106th U.S. Open Fact Sheet

Here are some facts and figures for the 106th U.S. Open Championship, which will be played at Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course) in Mamaroneck, N.Y., June 15-18.

Par and Yardage

Winged Foot's West Course is set up at 7,264 yards and will play to a par of 35-35--70.

Winged Foot Golf Club

The West Course at Winged Foot Golf Club was designed by A. W. Tillinghast and opened in 1923. Interestingly, Tillinghast competed in a couple of U.S. Amateurs between 1905 and 1915.

USGA Championships at Winged Foot

Winged Foot has hosted 10 USGA championships. It hosted the U.S. Open in 1929, 1959, 1974 and 1984. The U.S. Women's Open was played at Winged Foot in 1957 and 1972. The Senior Open was played there in 1980. The U.S. Amateur was played at Winged Foot in 1940 and 2004, and the Walker Cup Match was held there in 1949.

U.S. Open Philosophy

The USGA intends to make the U.S. Open the most rigorous, yet fair, examination of golf skills, testing all forms of shot-making. The USGA prepares the course after careful consideration of 14 different factors. The complete philosophy statement can be found on www.usopen.com.

Distance

This layout is two yards shorter than the 2004 U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot (7,266 yards).

Course Layout

The fairways will range in width from roughly 20 (hole 6) to 27 yards (several). Generally, the deepest rough will be 4 inches. A 6-foot wide swatch of intermediate rough running the length of each hole will be set to 1 1/2 inches. Around the greens, the swatch of intermediate rough will be the same width. The greens will be set to run at 12 to 12 1/2 feet on the Stimpmeter as of Monday (June 12) and will be monitored the rest of the week. (Note: This is the green speeds used for the 2004 U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot)

Let It Grow

Target areas on holes five, six and 11 may have rough as high as 6 inches. In fact, the short 321-yard sixth hole may have primary rough in the drive zone as high as 8 inches.

A Winged Foot Member and Champion

Dick Chapman was a host club member in his late 20s when he won the 1940 U.S. Amateur title at Winged Foot Golf Club.

2005 Champion

Michael Campbell made an important birdie from 25 feet on the par 3 17th hole that held off Tiger Woods by two strokes as he became the first New Zealander to win the U.S. Open. He also was the first sectional qualifier to win the Open since Steve Jones in 1996.

As 54-hole leader Retief Goosen slipped back, it quickly became a two-man battle, with Woods playing in the third-to-last group, just ahead of Campbell. Woods had struggled with his putting all week, but found the hole for birdies on holes 10, 11 and 15 to pull within two strokes of Campbell. Campbell answered the challenge with his birdie on the 17th, the third time he had birdied that hole in the championship. He played for a conservative bogey on the last hole, and then felt the rush of emotions.

"All the media hype was on Goosey winning three times and back-to-back, and obviously Jason (Gore) playing so well for three rounds and being the Cinderella story, and Tiger threatening, Vijay threatening," said Campbell. "Then there was little old me, just in there, hanging just in between some great players. And I snuck in there without anybody noticing and won it."

It was a fulfillment of a dream that had been riddled with broken promises since he was the third round leader at the British Open at St. Andrews in 1995. He shot 76 in the final round and slipped into third place. He sunk to where he missed cut after cut in 1998 and almost gave up the game. He even had lost status on both the European and Australasia tours.

Putting It All Together

Michael Campbell finished fourth in putting for the week, and had just 27 putts on the pressure-packed last day. He was one of four golfers to break par on Sunday, when he shot a 1-under 69. Ironically, he tinkered with a long putter on the practice days and was frustrated with his putting stroke until he found a tip he worked on in solitude down the street at Pine Needles golf resort, where he was staying.

Groupings and Starting Times

Groupings and starting times will be available Friday, June 9, three days after sectional qualifying is completed. They will be posted on the USGA Internet site at www.usga.org/championships/. Starting times for Thursday and Friday will begin at 7 a.m., off the first and 10th tees.

Open a Sellout

For the 20th consecutive year the U.S. Open is a sellout, with roughly 30,000 tickets sold for each day of the Championship. Ticket-buyers include residents of more than 25 foreign countries.

