U.S. Open (golf)

U.S. Open

Tournament information
Location	United States
Established	1895
Course(s)	Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2010
Par	71 in 2010
Length	7,040 in 2010
Tour(s)	PGA Tour PGA European Tour Japan Golf Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	$7,500,000 in 2010
Month played	June
Tournament record score
Aggregate	272 Jack Nicklaus (1980) 272 Lee Janzen (1993) 272 Tiger Woods (2000) 272 Jim Furyk (2003)
To par	−12 Tiger Woods (2000)
Current champion
Graeme McDowell
2010 U.S. Open Golf Championship

The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday, which is Father's Day. Since 2008, it has also been an official money event on the Asian Tour, with 50% of Asian Tour members' earnings counting towards the Order of Merit.[1]

The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, set up in such a way that scoring is very difficult with a premium placed on accurate driving. U.S. Open play is characterized by tight scoring at or around par by the leaders, with the winner emerging at around even par. A U.S. Open course is seldom beaten severely, and there have been many over-par wins (in part because par is usually set at 70 except for the very longest courses). Normally, an Open course is quite long and will have a high cut of primary rough (termed "Open rough" by the American press and fans), hilly greens (such as at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2005, which was described by Johnny Miller of NBC as "like trying to hit a ball on top of a VW Beetle"), and pinched fairways (especially on what are expected to be less difficult holes). Some courses that are attempting to get into the rotation for the U.S. Open will undergo renovations to have these features. Rees Jones is the most notable of the "Open Doctors" who take on these projects. As with any professional golf tournament, the available space surrounding the course (for spectators, among other considerations) and local infrastructure also factor into deciding which courses will host the event.

The U.S. Open is the only one of the four major championships which does not go immediately to a playoff if two or more players are tied at the end of the four rounds. Instead, the players play a fifth 18-hole round the following day (Monday), but if a tie still exists after the round, then a sudden death playoff is held. Only three times has the U.S. Open gone to sudden death after the playoff round, most recently in 2008 when Tiger Woods defeated Rocco Mediate on the first playoff hole.

Coverage of The U.S. Open is broadcast on television by NBC and ESPN, with additional online coverage of a marquee group provided by ESPN via the U.S. Open's official website. Of golf's broadcast television partners in the U.S., NBC is the only one to provide four days of major tournament coverage (CBS, which airs the Masters and the PGA Championship, only provides weekend coverage of its tournaments; starting in 2010, the Open Championship will not be aired on an over-the-air network at all, with all four rounds airing on ESPN).

History

The first U.S. Open was played on October 4, 1895, on a nine-hole course at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a 36-hole competition and was played in a single day. Ten professionals and one amateur entered. The winner was a 21-year-old Englishman named Horace Rawlins, who had arrived in the U.S. in January that year to take up a position at the host club. He received $150 cash out of a prize fund of $335, plus a $50 gold medal; his club received the Open Championship Cup trophy, which was presented by the USGA. In the beginning, the tournament was dominated by experienced British players until 1911, when John J. McDermott became the first native-born American winner. American golfers soon began to win regularly and the tournament evolved to become one of the four majors.

U.S. Open Trophy at the 2008 PGA Golf Show.

Since 1911, the title has been won almost exclusively by players from the United States. Since 1950, players from only six countries other than the United States have won the championship, most notably South Africa, which has won five times since 1965. A streak of four consecutive non-American winners occurred from 2004 to 2007 for the first time since 1910. These four players, South African Retief Goosen (2004), New Zealander Michael Campbell (2005), Australian Geoff Ogilvy (2006) and Argentine Ángel Cabrera (2007), are all from countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell (2010) became the first European player to win the event since Tony Jacklin of England in 1970.

Qualification and prizes

The U.S. Open is open to any professional, or to any amateur with an up-to-date USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 1.4. Players (male or female) may obtain a place by being fully exempt or by competing successfully in qualifying. The field is 156 players.

About half of the field is made up of players who are fully exempt from qualifying. There are 17 full exemption categories, including winners of the U.S. Open for the last ten years and the other three majors for the last five years, the top 30 from the previous year's PGA Tour money list, the top 15 from the previous year's European Tour money list, and the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings as of two weeks before the tournament.

