2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship Facts
PAR AND YARDAGE: The Olympic Club’s Lake Course will be set up at 6,981 yards and will play to a par of 34-36–70. The Olympic Club’s Ocean Course, which will serve as the companion course for the two days of stroke-play qualifying, will be set up at 6,761 yards and play to a par of 35-35–70. (NOTE: Yardages subject to change.)
THE OLYMPIC CLUB (LAKE COURSE) HOLE BY HOLE
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Par 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 34
Yards 505 425 226 438 482 458 294 181 449 3,458
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total
Par 4 4 4 3 4 3 5 5 4 36
Yards 424 427 451 180 417 154 622 505 343 3,523
THE OLYMPIC CLUB (OCEAN COURSE) HOLE BY HOLE
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Par 4 3 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 35
Yards 507 192 416 561 170 357 444 421 400 3,468
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total
Par 3 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 35
Yards 171 530 385 350 350 470 401 205 431 3,293
ARCHITECT: Sam Whiting designed the modern layout of the Lake Course, which opened in 1927. Revisions to the course, prior to the 1955 U.S. Open, were supervised by Robert Trent Jones. Bill Love has supervised all the design work since 2004 which includes the new rear tees, the green construction project in 2008-09 and adding a bunker on the 17th hole. Tom Weiskopf completely redesigned the Ocean Course following heavy storm damage and it opened for play in 2000.
WHO CAN ENTER: The championship is open to sides of amateur golfers who have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 5.4 under the USGA Handicap System™. The USGA accepted 2,234 entries for the inaugural championship. Entries closed on Aug. 6, 2014.
SPECTATOR ADMISSION: The U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship is free and open to spectators. Tickets are not required.
SECTIONAL QUALIFYING: Sectional qualifying was conducted over 18 holes at 51 sites beginning Aug. 13, 2014 and ending on March 31, 2015. The full schedule of sectional qualifiers can be found here.
CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD: A starting field of 128 sides (256 golfers) will compete at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Following two 18-hole stroke-play qualifying rounds on May 2 and 3, the field will be cut to the low 32 sides for match play. Five 18-hole rounds of match play will determine the champion.
SCHEDULE OF PLAY:
May 2 (Saturday) – First round of stroke play
May 3 (Sunday) – Second round of stroke play
May 4 (Monday) – First round of match play
May 5 (Tuesday) – Second round and quarterfinal round of match play
May 6 (Wednesday) –Semifinal round and championship final
EXEMPTIONS: All sides in which both players are ranked in the top 400 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of the close of entries (August 6, 2014) are exempt from sectional qualifying for the 2015 championship. A total of four teams are exempt for the championship, three in which both players were among the top 400 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking when entries closed. Here are those exempt teams:
Sam Burns/Austin Connelly (Top 400 in World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Patrick Christovich/Garrett Rank (Top 400 in World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Bryson Dechambeau/Austin Smotherman (Top 400 in World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Nathan Smith/Todd White (Special exemption)
HISTORY: The 2015 edition of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball will be the first in the championship’s history. Along with the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, the championships will be the first additions to the USGA championship schedule since the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur began in 1987. The creation of the two championships was announced on February 11, 2013.
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN CALIFORNIA: The 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball will be the 74th USGA championship held in California. Pennsylvania (82 at the end of 2014) is the only state that has hosted more. The Golden State has played host to all 13 individual USGA championships, as well as the 1974 Curtis Cup, 1981 Walker Cup and 2010 USGA Men’s State Team.
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE OLYMPIC CLUB: This will be the 10th USGA championship held at The Olympic Club, all of which were conducted primarily on the club’s Lake Course. Most recently, Olympic hosted the 2012 U.S. Open, won by Webb Simpson, one of the five Opens staged there. It has also been the site of three U.S. Amateurs and the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
FUTURE U.S. AMATEUR FOUR-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 19-25, 2016: Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, N.Y.
May 27-31, 2017: Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, Village of Pinehurst, N.C.
PHOTO MEDIA SERVICE: The USGA will offer daily complimentary high-resolution photographs during the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship for editorial use only. For more information and to register, email photorequests@usga.org.
MEDIA OPERATIONS/SERVICE: Please contact Pete Kowalski for more information regarding U.S. Amateur Four-Ball coverage via e-mail (PKowalski@usga.org) or phone (908)326-1886.