United States Golf Association

History

The USGA was originally formed in 1894 to resolve the question of a national amateur championship. Earlier that year, the Newport Country Club and Saint Andrew's Golf Club, Yonkers, New York, both declared the winners of their tournaments the "national amateur champion." That autumn, delegates from Newport, St. Andrew's, The Country Club, Chicago Golf Club, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club met in New York City to form a national governing body, which would administer the championship and also the Rules of Golf for the country. On December 22, 1894, the Amateur Golf Association of the United States was officially formed, and was shortly thereafter renamed the "United States Golf Association." Theodore Havemeyer was the first president, and the U.S. Amateur trophy is named in his honor.

The first U.S. Amateur was held in 1895 at the Newport Country Club, with Charles B. Macdonald (who was runner-up at both of the previous year's tournaments) winning the championship. The first U.S. Open was held the following day, almost as an afterthought. It was not until 1898 that the two events were held at separate clubs. Today, the USGA administers 13 separate national championships; ten of which are expressly for amateurs.

The USGA gradually expanded its membership from the original five clubs. There were 267 club members in 1910, and 1,138 clubs by 1932. Membership fell off during the Great Depression and World War II, but recovered by 1947. By 1980 there were over 5,000 clubs, and today membership exceeds 9,700.

On September 17, 1956, Ann Gregory began competing in the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, thus becoming the first African-American woman to play in a national championship conducted by the USGA.

Competitions organized by the USGA

The USGA organizes or co-organizes the following competitions:

Open championships

An "open" golf championship is one which both professionals and amateurs may enter. In practice, such events are always won by professionals nowadays. The two leading opens in the U.S. are:

The last win by an amateur at the U.S. Open was 84 years ago in 1933 and an amateur has won the women's event only once, 50 years ago in 1967.

The USGA also conducts the U.S. Senior Open for competitors 50 and over. This is one of the five majors recognized by the world's dominant tour for golfers 50 and over, PGA Tour Champions. The overwhelming majority of the competitors play regularly on this tour. Many of the remaining players compete on the European counterpart of PGA Tour Champions, the European Senior Tour, which recognizes the U.S. Senior Open as one of its three majors. Starting in 2018, the USGA will add a women's counterpart.

Individual amateur championships

Professional golf in the U.S. is mainly run by the PGA Tour, the LPGA, and the PGA of America. However, the USGA is at the heart of amateur golf in the country and organizes the 10 national amateur championships. The leading events are open to all age groups, but are usually won by golfers in their early twenties who are working towards a career in professional tournament golf:

There are two championships for players under age 18:

And two for senior golfers:

Because the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women's Amateur became increasingly dominated by future tournament professionals, two national championships were added in the 1980s for "career amateurs" who were 25 years of age & older:

Team amateur championships

These team events were announced by the USGA in 2013 as the replacements for the discontinued Public Links championships, and played for the first time in 2015. Both are contested by two-member teams in four-ball matches. Partners are not required to be from the same club, political subdivision, or country.

State team championships

The USGA men's and women's state team championships were first conducted in 1995 as a part of the USGA's Centennial celebration. The two championships were conducted biennially in odd-numbered years through 2009. Since 2010, the men's championship has been conducted in even-numbered years and the women's championship in odd-numbered years. According to NCAA rules, college golfers are not eligible.

International team competitions

The USGA co-organizes two biennial amateur team competitions between the United States and a joint team representing Great Britain and Ireland (in political terms, Ireland and the United Kingdom):

Through its membership of the International Golf Federation the USGA is involved in the administration of the two "World Amateur Team Championships", which are played biennially in even-numbered years.

Discontinued championships

There had been two events for "public-course" golfers, but the USGA announced in 2013 that both would be discontinued after their 2014 editions. Members of private golf clubs were excluded from these championships.

Multiple event winners

Only eight golfers have won more than one USGA individual event in the same year:

Five people have won three different USGA individual events in their careers:

Thirty-nine other people have won two different USGA individual events in their careers, and one has won USGA individual and team events:

Note: Multiple winners of individual events can be found in that event's article.

Most career USGA championships won

Virtual USGA Championship

The USGA partnered with World Golf Tour in 2009 to co-host the first annual Virtual USGA Championship online. The Virtual U.S. Open attracted hundreds of thousands of players from more than 180 countries. The first-place winner took home a replica of the U.S. Open trophy and won a trip for two to Pebble Beach for the next year’s event.