Fact Sheet

Aug. 20 - 26, 2007
The Olympic Club
(Lakeside and Ocean Courses)

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.

ONLINE COVERAGE – Log on to the USGA Internet site at www.usamateur.org for the latest and most complete U.S. Amateur Championship information.

Lake Course
HOLE BY HOLE – 6,948 yards, par 35-35—70;

Note: Hole 3 will play at 228 yards during the stroke play portion of the championship

Ocean Course
HOLE BY HOLE – 6,786 yards, par 35-35—70;

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE OLYMPIC CLUB – The Olympic Club has hosted eight USGA championships, more than any other club in California except Pebble Beach. Included in the mix are four U.S. Opens and two U.S. Amateurs. It hosted the Open in 1955, 1966, 1987 and 1998. The Amateur was contested at Olympic in 1958 and 1981. The U.S. Junior Amateur was held at Olympic in 2004. And the now-defunct America’s Cup amateur team event was played at Olympic in 1958.

Year and Championship – Winner

1955 U.S. Open – Jack Fleck, 287-69 (+7) in a playoff over Ben Hogan, 287-72
1958 U.S. Amateur – Charles Coe defeated Tommy Aaron in the final match, 5 and 4
1958 America’s Cup – USA amateur team def. Canada and Mexico, 30-17-7
1966 U.S. Open – Billy Casper, 278-69 (-2) in a playoff over Arnold Palmer, 278-73
1981 U.S. Amateur – Nathanial Crosby def. Brian Lindley in the final match, 37 holes
1987 U.S. Open – Scott Simpson, 277 (-3) by one stroke over Tom Watson
1998 U.S. Open – Lee Janzen, 280 (E), by one stroke over Payne Stewart
2004 U.S. Junior Amateur – Sihwan Kim defeated David Chung in the final match, 1 up

2012 U.S OPEN AT THE OLYMPIC CLUB – The 2012 U.S. Open will be contested on the Lakeside Course at the Olympic Club.

1964 A SPECIAL YEAR AT THE OLYMPIC CLUB – Three Olympic Club members won USGA championships in 1964. Ken Venturi won the U.S. Open, Johnny Miller won the U.S. Amateur and Bill Higgins won the USGA Senior Amateur.

2006 CHAMPION RICHIE RAMSAY – Richie Ramsay, 23, of Aberdeen, Scotland, won four holes in a six-hole stretch with birdies to take a 3-up lead after 13 holes and then held on the rest of the way to beat John Kelly, 21, of St. Louis, Mo., 4 and 2, in the 36-hole final at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. Ramsay, who became the first Scotsman since 1898 to win the Amateur title, turned professional following his participation in the 2007 British Open.

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS – Quarterfinalists from 2006 are fully exempt from having to qualify for the 2007 championship. Those exempt and entered (5) are Rickie Fowler or Murrieta, Calif.; John Kelly of St. Louis, Mo.; Trip Kuehne of Irving, Texas; Alex Prugh of Spokane, Wash.; and Webb Simpson of Raleigh, N.C.

ELEVEN USGA CHAMPIONS – Eleven USGA champions are included in 2007 U.S. Amateur field. They are listed below.
Mike Bell, Indianapolis, Ind. – 2006 USGA Senior Amateur champion
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. – 2003 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
Shiwan Kim, Buena Park, Calif. – 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
Colt Knost, Dallas, Texas – 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion
Kevin Marsh, Las Vegas, Nev. – 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. – 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Casey Watabu, Kapaa, Hawaii – 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion
Cory Whitsett, Houston, Texas – 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. – 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion

Notes: Shiwan Kim and Nathan Smith successfully qualified. Danny Green and George Zahringer earned their exemptions by tying for low amateur at the 2007 U.S. Senior Open. Austin Easton was fully exempt as a semifinalist at the 2005 U.S. Amateur. Brian Harman was fully exempt as a member of the 2005 USA Walker Cup team. The other six were fully exempt as a result of their USGA championship title listed above.

GOOD MEMORIES – Shiwan Kim, 18, of Buena Park, Calif., won the U.S. Junior Amateur at The Olympic Club in 2004. He defeated 14-year-old David Chung of Fayetteville, N.C., in the final. He has not played at The Olympic Club since that winning match. He is entering his freshman year at Stanford University.

