U.S. Open (golf)
U.S. Open, also known as The United States Open Championship, is an annual golf competition that has been played since 1895. Today the competition is one of the majors that is played and since 1898 it has been played in a 72 hole competition and it takes place on rotating courses of different quality and severity. U.S. Open is a very demanding competition and is open to professional players and amateurs over a certain handicap.
- €150 casino bonus
- €150 odds bonus
- Where top dogs play
History
U.S. Open has been played since 1895. The first competition was held on a 9-hole course on Rhode Island, but 36 holes were played in one day. The winner was the British player Horace Rawlins who received a prize money and a trophy issued by the American Golf Association.
Today, U.S. Open as one of the major competitions in golf and administered by the American Golf Association USGA. The competition is a 72-hole competition that is played four times on 18 holes.
British dominance
In the early years of the competition, the winnings were dominated by the British, but from 1911, the more American winners became the results lists. Many others have won the competition over the years and in the period 2004-2014, only three Americans won this glorious title.
High demands on players and courses
Characteristic of U.S. Open is the great variation between the different holes and the great demands it places on the player. The courses that come into play for this competition will have to undergo renovations and adjustments to achieve these difficult combinations of games and to be conceivable as a course for this competition.
Game format in the U.S. Open
The winner of this competition is the one who has the least number of strokes when the competition is over.
If there is a tie, decisive holes will be played until one of the competitors wins. This form of betting was introduced in the US Open 2018. Previously, there were other rules and then a brand new 18-hole round was played the day after the competition to decide who would be the winner and there was a draw even then decisive games were played in the form of sudden death .
In 1931, two 18-hole rounds were played which were a draw, which meant that another 36 holes had to be played to decide the winner.
Qualifying to the U.S. Open
Professional players can participate in this competition and also amateurs who have a US handicap below or equal to 1.4. A total of 156 players can participate in the competition and approximately 50% of the participants are excluded from the qualification for various reasons. These can be that you have won the competition in the last ten years, have won the amateur championships, have won the Masters, Open Championship or PGA Championship in the last five years and so on. Clearly, there are a number of meritorious gains that can make participants join the U.S. Open.
Before 2011, it was the 50 best players who made it to the “cut” to enter the competition.
The qualifying game takes place in two stages locally on courses in the USA. In the first stage, you compete on 18-hole courses. The next qualifying step is 36 courses and there have been qualified players who have been as young as 14 years as the rules have no age limit.
Worth knowing about U.S. Open
There are shelves of statistics around the U.S. Open in all different forms. What we can mention that can be interesting is that the most used course is Oakmont Country Club which has completed nine Opens. Also that Tiger Woods in 2000 won by a margin of 15 strokes, which is a record in a major context.
No player has ever played at 62 strokes or lower.
In 2017, Justin Thomas went a round of 63 strokes, which is the best that has been done so far in relation to par, ie in this case nine under par. Several others have gone on 63 strokes, including Johnny Miller, Vijay Singh, Tom Weiskopf, Jack Nicklaus and Tommy Fleetwood
Winners in recent years in the men’s U.S. Open
| Player | Course | |
| 2020 | ? | Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course |
| 2019 | Gary Woodland | Pebble Beach Golf Links |
| 2018 | Brooks Koepka | Shinnecock Hills Golf Club |
| 2017 | Brooks Koepka | Erin Hills |
| 2016 | Dustin Johnson | Oakmont Country Club |
| 2015 | Jordan Spieth | Chambers Bay |
| 2014 | Martin Kaymer | Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2 |
| 2013 | Justin Rose | Merion Golf Club, East Course |
| 2012 | Webb Simpson | Olympic Club |
| 2011 | Rory McIlroy | Congressional Country Club |
| 2012 | Graeme McDowell | Pebble Beach Golf Links |
Justin Thomas' round of 63 strokes (-9) is the best that has been played so far. Other players who have played 63 strokes are Johnny Miller, Vijay Singh, Tom Weiskopf, Jack Nicklaus and Tommy Fleetwood. However, these have had worse results in relation to par.