00:00On the calendar as a major since 1895, the US Open is steeped in tradition and history.
00:06Known to some as the toughest of the four majors on the men's calendar,
00:09many of golf's greats have won this tournament. But how much do you know about the US Open?
00:14Well, buckle up because here are 16 things you may not know about the US Open.
00:21Each year, any amateur with a handicap index of 1.4 or lower can enter,
00:26with over 8,000 golfers attempting to qualify each year.
00:29There's over 100 local qualifying sites around the US, with 11 final qualifying events in total.
00:35A record 10,127 golfers entered in 2014.
00:40The first ever US Open took place in 1895, but it was actually considered the sideshow compared to the US
00:47amateur.
00:48In the first US Open, 11 golfers played four rounds at the nine-hole Newport Golf and Country Club,
00:54where 21-year-old Englishman Horace Rawlins became the inaugural US Open champion.
00:59It wasn't until 1912 when an American, John McDermott, first won the US Open.
01:05This was because the tournament was initially conducted mainly for the British wave of immigrant
01:09golf professionals coming to the United States.
01:11In 1954, the US Open was roped from tee to green and was televised across the nation for the first
01:17ever time.
01:18The tournament moved from 36 to 72 holes in 1898, but it wasn't until 1965 when it became four days
01:26of 18 holes.
01:28Previously, it had been two and three day formats.
01:31In 2002, Bethpage State Park's famous Black Course became the first ever public course to host a US Open.
01:38Tiger Woods won the event with Phil Mickelson coming second.
01:42In 2005, international qualifying for the US Open was introduced for the first time,
01:47and it was that year when Michael Campbell, who came through qualifying at Walton Heath in England,
01:52won the US Open at Pinehurst.
01:5417-year-old Beau Hostler became the youngest man to make the cut at the US Open since World War
01:59II in 2012,
02:01while 61-year-old Sam Snead was the oldest player to make the cut back in 1973.
02:06Four men have won four US Opens.
02:09That includes Scotland's Willie Anderson and American's Robert Trent Jones Jr., Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus.
02:16Tiger Woods and Hale Irwin have won three US Opens each.
02:20Tiger Woods is the only man to have won the US Junior Amateur, the US Amateur and the US Open.
02:26The last person to win the US Open on their debut was American amateur Francis Weemey in 1913.
02:34He'd won an 18-hole playoff against Harry Varden and Ted Ray,
02:38after the three of them tied the 72-hole lead at 6 over par.
02:42It was a famous victory against the two Brits, who were strong favourites against the American.
02:47Weemey's win is credited for a huge boost in popularity of the game in the US.
02:51This battle at Brookline was made into the 2005 feature film, The Greatest Game Ever Played.
02:57The US Open is famed for being played on long and difficult golf courses.
03:02In 2007, Oakmont's par-3 eighth hole measured 300 yards, which is the longest par-3 in US Open history.
03:10The winner of that tournament, Angel Cabrera, finished at 6 over par for the tournament,
03:14one of the highest scores in recent history.
03:16On that note of high scores, the highest ever winning score at a US Open was 331 by Willie Anderson
03:23in 1901.
03:25Rory McIlroy set the tournament record score of 268 at Congressional.
03:29He also became the first ever golfer to reach 17 under par in a US Open,
03:34and holds the record score to par of 16 under with Brooks Koepka, who managed his total in 2017 at
03:41Erin Hills.
03:41J.D. Tucker set the unwanted record for the highest ever single-round score in a US Open.
03:47This was when he shot 157 at Myopia Hunt Club in 1898.
03:53Tiger Woods holds the record for the largest winning margin when he won the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach
03:58by a whopping 15 strokes.
04:01The US Open is the only major Phil Mickelson hasn't won.
04:04He's been runner-up in this event on six occasions, and if he were to ever win it,
04:09he'd complete Golf's Grand Slam of majors.
04:12So there you have it, 16 facts about the US Open, one of Golf's greatest events on the calendar.
04:19For more facts and stats on your favourite players and your favourite tournaments,
04:23you can visit the Tour section on the Golf Monthly website.
04:25Bye!
04:26Bye!
04:26Bye!
04:26Bye!
04:27Bye!
04:28Bye!
Comments