124th U.S. Amateur Championship Ready to Tee Off in Minnesota

The USGA has announced that the 124th U.S. Amateur Championship will play out from Aug. 12-18 at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota.

PAR AND YARDAGE
Hazeltine National will be set up at 7,552 yards and will play to a par of 36-36–72. Chaska Town Course, which will serve as the stroke-play co-host course for the two rounds of stroke play, will be set up at 6,804 yards and play to a par of 35-35–70. (NOTE: Yardages subject to change.)

HAZELTINE NATIONAL GOLF CLUB (HOLE BY HOLE)

CHASKA TOWN COURSE (HOLE BY HOLE)

THE COURSES
The mission of the founders of Hazeltine was to build and maintain a golf course suitable for the conduct of national championships.  After early designs by another architect, Robert Trent Jones created a long and demanding layout to test the best players in golf. The course was opened for play in 1962. Over time, Jones modified many holes to adapt it to the needs of major championship play. In advance of the 1991 U.S. Open Championship, his son Rees Jones made changes to the design to maintain the competitive standard that his father set forth. The public debut of changes following the 1970 U.S. Open, including the now-famous sixteenth hole, occurred in 1983, when Billy Casper emerged victorious in the U.S. Senior Open. The success of that championship paved the way for the return of Hazeltine to the international golf scene.

Designed by renowned golf course architect Arthur Hills, the Chaska Town Course sprawls over 285 acres of oak groves, open prairie and marshlands. Lush bent grass covers the playing area from tee box to green. Chaska Town Course is owned and operated by the City of Chaska.

COURSE RATING AND SLOPE

Based on the course setup for the championship, the Course Rating™ for Hazeltine National Golf Club is 77.8 and its Slope Rating® is 148. The Course Rating™ for Chaska Town Course is 73.6 and its Slope Rating® is 143.

ENTRIES
The USGA accepted 4,970 entries in 2024. This year, the championship reduced the number of local qualifying sites from 95 to 45. There were only two local sites with availability at close of registration (43/45 full). The championship is open to amateur golfers with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 0.4. In 2023, the USGA accepted a record 8,253 entries. The previous record was 7,920 in 1999.

TWO-STAGE QUALIFYING   

Local qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship took place at 45 sites between June 4 - July 3. Final qualifying, also over 18 holes, took place at 19 sites from July 15 - July 31.

To view a full list of qualifying results, visit usamateur.org.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD

The starting field of 312 players will play 18 holes of stroke play on Aug. 12 and 13, one round on each of the two qualifying courses, after which the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers. Six rounds of match play begin on Aug. 14 and the championship concludes with a 36-hole championship match on Aug. 18.

EXEMPT PLAYERS

There are currently 157 players who are fully exempt through final qualifying in the U.S. Amateur. The list includes six reigning USGA champions – Stewart Hagestad (2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Todd White (2023 U.S. Senior Amateur) and Brian Blanchard and Sam Engel (2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball) and Trevor Gutschewski (2024 U.S. Junior Amateur).

SCHEDULE OF PLAY  

Practice rounds will take place Aug. 10-11. The championship schedule is as follows:
Aug. 12 (Monday): First round, stroke play (18 holes)
Aug. 13 (Tuesday): Second round, stroke play (18 holes)
Aug. 14 (Wednesday): Round of 64, match play
Aug. 15 (Thursday): Rounds of 32 and 16, match play
Aug. 16 (Friday): Quarterfinal round, match play

Aug. 17 (Saturday): Semifinal round, match play

Aug. 18 (Sunday): Championship match (36 holes)

WHAT THE CHAMPION RECEIVES

Among the benefits enjoyed by the U.S. Amateur champion are:
► A gold medal and custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for the ensuing year
► An exemption from local and final qualifying for the next U.S. Open (2025)
► An exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Amateurs
► An exemption from qualifying for the next Open Championship, conducted by The R&A
► A likely invitation to the next Masters Tournament (2025)

2023 CHAMPIONSHIP         

Nick Dunlap, of Huntsville, Ala., and a sophomore at the University of Alabama, defeated Pennsylvanian Neal Shipley, 4 and 3, in the 36-hole final at Cherry Hills Country Club in suburban Denver. Dunlap joined Tiger Woods as the only players in USGA history to have won a U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur. Dunlap won his U.S. Junior Amateur title in 2021.