Potential competitors who are not fully exempt must enter the Qualifying process, which has two stages. Firstly there is Local Qualifying, which is played over 18 holes at over 100 courses around the United States. Many leading players are exempt from this first stage, and they join the successful local qualifiers at the Sectional Qualifying stage, which is played over 36 holes in one day at several sites in the U.S. and one each in Europe and Japan. There is no lower age limit and the youngest-ever qualifier was 15-year-old Tadd Fujikawa of Hawaii, who qualified in 2006.

The purse at the 2010 U.S. Open was $7.5 million, and the winner's share was $1.35 million. The PGA European Tour uses conversion rates at the time of the tournament to calculate the official prize money used in their Race to Dubai (€6,244,276 in 2010). In line with the other majors, winning the U.S. Open gives a golfer several privileges that make his career much more secure, if he is not already one of the elite players of the sport. U.S. Open champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors (the Masters, the Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship) for the next five years, as well as the Players Championship, and they are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open itself for 10 years. They may also receive a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, which is automatic for regular members. Non-PGA Tour members who win the U.S. Open have the choice of joining the PGA Tour either within 60 days of winning, or prior to the beginning of any one of the next five tour seasons.

The top 15 finishers at the U.S. Open are fully exempt from qualifying for the following year's Open, and the top eight are automatically invited to the following season's Masters.

Champions

Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus hold the record for the most U.S. Open victories, with four victories each.^[1] Hale Irwin is the oldest winner of the U.S. Open: he was &000000000000004500000045 years, &000000000000001500000015 days old when he won in 1990.^[2] The youngest winner of the U.S. Open is John McDermott who was 19 years 315 days old when he won in 1911.^[2] Jack Nicklaus, Lee Janzen, Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk hold the record for the lowest score over 72 holes, which is 272. Tiger Woods holds the distinction of being the most strokes under par for 72 holes, he was 12 strokes under par (−12) when he won in 2000.^[3]

