U.S. Open (golf)

The United States Open Championship is an annual men's golf tournament staged by the United States Golf Association each June. It is one of the four major championships in men's golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA TOUR and the European Tour. The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, and they are usually set up in such a way that low scoring is very difficult and there is a premium on accurate driving.

[edit] History

The first U.S. Open Men's Championship was played on October 4, 1895 on a nine-hole course in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a thirty six hole competition and was played in a single day. Ten professionals and one amateur entered. The winner was a 21-year-old Englishman called 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 dollars out of a cash prize fund of $325 plus a $50 dollar gold medal and for his club, the Open Championship Cup, 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. Very quickly American golfers began to win and the tournament evolved to become one of the four majors.

[edit] 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 may obtain a place by being fully exempt or by competing successfully in Qualifying. The field is 156 players.

Around one half of the field is made up of players who are fully exempt from qualifying. There are seventeen 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.

Would be 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 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 14 year old Tyrell Garth in 1941. In 2006 15 year old Tadd Fujikawa of Hawaii became the second youngest qualifier.

The purse at the 2005 U.S. Open was $6,500,000, and the winner's share was $1,170,000. In line with the other majors, winning the U.S. Open gives a golfer several privileges which make his career much more secure, if he is not already one of the elite of the sport. U.S. Open champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors (The Masters, British Open and the PGA Championship) for the next five years, and are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open itself for ten years. They also receive membership on the PGA TOUR for the following five seasons and invitations to THE PLAYERS Championship for five years.

The top fifteen 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.

