USGA Announces 2015 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying Sites


The United States Golf Association (USGA) has announced sectional qualifying sites for the 2015 U.S. Open Championship, which will be held at Chambers Bay, in University Place, Wash., on June 18-21.

Sectional qualifying, conducted over 36 holes, will be held on June 8 at 10 sites in the U.S. For the 11th consecutive year, Japan and England will host international sectional qualifying, which is scheduled for May 25.

"The U.S. Open has worldwide appeal, so it is fitting that sectional qualifying will be conducted once again at international sites and in many regions of the United States," said Diana Murphy, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. "We are grateful for the support and commitment provided by the state and regional associations and international community during the qualifying process as we work toward identifying our national champion for the first time in the Pacific Northwest."

The Columbus, Ohio; Purchase, N.Y.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Newport Beach, Calif., sectional sites will use two courses. In Ohio, Brookside Golf and Country Club and The Lakes Golf and Country Club have combined to host sectional qualifying six times, including 2010, 2011 and 2013. Seven players from the Columbus sectional made the cut at last year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club's Course No. 2, including Erik Compton, who tied for second with Rickie Fowler behind champion Martin Kaymer.

Old Oaks Country Club and Century Country Club are serving together as a sectional site in New York for the fourth time in seven years. Germantown Country Club and Ridgeway Country Club are the courses for the Memphis sectional for the third time since 2009. Big Canyon Country Club and Newport Beach Country Club are working together in Southern California for the second time in three years.

Woodmont Country Club, in Rockville, Md., will host U.S. Open sectional qualifying for the 28th time in the last 29 years. The club, which moved to its current site in 1950, features two 18-hole layouts, but only the North Course will be used for this year's qualifier.

Springfield Country Club in Ohio will host sectional qualifying for the sixth consecutive year and seventh time in eight years. Hawks Ridge Golf Club, in Ball Ground, Ga., has been a sectional site in five of the last nine years.

Tumble Creek Club, in Cle Elum, Wash., will host a sectional qualifier for second time in three years. The University of Washington's Cheng-Tsung Pan, one of four amateurs to make the 36-hole cut in the 2013 U.S. Open, advanced through this site and went on to tie for 45th at Merion Golf Club, in Ardmore, Pa. Northwood Club, in Dallas, Texas, will host sectional qualifying for the third time since 2007. Julius Boros won the first of his two U.S. Open Championships at Northwood Club in 1952.

The Bear's Club, in Jupiter, Fla., will host sectional qualifying for the first time. The club was founded in 1999 by four-time U.S. Open champion Jack Nicklaus and 2015 Bob Jones Award recipient Barbara Nicklaus.

England's Walton Heath Golf Club and Japan's Kinojo Golf Club are the international sectional qualifying sites. Walton Heath, which is hosting for the 11th consecutive year, is where Brooks Koepka qualified for the 2014 U.S. Open. Koepka tied for fourth at Pinehurst.

Ken Venturi (1964) and Orville Moody (1969) are the only players to win the U.S. Open after qualifying through both local and sectional play. Jerry Pate (1976), Steve Jones (1996), Michael Campbell (2005) and Lucas Glover (2009) have won as sectional qualifiers.

To be eligible for qualifying, a player must have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 1.4, or be a professional. Local qualifying, which will be played over 18 holes at 111 sites in the U.S., takes place between May 4-21. In 2014, the USGA accepted a record 10,127 entries for the championship at Pinehurst. That total eclipsed the 9,860 for the 2013 championship at Merion.

Online player registration for the 2015 U.S. Open began on March 4 (https://champs.usga.org/index.html) and continues through April 29 at 5 p.m. EDT.

The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For more information, visit www.usga.org.