2005 U.S. Amateur Championship Fact Sheet
Aug. 22 – 28, 2005
Merion Golf Club
Ardmore, Pa.

PAR AND YARDAGE – Merion Golf Club will play at 6,846 yards and par 34-36—70. The Philadelphia Country Club course, which will be used for the first two days of stroke play, will play at 6,967 yards and par 35-35– 70.

MERION GOLF CLUB – Hugh Wilson designed the championship course at Merion Golf Club (East Course), which opened in 1912. William Flynn and Howard Toomey designed Philadelphia Country Club (Spring/Mill Course), which opened in 1927. Interesting, Wilson and Flynn were good friends, with Flynn being the first superintendent at Merion.

TICKETS AVAILABLE – Tickets can be purchased by calling the U.S. Amateur office at (484) 708-1050. Daily tickets are $15 and $60 for a weekly pass. More extensive ticket options are also available. Children 17 and under are admitted free if accompanied by a paying adult.

COURSE SET-UP – Merion Golf Club will be set for green speeds of approximately 11-feet 6 inches on the Stimpmeter. The primary rough will be grown to 4 inches, with a strip of intermediate rough cut to 1½ inches in height. Bent grass covers both the fairways and greens.

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

HOLE BY HOLE –Merion Golf Club (East Course): 6,846 yards, par 36-34—70;

HOLE BY HOLE – Philadelphia Country Club (Spring/Mill Course): 6,967 yards, par 35-35—70;

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT MERION – Merion has hosted 16 USGA championships, more than any other club. Included in the mix are four U.S. Opens and five U.S. Amateurs. It hosted the U.S. Open in 1934, 1950, 1971 and 1981. Previous Amateurs at Merion were played in 1916, 1924, 1930, 1966 and 1989. A notable champion was Bob Jones in the 1930 Amateur, and this is the 75^th anniversary of his "Grand Slam." Here is the complete list of USGA championships at Merion:

Year and Championship (Winner)

1904 U.S. Women’s Amateur – Georgianna Bishop
1909 U.S. Women’s Amateur – Dorothy Campbell
1916 U.S. Amateur – Charles "Chick" Evans
1924 U.S. Amateur – Bob Jones
1926 U.S. Women’s Amateur – Helen Stetson
1930 U.S. Amateur – Bob Jones
1934 U.S. Open – Olin Dutra
1949 U.S. Women’s Amateur – Dorothy Porter
1950 U.S. Open – Ben Hogan
1954 Curtis Cup Match – USA, 6-3
1960 World Amateur Team – USA
1966 U.S. Amateur – Gary Cowen
1971 U.S. Open – Lee Trevino
1981 U.S. Open – David Graham
1989 U.S. Amateur – Chris Patton
1998 U.S. Girls’ Junior – Leigh Anne Hardin

2004 CHAMPION RYAN MOORE – Ryan Moore, then 21, of Puyallup, Wash., won the last four holes, three of them with birdies, to overtake Luke List, then 19, of Ringgold, Ga., and win the 2004 U.S. Amateur title. List had taken the lead on the seventh hole of the 36-hole final and held it for the next 24 holes until Moore turned a 2-hole deficit into a 2-up win down the stretch. Moore also won the NCAA Division I individual title and the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship earlier in the summer. He was the fifth to win two USGA titles in the same year. Note:Moore turned professional following the U.S. Open in June and will not defend his U.S. Amateur title.

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS – Quarterfinalists from 2004 are fully exempt from having to qualify for the 2005 championship. Those exempt and entered (4) are Danny Green of Jackson, Tenn., Luke List of Ringgold, Ga., Jeff Overton of Evansville, Ind., and Dayton Rose of Midwest City, Okla.

NO PAST CHAMPIONS – No past Amateur champion entered the 2005 championship. Each of the winners over the past 10 years, who would have been exempt, has turned professional, forfeiting their eligibility for the championship.

NINE USGA CHAMPIONS – The nine USGA champions who were fully exempt for the 2005 U.S. Amateur are listed here:

Austin Eaton III, New London, N.H. -- 2004 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. -- 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. -- 2005 USA Walker Cup team
Sihwan Kin, Fullerton, Calif. -- 2004 U.S. Junior champion
Clay Ogden, West Point, Utah -- 2005 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion
Greg Reynolds, Grand Blanc, Mich. -- 2002 USGA Senior Amateur champion
Nathan Smith, Brookville, Pa. -- 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Kevin Tway, Edmond, Okla. -- 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. -- 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion

Note: Harman of Savannah, Ga., earned an exemption when he was named to the USA Walker Cup team. He is listed above because he is the only member of the USA squad who is a USGA champion.

Note: Tim Hogarth of Northridge, Calif., who won the 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links title, earned a spot in qualifying at South Hills Country Club in West Covina, Calif. He earned one of the final two spots in a playoff. He lost a third-round match at last year’s Amateur.

EXEMPT PLAYERS –There are at least 21 golfers who are exempt from having to qualify for the 2005 U.S. Amateur, including the nine USGA champions listed above, and three who qualified for the 2005 U.S. Open. Here is the list of fully exempt golfers and their exemption categories:

TOTAL ENTRIES – The USGA accepted 7,320 entries for the 2005 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 98 sites from July 18–August 3.

FORMAT – Following two days of stroke play (Aug. 22 and Aug. 23), 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. 28.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY – The first and second rounds of stroke play are set for Monday and Tuesday (Aug. 22-23) Merion Golf Club (East Course) and Philadelphia Country Club (Spring/Mill Course). All match play rounds will be played at Merion Golf Club. A single round of match play is scheduled on Wednesday (Aug. 24), followed by the second and third rounds on Thursday (Aug. 25), and single rounds again from Friday-Sunday (Aug. 26-28).

TELEVISION COVERAGE – The U.S. Amateur will have 10 hours of live national coverage on The Golf Channel and NBC over the last five days of the championship.

The Golf Channel

First Round Matches – Wed. (Aug. 24), 3-5 p.m. (EDT)
Third Round Matches – Thurs. (Aug. 25), 4-6 p.m. (EDT)
Quarterfinal Matches – Fri. (Aug. 26), 3-5 p.m. (EDT)

NBC

Semifinal Matches – Sat. (Aug. 27), 4-6 p.m. (EDT)
Championship Match – Sun. (Aug. 28), 4-6 p.m. (EDT)

FUTURE U.S. AMATEUR SITES – The 2006 U.S. Amateur will be played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., from Aug. 21-27. In 2007, the Amateur will be played from Aug. 20-27 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif.; in 2008, from Aug. 20-26 at Pinehurst Resort in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C., and in 2009, at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. (no dates set as yet).

MEDIA CENTER AT MERION GOLF CLUB – The Media Center will be located at the rear of the clubhouse on the far end of the clubhouse parking area. Use your one-day gate pass to gain admission to the parking area across the street at the SEPTA lot and walk over to the Club. Some of the USGA staff members on site will be Craig Smith, Pete Kowalski and Suzanne Colson.