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1957

Hillman Robbins, Jr.

Hillman Robbins, Jr., 25, of Memphis, Tenn., a reserve lieutenant on active duty in the Air Force, won over a field which included the entire United States and British Walker Cup Teams at The Country Club, Brookline, Mass., in September.

The runner-up was Dr. Frank M. Taylor, Jr., 40, of Pomona, Calif., who bowed, 5 and 4. Both Robbins and Taylor were Walker Cup Team members. Two other members of the victorious United States team, Mason Rudolph, of Clarksville, Tenn., and Rex Baxter, Jr., of Amerillo, Texas, lost in the semi-finals. Only twice before had United States Walker Cuppers filled all the semi-final positions, in 1922 and 1923.

The last British survivor was Alan Thirlwell, of England, who fell in the fifth round. Reid Jack, of Scotland, the British Amateur Champion, went down in the third round. The Championship was held over a course which had been lengthened since the Amateur of 1934 by the substitution of three new holes. E. Harvie Ward, Jr., had rendered himself ineligible to try for a third successive Championship.

The USGA Executive Committee had ruled in June that Ward had forfeited amateur status for accepting expenses to play in certain tournaments, but that he would be eligible for reinstatement after a probationary period of one year. Ward applied for reinstatement.

 
Championship Facts

U.S. Amateur

PAR AND YARDAGE – The Lakeside Course at The Olympic Club will play at 6,948 yards and par 35-35—70. The Ocean Course at The Olympic Club, which will be used for the first two days of stroke play only, will play at 6,786 yards and par 35-35—70.

THE OLYMPIC CLUB – Sam Whiting, a former English professor at the University of California at Berkley, designed the Lakeside Course, which opened in 1927. Whiting also supervised construction on the Ocean Course. Following completion of the jobs, Whiting stayed on as golf course superintendent until 1954. Tom Weiskopf worked on the recently completed re-design of the Ocean Course.

TICKETS AVAILABLE – Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.ticketweb.com. Daily tickets are $15 and a weekly pass is $60. Other ticket options are also available. Children 12 and under are admitted free if accompanied by a paying adult.

COURSE SETUP – The Lakeside Course at the Olympic 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. Poa annua grass covers the greens. The fairways are a rye and poa annual grass combination. The roughs also have a bit of bluegrass mixed in.

USGA SLOPE RATING® AND COURSE RATING™ – The Lakeside Course at the Olympic Club will carry a USGA Course Rating™ of 74.8 and a USGA Slope Rating® of 143. The Ocean Course will carry a USGA Course Rating™ of 74.0 and a USGA Slope Rating® of 136. An "average" Slope Rating in the U.S. is about 113.

TOTAL ENTRIES – The USGA accepted 7,398 entries for the 2007 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 a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4.

 

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