Cherry Hills Country Club
The 123rd U.S. Amateur will take place from August 14-20th at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo.
This is not only the best field in
major amateur golf. But it is the biggest. The field will start at 312 players and then get cut to just 64 after 36 holes of stroke play to create the match play bracket.
Let’s take a look at some of the important notes for this upcoming week.
Related:
U.S. AMATEUR TEE TIMES
U.S. AMATEUR QUALIFYING ROUNDUP
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN
As good as the field is for this championship, there will be one notable name missing at Cherry Hills. Michael Thorbjornsen, the number two amateur golfer in the world according to the Golfweek/Amateurgolf.com world rankings, will miss the U.S. Amateur and the upcoming Walker Cup after announcing he has a stress fracture in his back.
In an Instagram post, Thorbjornsen said his medical team advised him to have a period of inactivity so his fracture can heal properly.
Thorbjornsen was one of four co-medalists at last year’s U.S. Amateur and participated in the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club earlier this summer.
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN TO MISS U.S. AMATEUR, WALKER CUP WITH INJURY
THE FIELD
If you walked the fairways of Cherry Hills during the 2012 U.S. Amateur, you would have seen five future major champions as well as several other budding future professional stars. The field included Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Xander Schauffele and Max Homa, among a group that has combined for eight major titles and more than 70 PGA Tour wins.
Although 2012 is notable for the depth of its field, more recent U.S. Amateur champions include 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau (2015), 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick (2013), and four-time PGA Tour winner Viktor Hovland (2018). In 2012, Thomas advanced to the semifinals (he beat Homa in the Round of 32), while Matsuyama, Smith and Schauffele failed to qualify for match play. Spieth lost to current professional Thomas Pieters in the Round of 64.
Among those to watch are Gordon Sargent, the 2022 NCAA champion and the low amateur in the 2023 U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club; Dylan Menante, a 2022 semifinalist in this championship who helped Pepperdine to the 2021 NCAA title; Nick Dunlap, the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, who is coming off victories in the North & South Amateur and Northeast Amateur this summer.
ABOUT THE COURSE
The Championship venue is Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo, and the Stroke-Play Co-Host Venue is Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo.
Cherry Hills Country Club plays 7,405 yards and is a Par 71, and Colorado Golf Club plays 7,560 yards and is a Par 72.
Cherry Hills was opened in 1922 and was designed by William Flynn, with restoration by Tom Doak in 2008, while Colorado Golf Club is newer, opening in 2007 and was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.
CHAMPIONSHIPS AT CHERRY HILLS
1938 U.S. Open (Ralph Guldahl)
1941 PGA Championship (Vic Ghezzi)
1960 U.S. Open (Arnold Palmer)
1976 U.S. Senior Amateur (Lewis Oehmig)
1978 U.S. Open (Andy North)1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur (Jay Sigel)
1985 PGA Championship (Hubert Green)
1990 U.S. Amateur (Phil Mickelson)
1993 U.S. Senior Open (Jack Nicklaus)
2005 U.S. Women's Open (Birdie Kim)
2012 U.S. Amateur (Steven Fox)
2014 BMW Championship (Billy Horschel)
A LOOK BACK AT LAST YEAR
Sam Bennett defeated Ben Carr 1 up, in the 36-hole championship match at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. Carr was the lowest-ranked player (No. 70) that Bennett, a rising fifth-year senior at Texas A&M, faced en route to his title. Bennett defeated Carr, Nick Gabrelcik, Fred Biondi, David Puig, Stewart Hagestad, and Dylan Menante.
WHAT THE CHAMPION RECEIVES
-A gold medal-Custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for one year
-Exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Amateurs
-Exemption into 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & C.C.
-Exemption into the 2024 Open Championship, conducted by The R&A, at Royal Liverpool (must be an amateur)
-Likely invitation into the 2023 Masters Tournament (must be an amateur)
NOTABLE WINNERS
Francis Ouimet (1913, 1931); Chick Evans (1916, 1920), Bob Jones (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930), Arnold Palmer (1954), Jack Nicklaus (1959, 1961), Deane Beman (1960, 1963), Lanny Wadkins (1970), Craig Stadler (1973), Mark O'Meara (1979), Hal Sutton (1980), Jay Sigel (1982, 1983), Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1994, 1995, 1996), Matthew Fitzpatrick (2013), Bryson DeChambeau (2015)
SCHEDULE OF PLAY
Monday, Aug. 14 (18 holes, stroke play)
Tuesday, Aug. 15 (18 holes, stroke play)
Wednesday, Aug. 16 (Round of 64, match play)
Thursday, Aug. 17 (Round of 32/16 matches)
Friday, Aug. 18 (Quarterfinal matches)
Saturday, Aug. 19 (Semifinal matches)
Sunday, Aug. 20 (36-hole championship match)
BROADCAST SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
Wednesday, August 16 (Round of 64), 5 p.m.-6 p.m. (Peacock), 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Thursday, August 17 (Round of 16), 6 p.m.-7 p.m. (Peacock), 7 p.m.-9 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Friday, August 18 (Quarterfinals), 5 p.m.-6 p.m. (Peacock), 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Saturday, August 19 (Semifinals), 3 p.m.-4 p.m. (Golf Channel), 4 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, August 20 (Championship Match), 3 p.m.-4 p.m. (Golf Channel), 4 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC)
FUTURE U.S. AMATEUR SITES
2024: Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minn. (Aug. 12-18)
2025: The Olympic Club, San Francisco, Calif. (Aug. 11-17)
2026: Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa. (Aug. 10-16)
2027: Oak Hill Country Club, Pittsford, N.Y. (Aug. 9-15)
2030: Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga. (Aug. 12-18)
2031: The Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tenn. (Aug. 11-17)
2033: Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash. (Aug. 15-21)
2032: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore. (Dates TBD)
2041: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore. (Dates TBD)
2047: Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (Dates TBD)
The USGA contributed to this report