Golf.com released their bi-annual Top 100 golf courses in America list last week. It’s a buffet of bucket list destinations, some more attainable than others. 

It got us thinking: What amateur events do these courses host that might offer a chance to play some of the best golf in the country? There are some college events, some coveted invites, and some with opportunities to sign up and play, no matter your handicap.

Some of these events provide golf lovers with the opportunity to walk the fairways and spectate, if nothing else. Over the course of the winter, the USGA will release their qualifying sites, many of which are also top courses in the country. More opportunities to play exceptional golf courses.

TEAM EVENTS

No. 2 - Cypress Point (Pebble Beach, Calif)
Event: 2025 Walker Cup

If you’ve ever wound down 17-mile drive, there are a couple small moments to catch a glimpse of this course. Next year, Cypress Point will host the Walker Cup. 

It’s not a bad excuse to make a trip to a golfing mecca, play some golf and watch Team USA face-off against Great Britain and Ireland.

No. 9 - Pebble Beach (Pebble Beach, Calif.)
Event: Amateur Golf 2-man Links Championship

Not far from the Walker Cup host, Pebble Beach is welcoming our 2-Man Links Championship this spring. It’s a new event in the rotation, golfers will have the chance to not just play Pebble Beach, but compete on the course that saw Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and Tiger Woods win U.S. Open Championships. 

This event is open to any two-person team, so share this 54-hole best-ball championship alongside your most cherished golf companion. Whether it be your father, son, mother, wife or best friend- all pairings are encouraged.

Registration is open and the dates for the Pebble Beach 2-Man Links Championship are: March 28-31.

Pebble Beach isn’t the only course in the Top 100 that hosts our 2-man Links Championships. Bandon Dunes is another site that has been a partner for 25 years. That event will run from April 17-21.

COLLEGE EVENTS

No. 29 - Maidstone Club (East Hampton, NY)
Event: Hamptons Intercollegiate

The host course for the Hamptons Invitational, a fall college golf event with a strong field. Nick Dunlap shot 60 here in 2023 just a few months before winning on the PGA Tour.

No. 49 - Bandon Dunes 
Event: Bandon Dunes Collegiate Championship

Idaho has been hosting this event for the last 15 years. Lats year, due to heavy rains, the event had to be cancelled. Notably, Wyndham Clark and Cameron Champ finished in the top 5 in 2017. U.S. Amateur runner-up, Devon Bling, won the championship in 2020.

No. 67 - Pasatiempo (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
Event: Western Intercollegiate

One of the premier college events in the country is hosted at this Alastair McKenzie gem. The public course has just redone their back nine.

The event has past champions like Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Rogers, Mav McNealy, Bobby Clampett, Mark O’Meara, and Peter Jacobnsen. 

AMATEUR EVENTS

No. 13 - Pinehurst No. 2 (Pinehurst, NC)
Event: North & South Championships

Another course that is open to the public and hosts a bevy of amateur events throughtout the season. The North & South is the most well known, and considering they have a junior, women’s, seniors, and women’s senior, it’s a great opportunity for a lot of players to compete at the Donald Ross gem.

No. 92 - Sankaty Head (Nantucket, Mass.)
Event: Nantucket Invitational

A newcomer to the list, Sankaty Head hosted the 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur. It’s also the host of the annual Nantucket Invitational, a rather new event that is drawing players from all over the country in the autumn to the lovely island off the coast of Massachusetts.

Multiple Top 100 sites
Event: World Golf Competition

This new event starts in the spring of 2025. The format will bring players from all over the world together at a culminating event at Punta Espada in the Dominican Republic from Nov. 2-7. Over the course of spring and summer, amateurs from around the world will compete at incredible golf courses as they try to advance through various stages at different courses. The likes of Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes, Pasatiempo, TPC Sawgrass (No. 48), Whistling Straits (No. 55), Plainfield CC (No. 64), and Lawsonia Links (No. 89) will play host in this one-of-a-kind event.

Coveted Mid-Amateur event invites:

No. 1 - Pine Valley (Pine Valley, NJ) - Crump Cup

No. 10 - Los Angeles CC (Los Angeles, Calif.) - George C. Thomas Invitational

No. 17 - Seminole (June Beach, Fla.) - George Coleman Invitational

No. 28 - Garden City (Garden City, NJ) - Walter J. Travis Invitational