United States Open (golf)

United States Open (golf), two annual golf tournaments, one for men and one for women, that rank among the sport’s top four events for each gender. The U.S. Open for men, held each June, is part of the men’s grand slam, along with the Masters, the British Open, and the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship. The U.S. Women’s Open is held in June or July, but always separately from the men’s event and at a different course. The grand slam of women’s golf also includes the Nabisco Championship, the Women’s British Open, and the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Championship.

The U.S. Open dates back to 1895, when the fledgling United States Golf Association (USGA) organized the first official tournament. It has been a 72-hole competition since 1898, extending from three to four days of play in 1965. The first U.S. Women’s Open was organized by the Women’s Professional Golfers’ Association in 1946, the only year a match-play format was used (players compete head-to-head in each round instead of against the entire field for four rounds). The LPGA also controlled it for several years before the USGA took it over in 1953. The event’s format matches that of the men’s tournament (72 holes over four days).

Both tournaments rotate to a different golf course every year, although some courses have hosted more than once. Course conditions for the U.S. Open are famously challenging, with lightning-fast greens and high rough (grass that lines the fairways and surrounds the greens). Since their origin, both tournaments have been open to amateurs and professionals, with most players qualifying through regional competition. Four men have won the U.S. Open four times: Scotland’s Willie Anderson (during the period from 1901 to 1905), American Bobby Jones (1923-1930), American Ben Hogan (1948-1953), and American Jack Nicklaus (1962-1980). Similarly, two women have won the U.S. Women’s Open four times: Americans Betsy Rawls (1951-1960) and Mickey Wright (1958-1964).