It’s U.S. Amateur week and this is basically the biggest major of the year for us regular Joe’s – well, more like the best of the best of us regular Joe’s. So, we thought it would be fun to check in with some fast facts as the cream of the amateur crop in the men’s game tee it up in Pinehurst this week.
Did You Know…
• That the U.S. Amateur is the longest standing USGA championship and it was first played in 1895 at Newport Golf Club in Newport, R.I. (scroll to the bottom for even more on the history of the event).
• This year, and for the first time ever, the final match of the match-play round will be contested on two separate courses, Pinehurst No. 2 and Pinehurst No. 4. The first 18-holes will be played on No. 4 and then the 36-hole match will conclude on No. 2.
• Titleist is the top choice of the field with 232 players (74% of the field) teeing up a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball.
• Titleist is also the top choice in Irons, Fairways, Hybrids, Utilities, Wedges and Putters.
Side note: as you can imagine, we are beyond thankful that these players choose to play Titleist equipment from their ball throughout their bag. They’re not paid to play our gear. They can choose to play whatever they want and we’re grateful that they choose us.
• 18 players have won the U.S. Amateur more than once. Bobby Jones leads the way with five U.S. Amateur titles.
• 11 players have won both the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open
• 13 players have won both the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur
And if you want to get the full history on the championship, here’s an overview from the USGA:
The U.S. Amateur Championship is the oldest USGA championship and it was created in 1895 because of a controversy. In 1894, two clubs -- Newport (R.I.) Golf Club and New York's St. Andrew's Golf Club -- had conducted invitational tournaments to attract the nation's top amateur players.
Both clubs proclaimed their winners as the national champion, while Charles Blair Macdonald, a prominent player and course architect, was the runner-up in both.
Before the final day of the St. Andrew's tournament, it was announced that an association composed of all the clubs in the United States would be formed in the ensuing months. This new national governing body would oversee a universally recognized championship and create a written set of rules.
With that, representatives from Newport Golf Club, St. Andrew's Golf Club, The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., and Chicago Golf Club founded the USGA on Dec. 22, 1894, and the inaugural U.S. Amateur Championship was conducted the following year, along with the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Amateur.
The Amateur and Open Championships were conducted at Newport Golf Club during the same week of October and Macdonald became the first U.S. Amateur champion.
Click below to visit USGA.org and you can see a full list of past champions.
www.usga.org/.../us-amateur-champions-21474864256.html