ChAmpionShipS mediA GUide - USGA

12 U.S. OpenChampionship HistoryOpenOn Oct. 4, 1895, the first U.S. Open Championship was conductedby the United States Golf Associa tion on the nine-holecourse of Newport (R.I.) Golf and Country Club.The first U.S. Open was considered something of a sideshowto the first U.S. Amateur, which was played on the same courseand during the same week. Both championships had beenscheduled for September but were postponed because of aconflict with a more established Newport sports spectacle, theAmerica’s Cup yacht races.Ten professionals and one amateur started in the 36-holecompetition, which was four trips around the Newport coursein one day. The surprise winner was Horace Rawlins, 21, anEnglish professional who was the assistant at the host course.Rawlins scored 91-82—173 with the gutta-percha ball.Prize money totaled $335, of which Rawlins won the $150 firstprize. He also received a gold medal and custody of the OpenChampionship Trophy for his club for one year.In its first decade, the U.S. Open was conducted for amateursand the largely British wave of immigrant golf professionalscoming to the United States.As American players began to dominate the game, the U.S.Open evolved into an important world golf championship.Young John J. McDermott became the first native-bornAmerican winner in 1911 and repeated as champion in 1912.In 1913, the U.S. Open really took off when Francis Ouimet,a 20-year-old American amateur, stunned the golf world bydefeating the famous English professionals Harry Vardon andTed Ray in a playoff.Another surge in the championship’s popularity coincidedwith the amazing career of Georgia amateur Robert T. JonesJr., who won the U.S. Open four times (1923, 1926, 1929,1930). Spectator tickets were sold for the first time in 1922 anda boom in entries caused the USGA to introduce sectionalqualifying in 1924.In 1933, John Goodman became the fifth and last amateurto win the U.S. Open. The others were Ouimet, Jerome D.Travers (1915), Charles Evans Jr. (1916) and Jones.In each era, the world’s greatest players have been identifiedby surviving the rigorous examination provided by theU.S. Open. Ben Hogan’s steely determination boosted him tofour victories (1948, 1950, 1951, 1953). Arnold Palmer’s recordcomeback win in 1960, when he fired a final-round 65 to comefrom seven strokes off the lead, cemented his dashing image.Jack Nicklaus’ historic assault on the professional recordbook began when he won the first of his four U.S. OpenChampionships in 1962, his rookie season as a professional.Nicklaus, who also won in 1967, 1972 and 1980, is one of onlyfour golfers to capture four U.S. Open titles. The others areWillie Anderson (1901, 1903, 1904, 1905), Jones and Hogan.In 1954, the U.S. Open course was roped from tee to greenfor the first time. That year also marked the first national televisioncoverage. Coverage was expanded by ABC Sports in1977 so that all 18 holes of the final two rounds were broadcastlive. In 1982, the first two rounds were broadcast live for thefirst time on ESPN. NBC began televising the U.S. Open in1995.The format of the U.S. Open has changed several times. TheUSGA extended the championship to 72 holes in 1898, with36 holes played on each of two days. In 1926, the format waschanged to 18 holes played each of two days, then 36 holes onthe third day. In 1965, the present format of four 18-hole dailyrounds was implemented for the first time.In 2002, a two-tee (No. 1 and No. 10) start was used for thefirst and second rounds. In addition, Bethpage State Park’sBlack Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., became the first facilityowned by the public to host a U.S. Open. Internationalqualifying sites were added in 2005 and the champion atPinehurst (N.C.) Resort was Michael Campbell, who qualifiedin England.