Exempt Players

Seventy players are now fully exempt into the 156-player Open field, including eight past champions –- Michael Campbell (2005), Ernie Els (1994, 1997), Jim Furyk (2003), Retief Goosen (2001, 2004), Lee Janzen (1993, 1998), Steve Jones (1996), Corey Pavin (1995) and Tiger Woods (2000, 2002). A champion receives a full exemption into the field for 10 years.

Defending the Crown

Since 1991, only Tiger Woods and Retief Goosen have finished better than 40th in trying to defend their Open crowns. Goosen finished tied for 11th in 2005 after holding the three-stroke lead after 54 holes. Woods finished 12th in 2001 after winning in 2000. He was tied for 20th in 2003 after winning in 2002.

Traditional Pairing

The reigning U.S. Open, British Open and U.S. Amateur champions are traditionally paired together for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open. Michael Campbell will be paired with British Open winner Tiger Woods and U.S. Amateur champion Eduardo Molinari of Torino, Italy, for Thursday and Friday play at Winged Foot.

Inflation

The last time the U.S. Open was played at Winged Foot was 1984, and first-prize money was $94,000 for Fuzzy Zoeller, who beat Greg Norman in an 18-hole playoff (67-75) after sharing the lead at 4-under-par 276 through 72 holes. The 2006 winner will receive at least $1,170,000 (2005 total).

The Winner's Share

First-place money for this Open will be at least $1,170,000. The total purse in 2006 will be at least $6.50 million (2005 totals).

Other Prizes

Among the benefits enjoyed by the Open winner are:

• an Open exemption for the next 10 years
• an invitation to the next five Masters Tournaments
• an invitation to the next five British Open Championships
• an invitation to the next five PGA Championships
• an invitation to the next five Players Championships
• exempt status on the PGA Tour for five years

Qualifying for the Other Majors

• The top 15 finishers (and ties) are exempt for next year's (2007) U.S. Open
• The top 8 finishers (and ties) are invited to next year's (2007) Masters Tournament
• The winner qualifies for this year's (2006) British Open
• The winner qualifies for this year's (2006) PGA Championship

Television Coverage

The Open will enjoy at least 28 hours of live network coverage, with 16 of those hours on NBC. Dan Hicks is scheduled to be at the helm of the NBC broadcast team. ESPN will air at least 11 hours over the first two days of play.

Tentative Eastern Daylight Times: Thursday and Friday (June 15-16), 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on ESPN, 3-5 p.m., on NBC, and 5-7 p.m. on ESPN. Saturday (June 17-18), 12:30-7 p.m. on NBC. If an 18–hole playoff is necessary on Monday, ESPN will begin coverage from its noon start, with NBC picking up play at 2 p.m.

From Johnny Miller

"The Open is the hardest major to win," says NBC lead analyst Johnny Miller, the 1973 Open champion. "The fact that it's our national championship adds tremendous pressure. It's the hardest test of golf and probably the most prestigious prize. If you asked a player to trade a U.S. Open championship for another one, I don't think he would. Every player wants to win the U.S. Open."

History

This is the 106th U.S. Open Championship. The first was played in 1895. The Open was not held for two years (1917–18) during World War I and for four years (1942–45) during World War II.

The youngest winner of the Open was 19-year-old John McDermott, who won in 1911. Eight players age 21 or younger have won the Open, but none that young since Robert T. Jones Jr. won in 1923. Since then, Jack Nicklaus is the youngest winner at 22 years and 4 months in 1962 (Jerry Pate was 22 years and 9 months in 1976). The oldest winner is Hale Irwin, who was 45 when he won in 1990.

Only five players have ever won the Masters and U.S. Open titles in the same year –- Craig Wood (1941), Ben Hogan (1951 and 1953), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972) and Tiger Woods (2002). Thirteen players have won both events in their professional careers, the most recent being Woods.

Who Can Enter

The Championship is open to any professional golfer and amateur golfers with a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 1.4.

Entries

The USGA will accept more than 9,000 entries for the 2006 Open at Winged Foot Golf Club. More than 75 percent of the entries will be submitted online in 2006.

Local Qualifying

Local qualifying over 18 holes will be held at more than 100 sites in mid-May. From the more than 7,000 golfers making the attempt at local qualifying, about 550 will advance to sectional qualifying, joining roughly 200 who are exempt from the local qualifying stage.

