United States Amateur Championship (golf)


The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August over a 7-day period.
In 1894 there were two tournaments called the "National Amateur Championship". One of them was played at Newport Country Club and was won by William G. Lawrence, and the other took place at St Andrew's Golf Club and was won by Laurence B. Stottard. This state of affairs prompted Charles B. Macdonald of the Chicago Golf Club to call for the creation of a national governing body to authorize an official national championship, and the Amateur Golf Association of the United States, which was soon to be renamed the United States Golf Association, was formed on December 22 of that year. In 1895 it organized both the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S. Open, both of which were played at Newport Country Club.
There are no age or gender restrictions on entry, but players must have a handicap index of 2.4 or less. Originally, entry was restricted to members of USGA-affiliated private clubs, a restriction that was not lifted until 1979. The tournament consists of two days of stroke play, with the leading 64 competitors then playing a knockout competition held at match play to decide the champion. All knockout matches are over 18 holes except for the final, which consists of 36 holes, separated into morning and afternoon 18-hole rounds. Nowadays it is usually won by players in their late teens or early twenties who are working towards a career as a tournament professional. Before World War II more top-level golfers chose to remain amateur, and the average age of U.S. Amateur champions was higher.
Many of the leading figures in the history of golf have been U.S. Amateur Champion, including Bobby Jones five times, Jerome Travers four times, Jack Nicklaus twice and Tiger Woods three times. Woods' first win, as an 18-year-old in 1994, made him the youngest winner of the event, breaking the previous record of 19 years 5 months set by Robert Gardner in 1909. In 2008, New Zealander Danny Lee became the youngest ever winner, only to be eclipsed by 17-year-old An Byeong-hun the following year. Before the professional game became dominant, the event was regarded as one of the majors. This is no longer the case, but the champion still receives an automatic invitation to play in all of the majors except the PGA Championship. In addition, the runner-up also receives an invitation to play in the Masters and the U.S. Open. However, the golfers must maintain their amateur status at the time the events are held.
With the growth in professional golf through the latter half of the 20th century, the U.S. Amateur has become dominated by younger players destined to soon become professionals. In 1981 the USGA established a new championship called the U.S. Mid-Amateur for amateurs aged at least 25 years old in order to give players who had not joined the professional ranks, and those who had regained their amateur status, a chance to play against each other for a national title.

Field

While most players at the U.S. Amateur advance through sectional qualifying, a few players are exempt each year.
  1. Winners of the U.S. Amateur each of the last ten years.
  2. Runner-up of the U.S. Amateur each of the last three years.
  3. Semi-finalists of the U.S. Amateur each of the last two years.
  4. Quarter-finalists of the U.S. Amateur the previous year.
  5. Any player who qualified for the current year's U.S. Open.
  6. Those returning 72 hole scores from the previous year's U.S. Open.
  7. The amateur with the lowest score from the current year's U.S. Senior Open.
  8. From the U.S. Mid-Amateur: winner each of the last two years and runner-up from the previous year.
  9. From the U.S. Amateur Public Links: winner each of the last two years and runner-up from the previous year. Because the Amateur Public Links was discontinued after its 2014 edition, the runner-up exemption disappeared after the 2015 U.S. Amateur, and the winner's exemption disappeared after 2016.
  10. From the U.S. Junior Amateur: winner each of the last two years and runner-up from the previous year.
  11. From the U.S. Senior Amateur: winner each of the last two years and runner-up from the previous year.
  12. Playing members of the two most recent Walker Cup teams.
  13. Playing members of the two most recent U.S. Eisenhower Trophy teams.
  14. Playing members of the current year's U.S. Men's Copa de las Américas team.
  15. Winner of the current year's individual NCAA Division I Championship.
  16. Winner of the British Amateur Championship each of the last five years.
  17. Top fifty golfers in World Amateur Golf Ranking.
  18. Winner of the current year Latin America Amateur Championship.
In all cases, the exemptions only apply if the player has not turned professional as of the tournament date.

Winners

Multiple winners

Eighteen players have won more than one U.S. Amateur, through 2018:
Eleven players have won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open Championships, through 2018:
Thirteen players have won both the U.S. Amateur and British Amateurs, through 2018:
Two players have won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links in the same year, through 2018:
^ Won both in same year. Bobby Jones won the Grand Slam in 1930, winning the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, British Amateur, and British Open.

Most times hosted

Source

Exemptions

The U.S. Amateur results lead to exemptions into other tournaments. In all cases, the exemption holds only if the golfer retains their amateur status. All the exemptions listed below pertain to only the winner of the U.S. Amateur, unless otherwise stated.
Here are the major exemptions:
Here are the other exemptions: