Inverness Club to Host 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship
Far Hills, N.J. (PRWEB) December 17, 2014 -- Inverness Club, in Toledo, Ohio, has been selected by the United States Golf Association (USGA) as the host site for the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, to be contested July 15-20.
“Inverness Club has enjoyed a storied history, having hosted seven USGA championships over the past century,” said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “By hosting this championship in 2019, the club will become the first to have a U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Junior Amateur.”
Inverness Club opened in 1903 and its current course was designed by Donald Ross in 1916. The course has been restored three times, most recently by Arthur Hills in 1999. The layout features tree-lined, narrow bentgrass fairways, approximately 80 bunkers and firm, fast bentgrass greens.
“We are honored to have been selected as the host site for the 72nd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship,” said Gregory C. Kopan, club president. “Inverness Club is proud to have had such a long-standing relationship with the USGA and championship golf. We are thankful and excited for another opportunity to showcase our city and club.”
Inverness Club will be hosting its eighth USGA championship and first U.S. Junior Amateur. The club has hosted four U.S. Opens. Ted Ray won the 1920 Open by one stroke over four players, including Harry Vardon. It was four-time champion Bob Jones’ first U.S. Open, and he finished in a tie for eighth place. Billy Burke (1931) and Dick Mayer (1957) won U.S. Opens at Inverness in playoffs, with Burke prevailing over George Von Elm in the longest playoff in major-championship history, 72 holes. Hale Irwin earned the second of his three U.S. Open victories in 1979, by two strokes over Gary Player and Jerry Pate.
The club also hosted the 2003 U.S. Senior Open, won by Bruce Lietzke, by two strokes over Tom Watson; the 2011 Senior Open, won by Olin Browne, by three strokes over Mark O’Meara; and the 1973 U.S. Amateur, won by Craig Stadler, who defeated David Strawn, 6 and 5, in the 36-hole final.
Inverness Club was the site for two PGA Championships and two NCAA Championships (1944, 2009). Bob Tway won the 1986 PGA Championship by holing a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to defeat Greg Norman by one stroke, and Paul Azinger outlasted Norman in a playoff to win the 1993 crown. World Golf Hall of Famer and 1939 U.S. Open champion Byron Nelson served as the club’s professional from 1940-44.
The 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur will be the 40th USGA championship contested in Ohio. The Buckeye State will host the 2016 U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club, in Columbus. The U.S. Junior Amateur was contested twice previously in Ohio, at the Ohio State University Golf Course, in Columbus, in 1977, and at Muirfield Village Golf Club, in Dublin, in 1986.
The first U.S. Junior Amateur was contested in 1948. The championship is open to amateurs who have not reached their 18th birthday by the conclusion of the championship and who have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 6.4. Tiger Woods (three times), Jordan Spieth (twice), Hunter Mahan and Johnny Miller are U.S. Junior Amateur champions.
The 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur will be contested July 20-25 at Colleton River Plantation Club (Dye Course) in Bluffton, S.C. The 2016 championship is scheduled for July 18-23 at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. Flint Hills National Golf Club, in Andover, Kan., will host the 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur, July 17-22. The 2018 championship will be contested July 16-21 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.
About the USGA
The USGA conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open, as well as 10 national amateur championships, two state team championships and international matches, attracting players and fans from more than 160 countries. Together with The R&A, the USGA governs the game worldwide, jointly administering the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, equipment standards and World Amateur Golf Rankings. The USGA’s reach is global with a working jurisdiction in the United States, its territories and Mexico, serving more than 25 million golfers and actively engaging 150 golf associations.
The USGA is one of the world’s foremost authorities on research, development and support of sustainable golf course management practices. It serves as a primary steward for the game’s history and invests in the development of the game through the delivery of its services and its ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program. Additionally, the USGA’s Course Rating and Handicap systems are used on six continents in more than 50 countries.
For more information about the USGA, visit http://www.usga.org.
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Brian DePasquale, United States Golf Association, http://www.usga.org, +1 (908) 326-1884, [email protected]
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