Sectional Qualifying

Sectional qualifying over 36 holes will be held at 16 sites from May-June 6. For the second time, sectional qualifiers will be held in Japan and England. Golfers advancing from sectional qualifying will join the 70 players who are fully exempt into the Open field. In 2005, Michael Campbell was the first non-exempt winner since Steve Jones in 1996. He qualified at the England site by making a birdie on the last hole. There were nine spots awarded to the England site. In fact, Campbell said he would not have entered if he had to travel to the United States to compete in the qualifying process.

Schedule of Play

Eighteen holes of stroke play is scheduled each day from June 15 (Thursday) through June 18 (Sunday). In the case of a tie after 72 holes, an 18–hole playoff will be held on June 19 (Monday), beginning at noon (EDT). The last playoff was in 2001, won by Retief Goosen over Mark Brooks (70-72). There was a three-way playoff in 1994, which was won by Ernie Els. The other two players in the playoff were Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie.

Championship Field

The starting field of 156 golfers will be cut after 36 holes to the low 60 scorers (and ties), and any player within 10 strokes of the leader.

USGA Championships at Winged Foot

Winged Foot has hosted 10 USGA championships. It hosted the U.S. Open in 1929, 1959, 1974 and 1984. The U.S. Women's Open was played at Winged Foot in 1957 and 1972. The Senior Open was played here in 1980. U.S. Amateur was previously played at Winged Foot in 1940 and 2004, and the Walker Cup Match was held there in 1949.

Championship Years and Winners

• 1929 U.S. Open -- Robert Jones, 294-141 (+6)
• 1940 U.S. Amateur -- Richard Chapman, 11 and 9
• 1949 Walker Cup Match -- USA 10, GB&I 2
• 1957 U.S. Women's Open -- Betsy Rawls, 299 (+7)
• 1959 U.S. Open -- Billy Casper, 282 (+2)
• 1972 U.S. Women's Open -- Susie Maxwell Berning, 289 (+5)
• 1974 U.S. Open -- Hale Irwin 287, (+7)
• 1980 U.S. Senior Open -- Roberto De Vicenzo, 285 (+1)
• 1984 U.S. Open -- Fuzzy Zoeller, 276-67 (-4)
• 2004 U.S. Amateur -- Ryan Moore, 1 up

Players Who Played in 1984 U.S. Open at Winged Foot

Fred Couples (T-9), Peter Jacobsen (T-7) and amateur Rocco Mediate (MC) played in the 1984 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

Hardest Holes at the 2004 Ameteur

During the two rounds of stroke play at the 2004 U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot, the ninth hole was the West Course's hardest, playing to an average of 4.80. The next hardest holes were the eighth (4.77) and the fourth (4.75). The hardest hole of holes 10-18 was the 14th, which ranked sixth hardest overall (4.55). There was only one birdie made on the eighth hole in 312 rounds. Only one hole had an under-par stroke average; the par 5 fifth (4.90). The best amateurs averaged 77.9 strokes (par 70).

Under Par at Winged Foot

Only two golfers have finished under par in an Open at Winged Foot. Fuzzy Zoeller and Greg Norman each were 4-under through 72 holes in 1984. More recently, in the stroke play portion of the 2004 Amateur, only Nick Cook of Shelton, Conn., was under par on the West Course. He had a 1-under-par 69 while the other 311 golfers were at 70 or higher. Winner Ryan Moore had a 70.

In the 1984 Open, there were 30 individual rounds under par, with Zoeller's 66 in the second round being the lowest. In the 1974 Open, there were only eight sub-par rounds, with Hubert Green's 67 in the second round the best. In the 1959 Open, there were 16 rounds under par, with Bob Rosburg's 67 in the third round the lowest. In 1929, there were nine scores under the par of 72, with the lowest being Bob Jones' 69 in the first round. The three later Opens played to a par of 70.

At the 1997 PGA Championship

Davis Love finished with an 11-under par 269 to win the 1997 PGA Championship by five strokes over Justin Leonard. The West Course was set at 6,987 yards with a par 70. It is Love's only major title to date.