Year	Champion	Country	Venue	Location	Score
2010	Graeme McDowell	Northern Ireland	Pebble Beach Golf Links	Pebble Beach, California	284 (E)
2009	Lucas Glover	United States	Bethpage State Park, Black Course	Farmingdale, New York[N 1]	276 (−4)
2008	Tiger Woods (3)	United States	Torrey Pines Golf Course, South Course	La Jolla, California[N 2]	283 (−1)
2007	Ángel Cabrera	Argentina	Oakmont Country Club	Oakmont, Pennsylvania	285 (+5)
2006	Geoff Ogilvy	Australia	Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course	Mamaroneck, New York	285 (+5)
2005	Michael Campbell	New Zealand	Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2	Pinehurst, North Carolina	280 (E)
2004	Retief Goosen (2)	South Africa	Shinnecock Hills Golf Club	Shinnecock Hills, New York	276 (−4)
2003	Jim Furyk	United States	Olympia Fields Country Club, North Course	Olympia Fields, Illinois	272 (−8)
2002	Tiger Woods (2)	United States	Bethpage State Park, Black Course	Farmingdale, New York[N 1]	277 (−3)
2001	Retief Goosen	South Africa	Southern Hills Country Club	Tulsa, Oklahoma	276 (−4)
2000	Tiger Woods	United States	Pebble Beach Golf Links	Pebble Beach, California	272 (−12)
1999	Payne Stewart (2)	United States	Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2	Pinehurst, North Carolina	279 (−1)
1998	Lee Janzen (2)	United States	Olympic Club, Lake Course	San Francisco, California[N 3]	280 (E)
1997	Ernie Els (2)	South Africa	Congressional Country Club, Blue Course	Bethesda, Maryland	276 (−4)
1996	Steve Jones	United States	Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	278 (−2)
1995	Corey Pavin	United States	Shinnecock Hills Golf Club	Shinnecock Hills, New York	280 (E)
1994	Ernie Els	South Africa	Oakmont Country Club	Oakmont, Pennsylvania	279 (−5)
1993	Lee Janzen	United States	Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course	Springfield, New Jersey	272 (−8)
1992	Tom Kite	United States	Pebble Beach Golf Links	Pebble Beach, California	285 (−3)
1991	Payne Stewart	United States	Hazeltine National Golf Club	Chaska, Minnesota	282 (−6)
1990	Hale Irwin (3)	United States	Medinah Country Club, Course No. 3	Medinah, Illinois	280 (−8)
1989	Curtis Strange (2)	United States	Oak Hill Country Club, East Course	Rochester, New York[N 4]	278 (−2)
1988	Curtis Strange	United States	The Country Club, Composite Course	Brookline, Massachusetts	278 (−6)
1987	Scott Simpson	United States	Olympic Club, Lake Course	San Francisco, California[N 3]	277 (−3)
1986	Raymond Floyd	United States	Shinnecock Hills Golf Club	Shinnecock Hills, New York	279 (−1)
1985	Andy North (2)	United States	Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	279 (−1)
1984	Fuzzy Zoeller	United States	Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course	Mamaroneck, New York	276 (−4)
1983	Larry Nelson	United States	Oakmont Country Club	Oakmont, Pennsylvania	280 (−4)
1982	Tom Watson	United States	Pebble Beach Golf Links	Pebble Beach, California	282 (−6)
1981	David Graham	Australia	Merion Golf Club, East Course	Ardmore, Pennsylvania	273 (−7)
1980	Jack Nicklaus (4)	United States	Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course	Springfield, New Jersey	272 (−8)
1979	Hale Irwin (2)	United States	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio	284 (E)
1978	Andy North	United States	Cherry Hills Country Club	Cherry Hills Village, Colorado	285 (+1)
1977	Hubert Green	United States	Southern Hills Country Club	Tulsa, Oklahoma	278 (−2)
1976	Jerry Pate	United States	Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course	Duluth, Georgia[N 5]	277 (−3)
1975	Lou Graham	United States	Medinah Country Club, Course No. 3	Medinah, Illinois	287 (+3)
1974	Hale Irwin	United States	Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course	Mamaroneck, New York	287 (+7)
1973	Johnny Miller	United States	Oakmont Country Club	Oakmont, Pennsylvania	279 (−5)
1972	Jack Nicklaus (3)	United States	Pebble Beach Golf Links	Pebble Beach, California	290 (+2)
1971	Lee Trevino (2)	United States	Merion Golf Club, East Course	Ardmore, Pennsylvania	280 (E)
1970	Tony Jacklin	England	Hazeltine National Golf Club	Chaska, Minnesota	281 (−7)
1969	Orville Moody	United States	Champions Golf Club, Cypress Creek Course	Houston, Texas	281 (+1)
1968	Lee Trevino	United States	Oak Hill Country Club, East Course	Rochester, New York[N 4]	275 (−5)
1967	Jack Nicklaus (2)	United States	Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course	Springfield, New Jersey	275 (−5)
1966	Billy Casper (2)	United States	Olympic Club, Lake Course	San Francisco, California[N 3]	278 (−2)
1965	Gary Player	South Africa	Bellerive Country Club	St. Louis, Missouri[N 6]	282 (+2)
1964	Ken Venturi	United States	Congressional Country Club, Blue Course	Bethesda, Maryland	278 (−2)
1963	Julius Boros (2)	United States	The Country Club, Composite Course	Brookline, Massachusetts	293 (+9)
1962	Jack Nicklaus	United States	Oakmont Country Club	Oakmont, Pennsylvania	283 (−1)
1961	Gene Littler	United States	Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	281 (+1)
1960	Arnold Palmer	United States	Cherry Hills Country Club	Cherry Hills Village, Colorado	280 (−4)
1959	Billy Casper	United States	Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course	Mamaroneck, New York	282 (+2)
