PGA Golf: U.S. Open

The United States Open Championship
U.S. Open, the second "Major Championship" event in the PGA season is hosted by the United States Golf Association and is on the tour schedules of the PGA Tour, European Tour, and now the Asian Tour. The event is held at a different location each year and is always scheduled to play the final round on Fathers Day.

The First U.S. Open
October 4, 1895 marked the beginning of the U.S. Open Championship. It was held in Newport, Rhode Island on a 9 hole course. The tournament was 36 holes and was completed in one day. Competing in the first event was a field of ten professional golfers and one amateur competing.

The first winner of the U.S. Open was Horace Rawlins at the age of 21. Horace took home $150.00 in cash and a gold medal worth 50 bucks. Times have changed. The 2007 champion, Angel Cabrera won $1.26 million. The total purse in 2007 was $7 million.

Horace Rawlins was the first on a long list of British and Scottish winners of the U.S. Open. It would be 16 years before the first American born competitor, John J.McDermott would claim the U.S. Open title in 1911.

108 Years of Golf History
2008 will mark the 108th United States Open Championship. This year the U.S. Open will be hosted at Torrey Pines Golf Course, home to the Buick Invitational and the Junior World Championships in San Diego. The golf course is owned by the City of San Diego and is a true public golf course that sits on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This is only the second public golf course to host the U.S. Open. The other was Bethpage in New York State in 2002. Torrey Pines boasts two golf courses of fame. The North Course and the South Course. Reese Jones began working on the South Course in 2001 in preparation for the U.S. Open. It’s now a whopping length of 7,607 yards.

U.S. Open Quick Facts
Which Players Have Won The Most? The most wins at the U.S. Open for any one player is four. Each of the following have achieved this amazing success; Willie Anderson; 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905; Bobby Jones; 1923, 1926, 1929, 1930; Ben Hogan; 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953; Jack Nicklaus; 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980.

Who Holds the Record as the Youngest Champion of the U.S. Open? The youngest winner of the U.S. Open was John McDermott, in 1911 at 19 years, 315 days.

Who Holds the Record as the Oldest Champion of the U.S. Open? At the 1990 U.S. Open in Medinah C.C. Hale Irwin, won the title to become the oldest winner on record 45 years, 15 days.

Who Holds the Record for the Largest Margin of Victory at a U.S. Open? At Pebble Beach in 2000, Tiger Woods left the rest of the field 15 strokes behind to be recorded as the largest margin of victory not only in the U.S. Open, but in any PGA "Major Championship" event.

Which U.S. Open Golf Course Holds the Longest Yardage Record? The 2008 U.S. Open will be played on the longest course in U.S. Open history; Torrey Pines.