2010 U.S. Amateur Championship
FACT SHEET
Aug. 23-29, 2010
Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash.; (www.chambersbaygolf.com)
PAR AND YARDAGE Chambers Bay will be set up at 7,742 yards and will play to a par of 36-35—71. The second stroke-play course, The Home Course, will be set up at 7,420 yards and will play to a par of 36-36—72.
CHAMBERS BAY Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
HOLE BY HOLE Par 4/5 4 3 5 4 4 4 5 3 36/37
Yards 501/ 402 190 568 490 479 508 607 227 3,972/
542 4,013
Hole 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 Total
Par 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 5/4 35/34
Yards 436 539 304 512 521 246 425 183 604/ 3,770/
525 3,691
Plans call for the par on holes No. 1 and 18 to be alternated on certain days of match play.
THE HOME COURSE Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
HOLE BY HOLE Par 4 4 4 3 5 3 4 5 4 36
Yards 449 409 413 218 650 209 440 561 432 3,781
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total
Par 5 4 3 4 3 4 5 4 4 36
Yards 569 332 214 466 193 435 560 400 470 3,639
RECORD DISTANCE Chambers Bay will be the longest course in USGA history. At 7,742 yards, it overtakes the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Calif., which measured 7,643 yards for the 2008 U.S. Open, and 2006 U.S. Amateur host Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., which measured 7,473 yards.
ARCHITECT Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., Chambers Bay opened in 2007. The Home Course, in nearby Dupont, Wash., was designed by Mike Asmundson and opened in 2007.
COURSE LAYOUT The fairways will range in width from approximately 28 to 105 yards. Although most USGA championship courses have a buffer between their fairways and primary rough, Chambers Bay likely will not incorporate this cut due to the nature of the course’s fine fescue. The primary rough will be cut at a height of 3 to 4.5 inches. Fescue area in dunes will be grown from 6 to 18 inches. The greens will measure about 11 feet on the Stimpmeter for the duration of the championship. Green approaches and closely mown areas will be cut to a height of .450 inches, while teeing grounds and fairways will be cut to a height of .500 inches.
COURSE RATING Based on the course setup for the championship, the Course Rating for Chambers Bay
AND SLOPE is 78.6 and its Slope is 138. The Home Course will be set for a Course Rating of 76.3 and a Slope of 131.
WHO CAN ENTER The championship is open to amateur golfers who hold a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4. The USGA accepted 6,485 entries in 2010. The record number of entrants is 7,920, in 1999.
SECTIONAL Sectional qualifying, played over 36 holes, was held at 99 sites between July 29 and
QUALIFYING Aug. 10.
SCHEDULE OF PLAY Eighteen holes of stroke play are scheduled for Aug. 23 and 24, after which the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers. Six rounds of match play begin on Aug. 25 and the championship concludes with a scheduled 36-hole final match on Aug. 29.
ADMISSION Tickets can be purchased online at www.2010usamateur.com/tickets, or by calling (877) 295-4657. Daily grounds tickets are $25 and weekly grounds tickets are $65. Children 17 and under are admitted free, if accompanied by a paying adult.
THE WINNER Among the benefits enjoyed by the U.S. Amateur winner are:
RECEIVES 1) A gold medal and custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for the ensuing year
2) An exemption from local and sectional qualifying for the next U.S. Open
3) An exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Amateurs
- An exemption from qualifying for the next British Open Championship
- A likely invitation to the next Masters Tournament
TELEVISION Both NBC and Golf Channel will broadcast match-play competition from the U.S.
COVERAGE Amateur. Dan Hicks and Gary Koch will work from the booth and Roger Maltbie and Dottie Pepper will walk the course.
Date Network Broadcast Hours (EDT)
Aug. 25 Golf Channel 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Aug. 26 Golf Channel 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Aug. 27 Golf Channel 1-3 p.m.
Aug. 28 NBC 4-6 p.m.*
Aug. 29 NBC 4-6 p.m.
*tape delay
HISTORY This is the 110th U.S. Amateur Championship. The U.S. Amateur Championship is the oldest golf championship in this country, one day older than the U.S. Open. Except for an eight-year period, 1965-1972, when it was stroke play, the Amateur has been a match-play championship.