OLYMPIC CLUB MEMBERS – Olympic Club members Randy Haag and Joseph Bramlett have qualified for the 2007 U.S. Amateur.

EXEMPT PLAYERS – There are 31 golfers who were exempt from having to qualify for the 2007 U.S. Amateur, including the nine USGA champions listed above, reigning British Amateur champion Drew Weaver of High Point, N.C., and eight who qualified for the 2007 U.S. Open. The eight who are exempt due to from having qualified for the 2007 U.S. Open are Chris Condello of Heathrow, Fla.; Jeff Golden of Winter Park, Fla.; Mark Harrell of Hazelhurst, Ga.; Jason Kokrak of Warren, Ohio; Trip Kuehne of Irving, Texas; Philip Pettitt of Richmond, Va.; Alex Prugh of Spokane, Wash.; and Martin Ureta of Chapel Hill, N.C. Texans Cory Whitsett, 15, of Houston, and Anthony Paolucci, 14, of Dallas, the winner and runner-up, respectively, from the 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur, are exempt as well.

USA WALKER CUP SELECTIONS – The eight early selections for the USA Walker Cup team have been exempted into the 2007 U.S. Amateur. They are: Billy Horschel, 20, of Grant, Fla.; Dustin Johnson, 23, of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Chris Kirk, 22, of Woodstock, Ga.; Colt Knost, 22, of Dallas, Texas; Trip Kuehne, 35, of Irving, Texas; Jamie Lovemark, 19, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Jonathan Moore, 22, of Vancouver, Wash.; and Webb Simpson, 21, of Raleigh, N.C. All but Kuehne are collegians or recent graduates who will be playing in their first Walker Cup Match. Kuehne also was named to the USA team in 1995 and 2003. All but three of the eight were already fully exempt. Two more team members will be named following the Amateur.

WALKER CUP TIES – Additionally, there are several exempt golfers who have ties to past Walker Cup Matches, having played for either the USA team or the Great Britain and Ireland team. Those from the USA teams are Danny Green (2001), Brian Harman (2005), Trip Kuehne (1995, 2003 and 2007) and George Zahringer (2003). Gary Wolstenholme of England played on six consecutive teams representing Great Britain and Ireland (1995-2005).

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.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING – Sectional qualifying was conducted over 36 holes at 96 sites from July 23–Aug. 7.

THE WINNER RECEIVES – The champion receives an exemption into the 2008 U.S. Open and British Open, and a probable invitation to play in the 2008 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. 20 and Tuesday, Aug. 21), 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. 26.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY – The first and second rounds of stroke play are set for Monday and Tuesday (Aug. 20-21) at the Lakeside and Ocean Courses at the Olympic Club. All match play rounds will be played at the Lakeside Course, beginning Wednesday (Aug. 22). A single round of match play is scheduled on Wednesday, followed by the second and third rounds on Thursday (Aug. 23), and single rounds again from Friday-Sunday (Aug. 24-26).

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

The Golf Channel
First Round Matches – Wed. (Aug. 22), 4-6 p.m. (EDT)
Third Round Matches – Thurs. (Aug. 23), 6:30-8:30 p.m. (EDT)
Quarterfinal Matches – Fri. (Aug. 24), 8:30-10:30 p.m. (EDT) (tape delay)

NBC
Semifinal Matches – Sat. (Aug. 25), 4-6 p.m. (EDT) (tape delay)
Championship Match – Sun. (Aug. 26), 4-6 p.m. (EDT)

FUTURE U.S. AMATEUR SITES – The 2008 championship will be played from Aug. 20-26 at Pinehurst Resort in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. In 2009, the Amateur will be played from Aug. 24-30 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., and in 2010 it will be contested from Aug. 23-29 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

MEDIA CENTER AT THE OLYMPIC CLUB – The Media Center will be located in the Domino Room on the lower level of the Clubhouse. Use your one-day gate pass to gain admission to the parking area in the main lot. USGA staff members on site will be Craig Smith, Beth Murrison and Suzanne Colson. The phone number for the Media Center is (415) 585-2602 (as of 8/18).

CELL PHONE LISTINGS –
Craig Smith – (908) 216-3229
Beth Murrison – (908) 310-5259
Suzanne Colson – (908) 310-7757

MEDIA PARKING – Media should use their one-day gate pass and park in the main parking lot at The Olympic Club.