U.S. Open is for anyone good enough to survive the qualifying rounds.
Rather than being played on the same course each year, its location changes. It is traditionally played on the nation's best courses, such as Merion in Philadelphia, Oakland Hills in Birmingham, Mich., Baltusrol in Union County, N.J., Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and Pebble Beach on the Monterey Peninsula of California. Since the 1930s, it has been the U.S.G.A.'s practice every 10 to 15 years to take the Open back to certain courses that have demonstrated they can produce a rigorous test for the world's top golfers. The tournament itself takes four days. There is a qualifying round followed by three days of 18 holes each, for a total of 72 holes.
The U.S. Open is one of the most difficult golf championships to win. Its list of champions includes Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, and Tiger Woods. The 1913 tournament, which was won by an unknown 20-year-old store clerk named Francis Ouimet, is considered to have marked the transformation of golf in America from an elite game to a public pastime.

CONTACTS:
United States Golf Association
P.O. Box 708
Far Hills, NJ 07931
908-234-2300; fax: 908-234-9687
www.usopen.com