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CHAMPIONSHIP FACT SHEET
August 19-25, 2002
Oakland Hills Country Club,
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

PAR AND YARDAGE – Oakland Hills Country Club’s South Course will play at 6,988 yards and par 35-35—70.  The North Course, which will be used for the first two days of stroke play, will play at 6,618 yards and par 35-35– 70.

OAKLAND HILLS COUNTRY CLUB – Both the North and South courses at Oakland Hillls were designed by Donald Ross.  The South Course was opened in 1917 while the North was opened in 1923. 

TICKETS AVAILABLE – Tickets can be purchased by calling the U.S. Amateur office at (248) 203-2002.  Tickets are $15 (Mon.-Sun.) for a daily ticket, or $60 for a weekly pass.  Children 16 and under are admitted free if accompanied by an adult with a ticket.

MAJOR EVENTS AT OAKLAND HILLS – Oakland Hills has hosted nine USGA championships.  It hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, 1937, 1951, 1961, 1985 and 1996. The U.S. Senior Open was contested there in 1981 and 1991.  The U.S. Women’s Amateur was played at Oakland Hills in 1929.

Oakland Hills has also hosted two PGA Championships and is the future site of the Ryder Cup Matches in 2004 and the PGA Championship in 2008.

2001 CHAMPION – Ben “Bubba” Dickerson of Hilliard, Fla., capped a furious rally by winning the final two holes of the 36-hole final match to take the U.S. Amateur title from Robert Hamilton of Carmichael, Calif., at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., 1 up.  Dickerson was 5-down through 14 holes before winning four straight holes to keep the match close the rest of the afternoon. 

Dickerson, now 21, has since turned professional and will not be eligible to defend his title.  Hamilton, now 24, has also become a professional and is ineligible to compete. 

USGA TOLL-FREE INTERVIEW HOTLINE – Player interviews and audio cuts will be featured throughout the championship week.  Call toll free to (888) 321-USGA.  The interviews are broadcast quality and are about three minutes in length.

WWW.USGA.ORG – Log on to the USGA Internet site at www.usga.org for the latest and most complete U.S. Amateur Championship information. 

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS – Four of last year’s eight quarterfinalists return through exemptions. The returning quarterfinals are: Daniel Summerhays of Farmington, Utah; Taichiro Kiyota of Tokyo, Japan; Manuel Merizalde of Cali, Columbia, and Brian Nosler of Lake Oswego, Ore.

PAST CHAMPIONS – No past champions are exempt into this year’s Championship.  Each of the past 10 Amateur winners has turned professional, forfeiting their eligibility for the Championship.

USGA CHAMPIONS – USGA champions in the 2002 U.S. Amateur are listed below. 

· Charlie Beljan, Mesa, Ariz. – 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur
· Jerry Courville, Milford, Conn. – 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur
· Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. – 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur
· Tim Hogarth, Northridge, Calif. – 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links
· Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn. – 1994, 2001 U.S. Mid–Amateur
· Henry Liaw, Rowland Heights, Calif. – 2001 U.S. Junior Amateur
· Hunter Mahan, McKinney., Texas – 1999 U.S. Junior Amateur
· Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash. – 2002 U.S. Amateur Public Links
· Chez Reavie, Mesa, Ariz. – 2001 U.S. Amateur Public Links
· D.J. Trahan, Inman, S.C. – U.S. Amateur Public Links
· Danny Yates, Atlanta, Ga. – 1992 U.S. Mid-Amateur

EXEMPT PLAYERS – There are 16 golfers who are exempt from having to qualify for the 2002 U.S. Amateur, including three USGA champions and four U.S. Open qualifiers from 2002.  Here are their names and exception categories:

· Ricky Barnes, Stockton, Calif. – 2002 U.S. Open qualifier

· Charlie Beljan, Mesa, Ariz. – 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur winner

· Bob Clark, Murrieta, Calif. – low amateur 2002 U.S. Senior Open

· Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. – 2001 USA Walker Cup team

· Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn. – 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion

· Taichiro Kiyota, Japan – quarterfinalist 2001 U.S. Amateur

· Alejandro Larrazabal, Spain – 2002 British Amateur champion

· Manuel Merizalde, Coral Gables, Fla. – semifinalist 2001 U.S. Amateur

· Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash. – 2002 U.S. Amateur Public Links winner; Open qualifier

· Zac Reynolds, Edmond, Okla – 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up

· Daniel Summerhays, Farmington, Utah – quarterfinalist 2001 U.S. Amateur

· Derek Tolan, Highlands Ranch, Colo. – 2001 U.S. Open qualifier

· D.J. Trahan, Inman, S.C. – 2001 USA Walker Cup team

· Kevin Warrick, Valrico, Fla. – 2002 U.S. Open qualifier

· Lee Williamson, Crawfordsville, Ind. – 2002 U.S. Amateur Public Links runner-up

· George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. – 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up.

TOTAL ENTRIES – The USGA accepted 7,597 entries for this year’s U.S. Amateur.  The most entries ever received for an Amateur championship was 7,920 in 1999 when the U.S. Amateur was played at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links.

WHO CAN ENTER – The U.S. Amateur Championship is open to amateur golfers who have USGA Handicap Indexes not exceeding 2.4.  The Handicap limit was lowered from 3.4 in 1999.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING – Sectional qualifying was conducted over 36 holes at 100 sites from July 24–August 6.

THE WINNER RECEIVES – The champion receives an exemption into the 2003 U.S. Open and a possible invitation to play in the 2003 Masters Tournament, if he remains an amateur.  He also receives a 10–year exemption into the U.S. Amateur field so long as he remains an amateur.

FORMAT – Following two days of stroke play (Monday, Aug. 19, and Tuesday, Aug. 20), the field of 312 golfers will be reduced to the lowest 64 scorers, who will advance to match play.  All matches are 18 holes except the final match.  The 36-hole championship final match is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 25.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY – The first and second rounds of stroke play are set for Monday and Tuesday (Aug. 19-20) on both the North and South Courses at Oakland Hills Country Club.  All match play rounds will be played on the South Course.  A single round of match play is scheduled on Wednesday (Aug. 21), followed by the second and third rounds on Thursday (Aug. 22), and single rounds again from Friday-Sunday (Aug. 23-25).

TELEVISION COVERAGE – The U.S. Amateur will have 13 hours of live national coverage on ESPN/NBC over the last five days of the Championship.  ESPN will air three hours per day from Wednesday through Friday, and NBC will carry two hours daily on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday).  There is also a half-hour preview show on Tuesday afternoon.

ESPN

• Preview – Tues. (Aug. 20), 12:30-1 p.m. (EDT)
• First Round – Wed. (Aug. 21), 1-4 p.m. (EDT)
• Second Round – Thurs. (Aug. 22), 2:30-5:30 p.m. (EDT)
• Quarterfinals – Fri. (Aug. 23), 1-4 p.m. (EDT)

  NBC

• Semifinals – Sat. (Aug. 24), 2-4 p.m. (EDT)
• Championship – Sun. (Aug. 25), 4-6 p.m. (EDT)
  

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COURSE SET-UPS –

South Course:
HOLE BY HOLE – 6,988 yards, par 35-35—70;

North Course
HOLE BY HOLE – 6,618 yards, par 35-35—70;

FUTURE U.S. AMATEUR SITES – After 2002, the U.S. Amateur will be played at Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa., from Aug.18-24, 2003; at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., from Aug. 18-24, 2004; and at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., from Aug. 22-28, 2005.

MEDIA CENTER AT OAKLAND HILLS – The Media Center will be located in the Pool House to the right of the main clubhouse.  USGA staff members on site will be Craig Smith, Beth Murrison and Suzanne Colson.  The Media Center phone will be (248) 644-7034; the fax number will be (248) 644-7190.  The Media Center will be operational as of Aug. 18 (Sunday).