“We appreciate the support and commitment provided by the state and regional associations and international community during a two-tiered qualifying process that dates to 1959,” said Stuart Francis, USGA Championship Committee chairman. “The U.S. Open has broad appeal, as evidenced by the more than 9,800 entries we have received in each of the last four years and the fact that any amateur golfer can enter, provided they meet the Handicap Index requirement. The opportunity to take sectional qualifying to all parts of the United States and international sites helps to ensure that we have the strongest field possible.”

The Columbus, Ohio; Memphis, Tenn.; Summit, N.J.; and Newport Beach, Calif., sectional sites will use two courses. In Columbus, Brookside Golf and Country Club and Lakes Golf and Country Club will combine to host sectional qualifying for the 13th time since 1995. Eight players from the Columbus sectional made the 36-hole cut in last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. Daniel Summerhays, who tied for eighth behind champion Dustin Johnson, was among the group of qualifiers.

Germantown Country Club and Ridgeway Country Club are the Memphis sectional courses for the third consecutive year and fifth time since 2009. Andrew Landry advanced through this site last year. He was the U.S. Open first-round leader with a 4-under 66 – the lowest opening- round score in any of the nine U.S. Opens at Oakmont – and went on to tie for 15th. Canoe Brook Country Club’s North and South Courses will serve as a sectional site for the 15th time since 1980. Big Canyon Country Club and Newport Beach Country Club are paired together in Southern California for the third time.

Woodmont Country Club, in Rockville, Md., will host U.S. Open sectional qualifying for the 30th time in the last 31 years. The club features two 18-hole layouts, but only the North Course will be used for the fourth consecutive year. Chase Parker, one of five players last year who advanced through both local and sectional play and made the 36-hole cut, qualified at Woodmont.

Jupiter Hills Club’s Hill Course, in Tequesta, Fla., will host U.S. Open sectional qualifying for the first time since 2008. The club hosted the 1987 U.S. Amateur Championship and will serve as the host site for the 2018 U.S. Amateur Four- Ball Championship. Lakewood Country Club, in Dallas, Texas, is a site for the second time. Tacoma Country & Golf Club, in Lakewood, Wash., will host a sectional qualifier for the first time since 1989. The club has hosted four USGA championships.

Springfield Country Club in Ohio will host sectional qualifying for the eighth consecutive year and ninth time in 10 years. Hawks Ridge, in Ball Ground, Ga., will be a sectional site for the sixth time since 2007.

Walton Heath Golf Club in England and Ono Golf Club in Japan are the international sectional qualifying sites. Five players made the 36-hole cut in the 2016 U.S. Open after advancing from Walton Heath, which is hosting for the 13th consecutive year.

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. Gene Littler (1961), Julius Boros (1963), 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 113 sites in the U.S. and one in Canada, takes place between May 2-18.

In 2016, the USGA accepted 9,877 entries for the championship at Oakmont. The record of 10,127 was established for the 2014 championship at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2, in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.

Online player registration for the 2017 U.S. Open is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, March 8 and continues through Wednesday, April 26 at 5 p.m. EDT. To access online registration clic k here