Throughout its history, the U.S. Amateur has been the most coveted of all amateur titles. Many of the great names of professional golf, such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lanny Wadkins, Craig Stadler, Jerry Pate, Mark O'Meara, Hal Sutton, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, grace the Havemeyer Trophy.
It was, however, legendary amateur Robert T. Jones Jr., who first attracted national media coverage and sparked spectator attendance at the U.S. Amateur. Jones captured the championship five times (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930). His 1930 victory was a seminal moment in golf history when, at Merion Cricket Club in Ardmore, Pa., Jones rounded out the Grand Slam, winning the four major American and British championships in one year.
Sixty-six years later, in 1996, Tiger Woods, attracted similar interest and enthusiasm at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore., when he won a record third straight U.S. Amateur, having registered 18 consecutive match-play victories. In 1994, Woods, at 18, had first entered the record book as the youngest ever to win the Amateur Championship, following his three consecutive Junior Amateur titles (1991-1993). That record has since been broken twice, first by 17-year-old Danny Lee in 2008 at Pinehurst No. 2 in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C., and then last year when 17-year-old Byeong-Hun ‘Ben’ An won at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., with a 7-and-5 victory over Ben Martin, of Greenwood, S.C. An will defend his title this year.
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS The 2010 U.S. Amateur is the first USGA championship to be conducted at
IN WASHINGTON Chambers Bay. The state of Washington has hosted 22 USGA championships, including this year's U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, July 29-Aug. 1, and won by Bernhard Langer. The 1952 U.S. Amateur was held at Seattle Golf Club and won by member Jack Westland. The 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur will be played at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton on July 18-23, and Chambers Bay will host the 2015 U.S. Open, from June 18-21.
FUTURE SITES Aug. 22-28, 2011 – Erin Hills Golf Club, Hartford, Wis.
Aug. 20-26, 2012 – Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village, Colo.
Aug. 19-25, 2013 – The Country Club, Brookline, Mass.
Aug. 18-24, 2014 – Atlanta Athletic Club, Duluth, Ga.
EXEMPT PLAYERS Byeong-Hun An, 2009 U.S. Amateur champion
Brad Benjamin, 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion
Bennett Blakeman, 2010 U.S. Open qualifier
Joseph Bramlett, 2010 U.S. Open qualifier
Bud Cauley, 2009 USA Walker Cup team
Russell Henley, 2010 U.S. Open qualifier
Stiggy Hodgson, 2009 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team
Morgan Hoffmann, 2010 USA Walker Cup Team; 2010 U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Holland, 2009 U.S. Amateur semifinalist
Tim Jackson, 2010 U.S. Senior Open low amateur
Jin Jeong, 2010 British Amateur champion
Lion Kim, 2010 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion
Drew Kittleson, 2008 U.S. Amateur runner-up
Scott Langley, 2010 U.S. Open qualifier; 2010 NCAA Division I individual champion
Jim Liu, 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
Buddy Marucci, 2008 USGA Senior Amateur champion
David McDaniel, 2010 U.S. Amateur Public Links runner-up
Chris Paisley, 2009 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team
Bhavik ‘Bobby’ Patel, 2009 U.S. Amateur semifinalist
Kevin Phelan, 2010 U.S. Open qualifier
Andrew Putnam, 2010 U.S. Open qualifier
Patrick Reed, 2008 U.S. Amateur semifinalist
Nathan Smith, 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, 2010 USA Copa de las Americas Team; 2009 USA Walker Cup Team
Jordan Spieth, 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
Tim Spitz, 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up
Hudson Swafford, 2010 U.S. Open qualifier
Nick Taylor, 2009 U.S. Open, 72 holes
Justin Thomas, 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up
Peter Uihlein, 2009 U.S. Amateur, 2010 USA Copa de las Americas Team; 2009 USA Walker Cup Team
Steve Ziegler, 2009 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist
PHOTO MEDIA SERVICE The USGA will offer daily complimentary high-resolution photographs during the U.S. Amateur (Monday-Sunday) for news use only. For more information and to register, contact photorequests@usga.org.
IMPORTANT USGA Communications Department – (908) 234-2300
PHONE NUMBER
MORE INFORMATION Please contact Pete Kowalski of USGA Championship Communications by cell phone at (908) 216-8435 or e-mail at pkowalski@usga.org. For more information on the USGA, please visit www.usga.org. Media specific information can be found at http://www.usga.org/press_room/Press-Room/.