The final stop on the Road to Shinnecock Hills for the 118th U.S. Open Championship will be 12 sectional qualifiers conducted at 10 sites in the United States and two overseas.
Sectional qualifying, conducted over 36 holes, will be held on Monday, June 4, at 10 sites in the U.S. For the 14th consecutive year, Japan and England will host international sectional qualifying, scheduled for May 21 and June 4, respectively.
The U.S. Open will be held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, in Southampton, N.Y., on June 14-17. The club is hosting its fifth U.S. Open and ninth USGA championship.
“The opportunity to take U.S. Open sectional qualifying to all parts of the United States and international sites contributes to a strong and diverse field and aligns with the championship’s broad appeal, as evidenced by the more than 9,800 entries received worldwide in each of the last five years,” said Stuart Francis, USGA Championship Committee chairman. “We appreciate the support and commitment provided by Allied Golf Associations and the international community during a two-tiered qualifying process that has been in place for nearly 60 years.”
The 10 sectional qualifiers in the U.S. will be conducted by Allied Golf Associations on behalf of the USGA.
The Columbus, Ohio; Memphis, Tenn.; Summit, N.J.; and Daly City, Calif., sectional sites will use two courses. In Columbus, Brookside Golf and Country Club and Lakes Golf and Country Club will combine to host sectional qualifying for the 14th time since 1993. Nine players from the Columbus sectional made the 36-hole cut in last year’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills, in Erin, Wis. David Lingmerth, who tied for 21st, was among that group of qualifiers.
Canoe Brook Country Club with its North and South Courses will serve as a sectional site for the 17th time since 1980. Lake Merced Golf Club and The Olympic Club’s Ocean Course are paired together in Northern California for the third time. Ridgeway Country Club and Colonial Country Club’s South Course will combine as the Memphis sectional courses for the first time. Steve Stricker, who tied for 16th in the 2017 U.S. Open, was the medalist in last year’s Memphis qualifier.
Woodmont Country Club, in Rockville, Md., will host U.S. Open sectional qualifying for the 31st time in the last 32 years, with only the North Course used for the fifth consecutive year. Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek Course, in Roswell, Ga., has been a sectional qualifying site in alternate years since 1994.
Portland (Ore.) Golf Club will host U.S. Open sectional qualifying for the first time since 1998. The club has hosted three USGA championships, including the 1982 U.S. Senior Open. Shadow Hawk Golf Club, in Richmond, Texas, will host a sectional qualifier for the first time since 2008. The club has hosted two USGA championships.
Springfield Country Club in Ohio will host sectional qualifying for the ninth consecutive year and 10th time in 11 years. The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Fla., will be a sectional site for the second time.
Walton Heath Golf Club in England and Japan Memorial Golf Club are the international sectional qualifying sites. Five players made the 36-hole cut in the 2017 U.S. Open after advancing from Walton Heath, which is hosting for the 14th consecutive year.
Ken Venturi (1964) and Orville Moody (1969) are the only players to win the U.S. Open after qualifying through both local and sectional play. Gene Littler (1961), Julius Boros (1963), Jerry Pate (1976), Steve Jones (1996), Michael Campbell (2005) and Lucas Glover (2009) have won as sectional qualifiers.
To be eligible for qualifying, a player must have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 1.4, or be a professional. Local qualifying, which will be played over 18 holes at 111 sites in the U.S. and one in Canada, takes place between April 30-May 17.
In 2017, the USGA accepted 9,485 entries for the championship at Erin Hills. The record of 10,127 was established for the 2014 championship at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2, in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.
Online entry applications for the 2018 U.S. Open are scheduled to be available starting on Wednesday, March 7 (https://champs.usga.org/index.html), continuing through Wednesday, April 25 at 5 p.m. EDT.
2018 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying Sites (12)
International (2)
May 21
Asia – Japan Memorial Golf Club, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
June 4
Europe - Walton Heath Golf Club (New and Old Courses), Surrey, England
June 4 – United States (10)
Lake Merced Golf Club & The Olympic Club (Ocean Course), Daly City, Calif.
The Bear’s Club, Jupiter, Fla.
Ansley Golf Club (Settindown Creek Course), Roswell, Ga.
Woodmont Country Club (North Course), Rockville, Md.
Canoe Brook Country Club (North and South Courses), Summit, N.J.
Brookside Golf & Country Club & Lakes Golf & Country Club, Columbus, Ohio
Springfield (Ohio) Country Club
Portland (Ore.) Golf Club
Ridgeway Country Club & Colonial Country Club (South Course), Memphis, Tenn.
Shadow Hawk Golf Club, Richmond, Texas