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT HAZELTINE

1966 U.S. Women’s Open (Sandra Spuzich)

1970 U.S. Open (Tony Jacklin)

1977 U.S. Women’s Open (Hollis Stacy)

1983 U.S. Senior Open (Billy Casper)
1991 U.S. Open (Payne Stewart)

1994 U.S. Mid-Amateur (Tim Jackson)

2001 USGA Men’s State Team (won by Minnesota)
2006 U.S. Amateur (Richie Ramsay)
 

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MINNESOTA

The 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship will be the 37th USGA championship conducted in Minnesota.
 

Hazeltine National G.C., Chaska (8)
1966, 1977 Women’s Open
1970, 1991 Open
1983 Senior Open
1994 Mid-Amateur
2001 Men’s State Team
2006 Amateur

The Minikahda Club, Minneapolis (6)
1916 Open
1927 Amateur
1957 Walker Cup
1988 Women’s Amateur
1998 Curtis Cup
2017 Senior Amateur

Interlachen C.C., Edina (5)
1930 Open
1935 Women’s Amateur
1986 Senior Amateur
1993 Walker Cup
2008 Women’s Open

Somerset C.C., Mendota Heights (2)
1956 Senior Amateur

1995 Senior Women’s Amateur

Braemar G.C., Edina
1979 Women’s Amateur Public Links

Bunker Hills G.C., Coon Rapids
1976 Amateur Public Links

Edinburgh USA, Brooklyn Park
1992 Amateur Public Links

Francis A. Gross G.C., Minneapolis
1964 Amateur Public Links

Golden Valley C.C., Golden Valley
1988 Girls’ Junior

Keller G.C., Maplewood
1931 Amateur Public Links

Meadowbrook G.C., Hopkins
1947 Amateur Public Links

Minneapolis G.C., St. Louis Park
1950 Amateur

Northland C.C., Duluth
1956 Women’s Open

Rochester G. & C.C., Rochester
1993 Women’s Mid-Amateur

Rush Creek G.C., Maple Grove
2004 Amateur Public Links

Town & C.C., St. Paul
1951 Women’s Amateur

Univ. of Minnesota G.C., St. Paul
1958 Junior Amateur

Wayzata C.C., Wayzata
1984 Junior Amateur

Woodhill C.C., Wayzata
2001 Women’s State Team
 

OTHER CHAMPIONSHIPS AT HAZELTINE

2002 PGA Championship (Rich Beem)
2009 PGA Championship (Y.E. Yang)
2016 Ryder Cup (Team USA)
2019 KPMG Women's PGA Championship (Hannah Green)

BROADCAST COVERAGE

The 124th U.S. Amateur will receive at least 15 hours of broadcast coverage on Golf Channel and Peacock. Rolex is the exclusive presenting partner of coverage for eight USGA championships in 2024, including the U.S. Amateur. Rolex’s commitment will allow an uninterrupted broadcast of these championships, providing fans with hours of continuous live action.
 

CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY

Like the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Amateur championships, the U.S. Amateur has been contested since the USGA’s first championship season in 1895. The trophy was initially presented to the USGA on March 28, 1895, in honor of the association’s first president, Theodore A. Havemeyer.

The original Havemeyer Trophy, an ornate silver trophy produced by J.E. Caldwell and Company in Philadelphia, was presented to C.B. Macdonald at Newport Golf Club after his 1895 victory. The prize was then passed to each successive U.S. Amateur champion until Nov. 22, 1925, when it was lost in a massive fire at the home club of Bob Jones, East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, Ga.

Rather than replicate the original, the USGA decided to produce an entirely new trophy with an extended base to accommodate additional engraving. The new Havemeyer Trophy, a tall steeple cup designed in solid gold, was formally presented in January of 1926 by USGA Treasurer Edward S. Moore. It was retired in 1992 and was stolen from the USGA Golf Museum in the spring of 2012, and never recovered. A copy of the trophy, produced in 1992, is passed from champion to champion. In 1996, the USGA replicated the original silver Havemeyer Trophy using two existing photographs. A second replica was produced for display at East Lake.

The U.S. Amateur Trophy is on display at the USGA Golf Museum in Liberty Corner, N.J.

FUTURE U.S. AMATEUR SITES

Aug. 11-17, 2025 – The Olympic Club (Lake and Ocean Courses), San Francisco, Calif.

Aug. 10-16, 2026 – Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa.

Aug. 9-15, 2027 – Oak Hill Country Club, Pittsford, N.Y.

Aug. 12-18, 2030 – Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga.

Aug. 11-17, 2031 – The Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tenn.

TBD 2032 – Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore.

Aug. 15-21, 2033 – Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash.

TBD 2041 – Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore.
TBD 2047 – Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.