U.S. AMATEUR

Fast Facts for 2026 U.S. Amateur

By David Shefter, USGA

| Liberty Corner, N.J.


Championship Venue	Merion Golf Club (East Course), Ardmore, Pa.
Stroke-Play Co-Host Venue	Philadelphia Country Club, Gladwyne, Pa.
Opened	Merion Golf Club (East Course): 1912 Philadelphia Country Club: 1890
Architects	Merion Golf Club (East Course): Hugh Wilson (renovations/restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2014) Philadelphia Country Club: William Flynn (recent renovation/restoration by Jim Nagle of Forse Design)
Yardages/Par (Subject to change)	Merion: TBD Philadelphia C.C.: TBD
Dates of Championship	August 10-16
Field Size	312
Eligibility	A competitor cannot have a Handicap Index® exceeding 0.4.
Entries Open	March 18, 2026 (9 a.m. ET)
Qualifying	Local qualifying, over 18 holes, will take place between from early June to early July, followed by Final Qualifying, also over 18 holes, from mid- to late July at sites TBD.
2025 Championship	Mason Howell, 18, of Thomasville, Ga., a rising high school senior, defeated University of Tennessee rising sophomore Jackson Herrington, of Dickson, Tenn., 7 and 6, in the 36-hole final at The Olympic Club (Lake Course), in San Francisco, Calif. Howell became the third-youngest champion in U.S. Amateur history, and just the third No. 63 seed to claim the title since the USGA began seeding players by their stroke play scores in 1985. The victory earned the 2026 University of Georgia commitment a spot on the 2025 USA Walker Cup and World Amateur Teams as well as an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Open. Howell survived a 20-for-17 playoff on Monday morning just to get into match play. Read More
Quotable	“My name next to these other names on this trophy is unbelievable. To be next to somebody named Tiger [Woods], that’s an unreal feeling. To be ahead of Tiger in something, that’s something that not a lot of people can say.” -- Mason Howell
Notable Past Events at Merion Golf Club	1904 U.S. Women's Amateur (Georgianna Bishop) 1909 U.S. Women's Amateur (Dorothy Campbell) 1916 U.S. Amateur (Chick Evans) 1924 U.S. Amateur (Bob Jones) 1926 U.S. Women's Amateur (Helen Stetson) 1930 U.S. Amateur (Bob Jones) 1934 U.S. Open (Olin Dutra) 1949 U.S. Women's Amateur (Dorothy Porter) 1950 U.S. Open (Ben Hogan) 1954 Curtis Cup (USA) 1960 World Amateur Team Championship (USA) 1966 U.S. Amateur (Gary Cowan) 1971 U.S. Open (Lee Trevino) 1981 U.S. Open (David Graham) 1989 U.S. Amateur (Chris Patton) 1998 U.S. Girls' Junior (Leigh Anne Hardin) 2005 U.S. Amateur (Edoardo Molinari) 2009 Walker Cup (USA) 2013 U.S. Open (Justin Rose) 2022 Curtis Cup (USA)
Notable Events at Philadelphia C.C.	1899 U.S. Women's Amateur (Ruth Underhill) 1939 U.S. Open (Byron Nelson) 1949 U.S. Girls' Junior (Marlene Bauer) 2003 U.S. Women's Amateur (Virada Nirapathpongporn)
Did You Know?	Bob Jones completed the Grand Slam in 1930 at Merion Golf Club when he claimed his fifth U.S. Amateur title. That year, he also won the U.S. and British Open titles, and the British Amateur.
Fast Fact	In 1899, Philadelphia Country Club became the seventh member club of the USGA, and it is one of the four founding clubs of the Golf Association of Philadelphia.
Notable Champions	Francis Ouimet (1913, 1931); Chick Evans (1916, 1920), Bob Jones (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930), Arnold Palmer (1954), Jack Nicklaus (1959, 1961), Deane Beman (1960, 1963), Lanny Wadkins (1970), Craig Stadler (1973), Mark O'Meara (1979), Hal Sutton (1980), Jay Sigel (1982, 1983), Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1994, 1995, 1996), Matthew Fitzpatrick (2013), Bryson DeChambeau (2015); Nick Dunlap (2023)
Notable Runners-Up	Chick Evans (1912, 1922, 1927), Bob Jones (1919, 1926), Francis Ouimet (1920), Tom Kite (1970), Ben Crenshaw (1972), Scott Hoch (1978), Trip Kuehne (1994), James Driscoll (2000), Hunter Mahan (2002), Michael Thompson (2007), Patrick Cantlay (2011), Corey Conners (2014)
What Champion Receives	-A gold medal -Custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for one year -Exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Amateurs -Exemption into 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links -Exemption into 2027 Open Championship, conducted by The R&A, on the Old Course at St. Andrews (must be an amateur) -Likely invitation into 2027 Masters Tournament (must be an amateur) -Name engraved into 2026 USGA Champions' plaque that resides in the USGA Museum's Hall of Champions in Liberty Corner, N.J.
Schedule of Play	Monday, Aug. 10 (18 holes, stroke play) Tuesday, Aug. 11 (18 holes, stroke play) Wednesday, Aug. 12 (Round of 64, match play) Thursday, Aug. 13 (Round of 32/16 matches) Friday, Aug. 14 (Quarterfinal matches) Saturday, Aug. 15 (Semifinal matches) Sunday, Aug. 16 (36-hole championship match)
Match-Play Cut	64 competitors will qualify for match play following two rounds of stroke play; a playoff, if necessary, will be conducted to get the draw to exactly 64 golfers
Broadcast Schedule (All times EDT)	TBD
Future Sites	2027: Oak Hill Country Club, Pittsford, N.Y. (Aug. 9-15) 2028: Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis. (Aug. 14-20) 2030: Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga. (Aug. 12-18) 2031: The Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tenn. (Aug. 11-17) 2033: Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash. (Aug. 15-21) 2034: The Country Club, Brookline, Mass. (Aug. 14-20) 2032: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore. (Aug. 9-15) 2035: Erin Hills, Erin, Wis. (Aug. 13-19) 2036: Scioto Country Club. Columbus, Ohio (Aug. 11-17) 2041: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore. (Dates TBD) 2042: The Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus, N.J. (Dates TBD) 2047: Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (Dates TBD)

Fast Facts for 2026 U.S. Amateur

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