USGA's Finalizes 2015 Championship Schedule


On Monday the United States Golf Association (USGA) confirmed the sites and dates on its 2015 schedule. Chambers Bay, in University Place, Wash., will host the first U.S. Open contested in the Pacific Northwest, in June. The season begins with two new championships: the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball championships in early May.

"A committed group of clubs and communities will conduct our 2015 championships," said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and chairman of the Championship Committee. "The USGA's national championships will be held in 12 states and experienced by golf fans in many regions of the country. We are also thrilled to bring the U.S. Open to the state of Washington and introduce four-ball on the national level as part of our ongoing commitment to support and advance amateur competition."

When Chambers Bay hosts the 115th U.S. Open June 18-21 it will become the third municipal course to host the traditional second major of the year. Owned by Pierce County, the links-style course is part of a 930-acre park and lies on a former gravel and sand quarry. Chambers Bay joins Bethpage State Park (Black Course), in Farmingdale, N.Y., and Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course), in San Diego on the list of municipal courses to host a U.S. Open.

Pennsylvania will host a U.S. Women's Open for the ninth time when the 2015 championship is played at Lancaster Country Club from July 9-12. The U.S. Senior Open will be contested in Northern California for the first time, from June 25-28. Del Paso Country Club, in Sacramento, will host its fifth USGA championship and first since the 1982 U.S. Women's Open.

Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club will host the 115th U.S. Amateur August 17-23. The club becomes the 11th course to host the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Amateur. Jim Furyk (2003) and Johnny Farrell (1928) won Opens at the club, which was established in 1915 and whose first president was pioneering college football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. T

he U.S. Women's Amateur returns to Oregon for the sixth time for the 115th playing of the championship, at Portland Golf Club from August 10-16. It will be the club's third USGA championship and first since 1999.

The U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Junior Amateur will both be played from July 20-25. Tulsa (Okla.) Country Club will conduct its third USGA championship when the Girls' Junior is contested. Colleton River Plantation Club, in Bluffton, S.C., will host the U.S. Junior, its first USGA championship.

The U.S. Amateur Four-Ball is scheduled for May 2-6 at the Olympic Club, in San Francisco. It will be the 10th championship, including five U.S. Opens, hosted by the club. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, in Bandon, Ore., will host the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball, its fifth USGA championship, from May 9-13.

The U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball will consist of 128 and 64 two-player teams, respectively, with each competitor playing their own ball throughout the round. Each team's score will be determined by using the lower score of the partners for each hole. After 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying, each field will be reduced to the low 32 teams for the championship's match-play bracket, from which the eventual men's and women's champions will be determined.

Overall, there are 13 USGA national championships, as well as the Walker Cup Match and USGA Women's State Team, on the 2015 slate. The Walker Cup Match, the biennial competition between amateur teams from the United States and Great Britain and Ireland, will be played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, in Lancashire, England, September 12-13. The club has hosted 11 British Open Championships, but will serve as a Walker Cup site for the first time.

2015 USGA Championship Schedule

U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, The Olympic Club, San Francisco, Calif., May 2-6

U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship, Bandon Dunes Resort, Bandon, Ore., May 9-13

U.S. Open, Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash., June 18-21

U.S. Senior Open, Del Paso Country Club, Sacramento, Calif., June 25-28

U.S. Women's Open, Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club, July 9-12

U.S. Girls' Junior, Tulsa (Okla.) Country Club, July 20-25

U.S. Junior Amateur, Colleton River Plantation Club (Dye Course), Bluffton, S.C., July 20-25

U.S. Women's Amateur, Portland (Ore.) Golf Club, August 10-16

U.S. Amateur, Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club, August 17-23

USGA Women's State Team, Dalhousie (Mo.) Golf Club, September 10-12

U.S. Senior Women's Amateur, Hillwood Country Club, Nashville, Tenn., September 26-October 1

U.S. Senior Amateur, Hidden Creek Golf Club, Egg Harbor Township, N.J., September 26-October 1

U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur, Squire Creek Country Club, Choudrant, La., October 3-8

U.S. Mid-Amateur, John's Island Club, Vero Beach, Fla., October 3-8 (International)

Walker Cup Match, Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, Lancashire, England, September 12-13

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