USGA Open Championships Registration Set To Begin March 1
 |
Registration for the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open will commence on March 1, with the amateur championships following in the ensuing weeks. (USGA Museum) |
Feb. 26, 2010
By David Shefter, USGA
Far Hills, N.J. – In a majority of the country, golf is in hibernation, buried by snow and cold temperatures. But spring is right around the corner, and that signifies the arrival of another USGA championship season.
Starting March 1, applications for the U.S. Open, the U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Open will be available online. In the ensuing weeks, applications for the 10 amateur competitions conducted by the USGA, including the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur, will also be made available.
According to figures from the championship administration department, 91 percent of all applications received in 2009 were filed online. Those numbers have been fairly consistent over the past several years, and the USGA strongly encourages all applicants to file electronically.
Early applicants are also more likely to receive their qualifying site of choice.
In 2010, a condition of competition is in effect regarding the new groove rule adopted by the USGA for the three Open championships. At the U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Open the condition will be in effect at all qualifying sites as well as the championship proper. At the U.S. Open, the condition will not be in effect at Local (first stage) Qualifying but it will be in effect at all Sectional (second stage) Qualifying sites as well as the championship proper. The condition will not be in effect for any stage of USGA amateur championships in 2010.
The USGA has created a reference resource called the Informational Club Database to assist players in determining whether their irons, hybrids and fairway woods comply with the new groove rule by going to the following link: http://www.usga.org/InfoClubsDB/Intro.html.
David Shefter is a USGA communications staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.