1958	Tommy Bolt	United States	Southern Hills Country Club	Tulsa, Oklahoma	283 (+3)
1957	Dick Mayer	United States	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio	282 (+2)
1956	Cary Middlecoff (2)	United States	Oak Hill Country Club, East Course	Rochester, New York[N 4]	281 (+1)
1955	Jack Fleck	United States	Olympic Club, Lake Course	San Francisco, California[N 3]	287 (+7)
1954	Ed Furgol	United States	Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course	Springfield, New Jersey	284 (+4)
1953	Ben Hogan (4)	United States	Oakmont Country Club	Oakmont, Pennsylvania	283 (−5)
1952	Julius Boros	United States	Northwood Club	Dallas, Texas	281 (+1)
1951	Ben Hogan (3)	United States	Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	287 (+7)
1950	Ben Hogan (2)	United States	Merion Golf Club, East Course	Ardmore, Pennsylvania	287 (+7)
1949	Cary Middlecoff	United States	Medinah Country Club, Course No. 3	Medinah, Illinois	286 (+2)
1948	Ben Hogan	United States	Riviera Country Club	Pacific Palisades, California[N 7]	276 (−8)
1947	Lew Worsham	United States	St. Louis Country Club	St. Louis, Missouri	282 (−2)
1946	Lloyd Mangrum	United States	Canterbury Golf Club	Beachwood, Ohio	284 (−4)
1942–1945: Cancelled due to World War II
1941	Craig Wood	United States	Colonial Country Club	Fort Worth, Texas	284 (E)
1940	Lawson Little	United States	Canterbury Golf Club	Beachwood, Ohio	287 (−1)
1939	Byron Nelson	United States	Philadelphia Country Club	Gladwyne, Pennsylvania	284 (−4)
1938	Ralph Guldahl (2)	United States	Cherry Hills Country Club	Cherry Hills Village, Colorado	284 (E)
1937	Ralph Guldahl	United States	Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	281 (+1)
1936	Tony Manero	United States	Baltusrol Golf Club, Upper Course	Springfield, New Jersey	282 (−2)
1935	Sam Parks, Jr	United States	Oakmont Country Club	Oakmont, Pennsylvania	299 (+15)
1934	Olin Dutra	United States	Merion Golf Club, East Course	Ardmore, Pennsylvania	293 (+9)
1933	Johnny Goodman (a)	United States	North Shore Country Club	Glenview, Illinois	287 (−1)
1932	Gene Sarazen (2)	United States	Fresh Meadow Country Club	Great Neck, New York	286 (+2)
1931	Billy Burke	United States	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio	292 (+4)
1930	Bobby Jones (a) (4)	United States	Interlachen Country Club	Edina, Minnesota	287 (−1)
1929	Bobby Jones (a) (3)	United States	Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course	Mamaroneck, New York	294
1928	Johnny Farrell	United States	Olympia Fields Country Club	Olympia Fields, Illinois	294
1927	Tommy Armour	United States	Oakmont Country Club	Oakmont, Pennsylvania	301
1926	Bobby Jones (a) (2)	United States	Scioto Country Club	Columbus, Ohio	293
1925	Willie Macfarlane	Scotland	Worcester Country Club	Worcester, Massachusetts	291
1924	Cyril Walker	England	Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	297
1923	Bobby Jones (a)	United States	Inwood Country Club	Inwood, New York	296
1922	Gene Sarazen	United States	Skokie Country Club	Glencoe, Illinois	288
1921	Jim Barnes	United States	Columbia Country Club	Chevy Chase, Maryland	289
1920	Ted Ray	Jersey	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio	295
1919	Walter Hagen (2)	United States	Brae Burn Country Club, Main Course	West Newton, Massachusetts	301
1917–1918: Cancelled due to World War I
1916	Chick Evans (a)	United States	The Minikahda Club	Minneapolis, Minnesota	286
1915	Jerome Travers (a)	United States	Baltusrol Golf Club	Springfield, New Jersey	297
1914	Walter Hagen	United States	Midlothian Country Club	Midlothian, Illinois	290
1913	Francis Ouimet (a)	United States	The Country Club	Brookline, Massachusetts	304
1912	John McDermott (2)	United States	Country Club of Buffalo	Buffalo, New York	294
1911	John McDermott	United States	Chicago Golf Club	Wheaton, Illinois	307
1910	Alex Smith (2)	Scotland	Philadelphia Cricket Club, St. Martin's Course	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	298
1909	George Sargent	England	Englewood Golf Club	Englewood, New Jersey	290
1908	Fred McLeod	Scotland	Myopia Hunt Club	South Hamilton, Massachusetts	322
1907	Alec Ross	Scotland	Philadelphia Cricket Club, St. Martin's Course	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	302
1906	Alex Smith	Scotland	Onwentsia Club	Lake Forest, Illinois	295
1905	Willie Anderson (4)	Scotland	Myopia Hunt Club	South Hamilton, Massachusetts	314
1904	Willie Anderson (3)	Scotland	Glen View Club	Golf, Illinois	303
1903	Willie Anderson (2)	Scotland	Baltusrol Golf Club	Springfield, New Jersey	307
1902	Laurie Auchterlonie	Scotland	Garden City Golf Club	Garden City, New York	307
1901	Willie Anderson	Scotland	Myopia Hunt Club	South Hamilton, Massachusetts	331
1900	Harry Vardon	Jersey	Chicago Golf Club	Wheaton, Illinois	313
1899	Willie Smith	Scotland	Baltimore Country Club, East Course	Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland	315
1898	Fred Herd	Scotland	Myopia Hunt Club	South Hamilton, Massachusetts	328
1897	Joe Lloyd	England	Chicago Golf Club	Wheaton, Illinois	162
1896	James Foulis	Scotland	Shinnecock Hills Golf Club	Shinnecock Hills, New York	152
1895	Horace Rawlins	England	Newport Country Club	Newport, Rhode Island	173

