Far Hills, N.J. (June 16) – The United States Golf Association has named Erin Hills, a daily-fee public golf course about 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee in the town of Erin, Wis., as the site of the 2017 U.S. Open. The USGA has also announced its intention to award the 2018 U.S. Amateur and 2019 U.S. Open Championships to Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links.
“We are thrilled to bring the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur to these two outstanding golf venues,” said Jim Hyler, USGA president. “Pebble Beach offers a spectacular setting and boasts a long tradition of major championship golf. Erin Hills, though just a few years old, has justifiably earned its reputation as one of the premier facilities in the nation.”
For Erin Hills, the 2017 U.S. Open will mark the third USGA championship in its short history. It was the site of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, and will serve as the site of the 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship, to be contested Aug. 22-28.
Opened in 2006 and designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten, Erin Hills was constructed on 652 acres of rolling topography in Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine region. When it debuted, the course won praise for its minimalist design. However, some revisions were needed to prepare it to host a major championship. The facility recently underwent an extensive renovation by golf course specialist Landscapes Unlimited of Lincoln, Neb.
“Erin Hills boasts one of the greatest natural inland sites for a golf course that I have ever seen,” said Mike Davis, USGA senior director of Rules and Competitions. “It was designed and is managed in ways that are respectful of the environment – and it also happens to be an excellent test of golf.”
Wisconsin has hosted 11 USGA national championships through 2010, but this will be the first U.S. Open played in the state.
“I’m deeply honored that Erin Hills has been selected to host the 117th U.S. Open, and I thank the USGA for its confidence in our ability to produce an outstanding championship,” said Andrew Ziegler, owner of Erin Hills. “[Former owner] Bob Lang had a wonderful vision for Erin Hills. We are building on that vision through significant course renovations and are dedicated to providing a world-class test of golf for players at both the 2011 U.S. Amateur and the 2017 U.S. Open.”
The 2018 U.S. Amateur and 2019 U.S. Open Championships will continue the long relationship between the USGA and Pebble Beach, dating back to the 1929 U.S. Amateur. These will be the 12th and 13th national championships conducted at Pebble Beach. This scheduling marks the second time that Pebble Beach will host these two championships in consecutive years. Previously, the course hosted the U.S. Open in 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000 and 2010; the U.S. Amateur in 1929, 1947, 1961 and 1999; and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1940 and 1948.
Designed by Jack Neville and Douglas S. Grant, Pebble Beach will celebrate its centennial in 2019.
“There’s a wonderful symmetry for the 2019 U.S. Open,” said Thomas J. O’Toole, Jr., chairman of the USGA’s championship committee. “Pebble Beach hosted our 100th U.S. Open in 2000. Now, we return to celebrate their centennial with our national championships.”
“We take great pride in our relationship with the USGA and this announcement is truly a special moment in our history,” said Bill Perocchi, the chief executive officer of the Pebble Beach Company. “To celebrate our centennial by conducting the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur will be a thrill for everyone associated with Pebble Beach.”
The awarding of the 2018 U.S Amateur and 2019 U.S. Open to Pebble Beach was approved by the USGA Executive Committee at a recent meeting in Pebble Beach. The final approval of these championships is pending contractual agreement.
In naming the sites for the 2017 and 2019 U.S. Open Championships, the USGA reaffirms its commitment to bringing the U.S. Open to venues that are open to the public. From 1999 through 2019, the U.S. Open will have been played at Pinehurst No. 2 (1999, 2005 and 2014), Pebble Beach (2000, 2010 and 2019), Bethpage State Park (2002 and 2009), Torrey Pines (2008), Chambers Bay (2015) and Erin Hills (2017), making a total of 11 U.S. Opens in 21 years on publicly accessible courses.
Prior to 2017, the U.S. Open will be conducted at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. (2011); The Olympic Club in San Francisco (2012); Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. (2013); Pinehurst No. 2 in The Village of Pinehurst, N.C. (2014); Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. (2015); and Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania (2016). The site of the 2018 U.S. Open has not been announced.
About the USGA
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in the USA and Mexico. The USGA annually conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open and 10 national amateur championships. It also conducts two state team championships and helps conduct the Walker Cup Match, Curtis Cup Match and World Amateur Team Championships.
The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, provides expert course maintenance consultations, maintains a Handicap System® and celebrates the history of the game. Since 1983, the USGA Turfgrass and Environmental Research Program has awarded more than $31 million to more than 400 research projects for better turf and a better environment at universities across the country. The USGA also funds an ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program, which has allocated more than $65 million over 13 years to 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:
Pete Kowalski
pkowalski@usga.org
Web Address: www.usga.org
USGA Phone: 908-234-2300 ext.1322 (office)
908-216-8435 (cell)
