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| 1969 Steve N. Melnyk Steve Melnyk, 22, of Brunswick, Ga., played four rounds at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh in 286 strokes, only three strokes higher than Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer when they tied for the Open Championship in 1962, and Ben Hogan when he won the 1953 Open Championship over the same course. Melnyk won by five strokes over Marvin (Vinny) Giles, III, of Lynchburg, Va., who had 291. Allen Miller, of Pensacola, Fla., was third with 293. This was the third consecutive year in which Giles finished second. Melnyk led every round and was the only player in the field to return scores under Oakmont's par of 71. He had rounds of 70-73-73-70. He led Rick Jones, a reinstated amateur, and Giles by two strokes after the first round, and Miller by three after 36 holes. He led by six strokes after the first nine of the third round, but lost control of his game and needed a birdie 3 on the final hole to preserve a three-stroke lead over Miller and Giles after 54. He lost another stroke of his lead with a bogey 5 on the first hole of the final round and then led Giles by two strokes. However, he birdied the second as Giles made a bogey 5, and then scored an eagle 3 on the par-5 fourth with an explosion shot from a bunker into the hole. His lead then was six strokes, and he increased it to eight by the end of the first nine. The Oakmont course was so difficult that only four rounds were played under par and only six rounds equaled par. By contrast, 11 sub-par scores were returned at Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa., in the 1966 Amateur Championship. The entry again increased to 2,142. |
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| Championship Facts |
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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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