[edit] Winners

Year	Champion	Venue	Location	Score
1895	Horace Rawlins	Newport CC	Newport, RI
1896	James Foulis	Shinnecock Hills GC	Southampton, NY
1897	Joe Lloyd	Chicago GC	Wheaton, IL
1898	Fred Herd	Myopia Hunt Club	South Hamilton, MA
1899	Willie Smith	Baltimore CC	Baltimore, MD
1900	Harry Vardon	Chicago GC	Wheaton, IL
1901	Willie Anderson	Myopia Hunt Club	South Hamilton, MA
1902	Laurence Auchterlonie	Garden City GC	Garden City, NY
1903	Willie Anderson	Baltusrol GC	Springfield, NJ
1904	Willie Anderson	Glen View Club	Golf, IL
1905	Willie Anderson	Myopia Hunt Club	South Hamilton, MA
1906	Alex Smith	Onwentsia Club	Lake Forest, IL
1907	Alex Ross	Philadelphia Cricket Club	Philadelphia, PA
1908	Fred McLeod	Myopia Hunt Club	South Hamilton, MA
1909	George Sargent	Englewood GC	Englewood, NJ
1910	Alex Smith	Philadelphia Cricket Club	Philadelphia, PA
1911	John J. McDermott	Chicago GC	Wheaton, IL
1912	John J. McDermott	CC of Buffalo	Buffalo, NY
1913	Francis Ouimet (A)	The Country Club	Brookline, MA
1914	Walter Hagen	Midlothian CC	Blue Island, IL
1915	Jerome Travers (A)	Baltusrol GC	Springfield, NJ
1916	Charles Evans (A)	Minikahda Club	Minneapolis, MN
1917	Cancelled due to World War I
1918	Cancelled due to World War I
1919	Walter Hagen	Brae Burn CC	West Newton, MA
1920	Edward Ray	Inverness Club	Toledo, OH
1921	James Barnes	Columbia CC	Chevy Chase, MD
1922	Gene Sarazen	Skokie CC	Glencoe, IL
1923	Bobby Jones (A)	Inwood CC	Inwood, NY
1924	Horace Rawlins	Oakland Hills CC	Bloomfield Hills, MI
1925	William Macfarlane	Worchester CC	Worchester, MA
1926	Bobby Jones (A)	Scioto CC	Columbus, OH
1927	Tommy Armour	Oakmont CC	Oakmont, PA
1928	Johnny Farrell	Olympia Fields CC	Olympia Fields, IL
1929	Bobby Jones (A)	Winged Foot GC	Mamaroneck, NY
1930	Bobby Jones (A)	Interlachen CC	Minneapolis, MN
1931	Billy Burke	Inverness Club	Toledo, OH
1932	Gene Sarazen	Fresh Meadow CC	Great Neck, NY
1933	John Goodman (A)	North Shore CC	Glen View, IL
1934	Olin Dutra	Merion GC	Ardmore, PA
1935	Sam Parks Jr.	Oakmont CC	Oakmont, PA
1936	Tony Manero	Baltusrol GC	Springfield, NJ
1937	Ralph Guldahl	Oakland Hills CC	Bloomfield Hills, MI
1938	Ralph Guldahl	Cherry Hills Club	Englewood, CO
1939	Byron Nelson	Philadelphia Cricket Club	Philadelphia, PA
1940	Lawson Little	Canterbury GC	Cleveland, OH
1941	Craig Wood	Colonial CC	Fort Worth, TX
1942	Cancelled due to World War II
1943	Cancelled due to World War II
1944	Cancelled due to World War II
1945	Cancelled due to World War II
1946	Lloyd Mangrum	Canterbury GC	Cleveland, OH
1947	Lew Worsham	St. Louis CC	Slayton, MO
1948	Ben Hogan	Riveria CC	Los Angeles, CA
1949	Cary Middlecoff	Medinah CC	Medinah, IL
1950	Ben Hogan	Merion GC	Ardmore, PA
1951	Ben Hogan	Oakland Hills CC	Bloomfield Hills, MI
1952	Julius Boros	Nortwood Club	Dallas, TX
1953	Ben Hogan	Oakmont CC	Oakmont, PA
1954	Ed Furgol	Baltusrol GC	Springfield, NJ
1955	Jack Fleck	Olympic Club	San Francisco, CA
1956	Cary Middlecoff	Oak Hill CC	Rochester, NY
1957	Dick Mayer	Inverness Club	Toledo, OH
1958	Tommy Bolt	Southern Hills CC	Tulsa, OK
1959	Billy Casper	Winged Foot GC	Mamaroneck, NY
1960	Arnold Palmer	Cherry Hills Club	Englewood, CO
1961	Gene Littler	Oakland Hills CC	Bloomfield Hills, MI
1962	Jack Nicklaus	Oakmont CC	Oakmont, PA
1963	Julius Boros	The Country Club	Brookline, MA
1964	Ken Venturi	Congressional CC	Bethesda, MD
1965	Gary Player	Bellerive CC	St. Louis, MO
1966	Billy Casper	Olympic Club	San Francisco, CA
1967	Lee Trevino	Baltusrol GC	Springfield, NJ
1968	Oliver Moody	Oak Hill CC	Rochester, NY
1969	Horace Rawlins	Champions GC	Houston, TX
1970	Tony Jacklin	Hazeltine National GC	Chaska, MN
1971	Lee Trevino	Merion GC	Ardmore, PA
1972	Jack Nicklaus	Pebble Beach GL	Pebble Beach, CA
1973	Johnny Miller	Oakmont CC	Oakmont, PA
1974	Hale Irwin	Winged Foot GC	Mamaroneck, NY
1975	Lou Graham	Medinah CC	Medinah, IL
1976	Jerry Pate	Atlanta Athletic Club	Duluth, GA
1977	Hubert Green	Southern Hills CC	Tulsa, OK
1978	Andy North	Cherry Hills Club	Englewood, CO
1979	Hale Irwin	Inverness Club	Toledo, OH
1980	Jack Nicklaus	Baltusrol GC	Springfield, NJ
1981	David Graham	Merion GC	Ardmore, PA
1982	Tom Watson	Pebble Beach GL	Pebble Beach, CA
1983	Larry Nelson	Oakmont CC	Oakmont, PA
1984	Fuzzy Zoeller	Winged Foot GC	Mamaroneck, NY
1985	Andy North	Oakland Hills CC	Bloomfield Hills, MI
1986	Ray Floyd	Shinnecock Hills GC	Southampton, NY
1987	Scott Simpson	Olympic Club	San Francisco, CA
1988	Curtis Strange	The Country Club	Brookline, MA
1989	Curtis Strange	Oak Hill CC	Rochester, NY
1990	Hale Irwin	Medinah CC	Medinah, IL
1991	Payne Irwin	Hazeltine National GC	Chaska, MN
1992	Tom Kite	Pebble Beach GL	Pebble Beach, CA
1993	Lee Janzen	Baltusrol GC	Springfield, NJ
1994	Ernie Els	Oakmont CC	Oakmont, PA
1995	Corey Pavin	Shinnecock Hills GC	Southampton, NY
1996	Steve Jones	Oakland Hills CC	Bloomfield Hills, MI
1997	Ernie Els	Congressional CC	Bethesda, MD
1998	Lee Janzen	Olympic Club	San Francisco, CA
1999	Payne Stewart	Pinehurst No. 2	Pinehurst, NC
2000	Tiger Woods	Pebble Beach GL	Pebble Beach, CA
2001	Retief Goosen	Southern Hills CC	Tulsa, OK
2002	Tiger Woods	Bethpage Black	Farmingdale, NY
2003	Jim Furyk	Olympia Fields CC	Olympia Fields, IL
2004	Retief Goosen	Shinnecock Hills GC	Southampton, NY
2005	Michael Campbell	Pinehurst No. 2	Pinehurst, NC
2006	Geoff Ogilvy	Winged Foot GC	Mamaroneck, NY
2007	Angel Cabrera	Oakmont CC	Oakmont, PA
2008		Torrey Pines GC	La Jolla, CA
2009		Bethpage Black Course	Farmingdale, NY