(a) denotes amateur

Multiple and consecutive champions

This table lists the golfers who have won more than one U.S. Open.

Country	Golfer	Total	Years
SCO	Anderson, WillieWillie Anderson †	4	1901, 1903, 1904, 1905
USA	Jones (a), BobbyBobby Jones (a) ∞	4	1923, 1926, 1929, 1930
USA	Hogan, BenBen Hogan ∞	4	1948, 1950, 1951, 1953
USA	Nicklaus, JackJack Nicklaus ‡	4	1962, 1967, 1972, 1980
USA	Irwin, HaleHale Irwin	3	1974, 1979, 1990
USA	Woods, TigerTiger Woods ‡	3	2000, 2002, 2008
SCO	Smith, AlexAlex Smith †	2	1906, 1910
USA	McDermott, JohnJohn McDermott †	2	1911, 1912
USA	Hagen, WalterWalter Hagen †	2	1914, 1919
USA	Sarazen, GeneGene Sarazen ∞	2	1922, 1932
USA	Guldahl, RalphRalph Guldahl †	2	1937, 1938
USA	Middlecoff, CaryCary Middlecoff †	2	1949, 1956
USA	Boros, JuliusJulius Boros †	2	1952, 1963
USA	Casper, BillyBilly Casper	2	1959, 1966
USA	Trevino, LeeLee Trevino	2	1968, 1971
USA	North, AndyAndy North	2	1978, 1985
USA	Strange, CurtisCurtis Strange	2	1988, 1989
RSA	Els, ErnieErnie Els	2	1994, 1997
USA	Janzen, LeeLee Janzen	2	1993, 1998
USA	Stewart, PaynePayne Stewart †	2	1991, 1999
RSA	Goosen, RetiefRetief Goosen	2	2001, 2004

• Bolded years and player names means back-to-back wins or a three-peat winner and players who accomplished the feat.
• (a) denotes amateur golfer

Champions by nationality

This table lists the total number of titles won by golfers of each nationality.

Rank	Nation	Wins	Winners
1	United States	80	55
2	Scotland	13	9
3	England	7	7
4	South Africa	5	3
5	Australia	2	2
T6	New Zealand	1	1
	Argentina	1	1
	Northern Ireland	1	1

Records

• Oldest champion: Hale Irwin in 1990 at &000000000000004500000045 years, &000000000000001500000015 days.
• Youngest champion: John McDermott in 1911 at 19 years, 315 days.
• Oldest player to make the cut: Sam Snead in 1973 at 61 years old. He tied for 29th place.
• Most consecutive victories: 3 by Willie Anderson 1903–1905.
• Most consecutive Opens started: 44 by Jack Nicklaus from 1957 to 2000.
• Largest margin of victory: 15 strokes by Tiger Woods, 2000. This is the all-time record for all majors.
• Lowest score for 36 holes: Larry Nelson 132 (65–67), rounds 3–4, 1983; Ricky Barnes 132 (67–65), rounds 1–2, 2009.
• Lowest score for 72 holes: 272 – Jack Nicklaus (63–71–70–68), 1980; Lee Janzen (67–67–69–69), in 1993; Tiger Woods (65–69–71–67), 2000; Jim Furyk (67–66–67–72), 2003.
• Most strokes under par for 72 holes: 12 under (272) by Tiger Woods, 2000.
• Lowest score for 18 holes: 63 – Johnny Miller, 4th round, 1973; Jack Nicklaus, 1st, 1980; Tom Weiskopf, 1st, 1980; Vijay Singh, 2nd, 2003.
• Most frequent venues:
  • 8 Opens: Oakmont Country Club – 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, and 2007.
  • 7 Opens: Baltusrol Golf Club – 1903, 1915, 1936, 1954, 1967, 1980 and 1993.

There is an extensive records section on the official site here.

Future sites

Notes

References

External links

• United States Golf Association website
• U.S. Open official site
• USGA Photo Store