Far Hills, N.J. (Feb. 7) – The United States Golf Association announced today that Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo., has been selected as the site for the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship. The dates of the championship will be Aug. 20-26, 2012.
In addition, Colorado Golf Club in Parker will be used for the stroke-play portion of the championship.
Cherry Hills has had a long and storied tradition of championship golf. Designed by William Flynn and opened in 1922, Cherry Hills will host its ninth USGA championship and second U.S. Amateur. Phil Mickelson captured his only U.S. Amateur title at Cherry Hills in 1990.
The club has also been the site of three U.S. Opens: 1938, won by Ralph Guldahl; 1960, won by Arnold Palmer; and 1978, won by Andy North. In addition, the 1993 U.S. Senior Open (won by Jack Nicklaus) and the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open (won by Birdie Kim) were played at the club.
Cherry Hills also hosted the 1978 USGA Senior Amateur and the 1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships. In addition to those USGA championships, the club hosted the 1941 and 1985 PGA Championships.
Cherry Hills’ most memorable championship is Palmer’s come-from-behind victory in the 1960 U.S. Open. Seven shots back entering the final 18 holes, he drove the par-4 first hole en route to a 65 and an improbable two-stroke victory over Nicklaus, then a 20-year-old amateur. It was Palmer’s only U.S. Open title.
“The members of Cherry Hills Country Club are proud of its longstanding relationship with the USGA,” said Tim Schmidt, Cherry Hills president. “The invitation to host the 2012 U.S. Amateur gives the club the opportunity to bring to Colorado the best amateur golf championship in the country.”
In 2008, Cherry Hills completed a restoration and modernization of its golf course. Under the direction of Tom Doak and Eric Iverson of Renaissance Golf Design, the bunkers were modernized, two greens were restored to their original design and the course was lengthened to more than 7,500 yards.
Colorado has been the site of 29 previous USGA championships, most recently the 2008 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora.
The 2009 U.S. Amateur will be played at Southern Hills C.C. in Tulsa, Okla., August 24-30. Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., hosts the championship in 2010, and in 2011 it will be contested at Erin Hills G.C. in Erin, Wis.
First played in 1985, the U.S. Amateur is the oldest USGA championship. It is open to players with USGA Handicap Indexes not exceeding 2.4.
About the USGA
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in the USA and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the world’s golfers and golf courses.
The Association’s most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open. Ten additional USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs, and include the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, provides expert course maintenance consultations, funds research for better turf and a better environment, maintains a Handicap System and administers an ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program, which has allocated more than $63 million over 12 years to successful programs that bring the game’s values to youths from disadvantaged backgrounds and people with disabilities. For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.
Contact:
Dave Fanucchi (dfanucchi@usga.org)
Web Address: www.usga.org
USGA Phone: (908) 234-2300