Comparisons Over the Years

Here is the way Winged Foot has been set up for past U.S. Opens and the 2004 Amateur:

• 1929 Open -- 6,786 yards, par 72
• 1959 Open -- 6,873 yards, par 70
• 1974 Open -- 6,961 yards, par 70
• 1984 Open -- 6,930 yards, par 70
• 2004 Amateur -- 7,266 yards, par 70

Longest Holes in U.S. Open History

• 642 yards -- 5th at Southern Hills, 2001
• 640 yards -- 12th at Winged Foot, 2006
• 630 yards -- 16th at Olympic Club, 1955
• 630 yards -- 17th at Baltusrol, 1980
• 623 yards -- 17th at Baltusrol, 1967

Longest Par 4s in U.S. Open History

• 514 yards -- 9th at Winged Foot, 2006
• 499 yards -- 12th at Bethpage, 2002
• 496 yards -- 9th at Olympia Fields, 2003
• 492 yards -- 10th at Bethpage, 2002
• 492 yards -- 16th at Pinehurst No. 2, 2005

Enduring Quote

After the first round of the 1974 Open where no player broke par and only Gary Player managed an ever-par 70, Frank "Sandy" Tatum, chair of the USGA championship committee, was asked in a press briefing if he and the USGA were out to embarrass the best golfers in the world. "No. We're trying to identify them," he replied.

The Players Who Are Fully Exempt for the 2006 U.S. Open (70) (as of 4/11/06)

Steven Ames 6
Stuart Appleby 9
Rich Beem 5
Thomas Bjorn 10
Olin Browne 9
Bart Bryant 9
Angel Cabrera 10
Mark Calcavecchia 9
Chad Campbell 9
Michael Campbell 1, 8, 10
K.J. Choi 8
Stewart Cink 8
Tim Clark 8, 9
John Cook 8
Fred Couples 8
Ben Crane 9
Ben Curtis 4
Chris DiMarco 9
Luke Donald 9, 10
Dillon Dougherty 2
Nick Dougherty 10
Allen Doyle 7
David Duval 4
Ernie Els 1, 4, 8
Bob Estes 8
Niclas Fasth 10
Kenneth Ferrie 10
Fred Funk 9
Jim Furyk 1,9
Sergio Garcia 8, 9, 10
Lucas Glover 9
Retief Goosen 1, 8, 9, 10
Todd Hamilton 4
Padraig Harrington 9
Peter Hedblom 8
Mark Hensby 8
Tim Herron 9
Charles Howell III 9
David Howell 10
Ryuji Imada 8
Peter Jacobsen 8
Lee Janzen 1
Miguel Angel Jimenez 10
Brandt Jobe 9
Steve Jones 1
Shingo Katayama 14
Justin Leonard 9
Davis Love III 8, 9
Paul McGinley 10
Billy Mayfair 9
Rocco Mediate 8
Shaun Micheel 5
Phil Mickelson 3, 5, 9, 12
Edorado Molinari 2
Colin Montgomerie 10
Aaron Oberholser 8
Sean O'Hair 9
Nick O'Hearn 15
Jose Maria Olazabal 10
Corey Pavin 8
Kenny Perry 9
Nick Price 8
Ted Purdy 9
Adam Scott 9, 15
Vijay Singh 5, 8, 9
Henrik Stenson 10
David Toms 5, 8, 9
Scott Verplank 9
Mike Weir 3
Tiger Woods 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 12

Key to Player Exemptions

• Winners of the U.S. Open Championship for the last 10 years.
• Winner and runner-up of the 2005 U.S. Amateur Championship.
• Winners of the Masters Tournament the last five years.
• Winners of the British Open Championship the last five years.
• Winners of the PGA of America Championship the last five years.
• Winner of the 2006 Players Championship.
• Winner of the 2005 U.S. Senior Open Championship.
• From the 2005 U.S. Open Championship, the 15 lowest scorers and anyone tying for 15th place.
• From the 2005 final official PGA Tour money list, the top 30 money leaders.
• From the 2005 final official PGA European Tour, the top 15 money leaders.
• From the 2006 official PGA Tour money list, the top 10 money leaders through May 29.
• Any multiple winner of PGA Tour co–sponsored events whose victories are considered official from April 23, 2005 through June 6, 2006.
• From the 2006 PGA European Tour, the top two money leaders through May 30.
• From the 2005 final Japan Golf Tour money list, the top two leaders provided they are within the top 75 point leaders of the World Rankings at that time.
• From the 2005 final PGA Tour of Australasia money list, the top two leaders provided they are within the top 75 point leaders of the World Rankings at that time.
• From the World Rankings list, the top 50 point leaders as of May 30, 2006.
• Special exemptions selected by the USGA Executive Committee International players not otherwise exempt as selected by the USGA Executive Committee.