The US Open: The Golf Tournament
The United States Open (US Open in English) is one of the most important golf tournaments in the calendar. It is part of the Majors and is always played on the third Sunday of June, that is, Father’s Day. Learn everything about this tournament in the following article.
US Open qualification system
This tournament is organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is celebrated in different fields of this country since 1895. As the name implies, the US Open is ‘open’ to any professional golfer and also those amateur players who have an updated handicap of 1.4.
There are different ways to get access to the tournament, some arrive automatically (for example if they won any of the other three majors in the last five years) and others through a qualification phase. In total there are 156 places;But only half (approximately) are available for qualified players. The golfers who want to enter the US Open must do so in two stages: first a local classification over 18 holes in different fields of the country and then on a 36 holes route, both in fields in the United States and in two foreigners (one in Europe andthe other in Japan). There is no minimum or maximum age to compete in the US Open;The youngest player to access was the Hawaiian Tadd Fujikawa, with 15 years in 2006.
US Open winners
As with the other Majors, the winner of the US Open receives certain ‘privileges’. First of all you can play other tournaments for the next five years, it is also automatically classified for the next 10 open ones in the United States, enter the PGA Tour for five seasons and receive invitation for the The Players tournament for five years.
While in most editions they have won players from the United States, this was not so at the beginning of the US Open. Between 1895 and 1911, the trophies between Scots and English were ‘distributed’. The first American to take the tournament was John McDermott in 1911 (who is also the youngest champion with 19 years). From then on very few from other nationalities could take the title.
The golfers with more victories in the tournament (four each) are: Willie Anderson (beginning of the 1900), Bobby Jones (decade of 20), Ben Hogan (50s) and Jack Nicklaus (between 1962 and 1980). With three victories are Hale Irwin (70s and 1990s) and Tiger Woods (all in the 2000s).
The US Open fields
Each season the field chosen to play the US Open changes, a US golf club being always host. The most recent are:
- Pebble Beach Golf Links (California). This public golf course is located on the west coast, more precisely in Pebble Beach. It is considered one of the most beautiful in the world because it is in the coastline and offers views towards the Carmel Bay, the Pacific Ocean and the Monterey Peninsula. It was used for the US Open in 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010 and 2019.
- Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (New York). It is located in the town of Southampton, Long Island, between the Peconic Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It is ‘Links’ style and one of the oldest in the United States (it was founded in 1891). It was also the first golf club to allow access to women’s players. Has housed the US Open five times, in three different centuries: 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004 and 2018.
- Erin Hills (Wisconsin) is another of the golf courses used in the US Open, located in the town of Erin. It was founded in 1999 and so far has only organized a United States open in its history, the 2017 edition.
Other fields where the US Open was held: Oakmont Country Club (Pennsylvania), Chambers Bay (Washington), Pinehurst Resort (North Carolina) and Merion Golf Club (Pennsylvania).
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