The 120th U.S. Women’s Amateur, scheduled for Aug. 3-9 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., and the 120th U.S. Amateur, scheduled for Aug. 10-16 at Bandon (Ore.) Dunes Golf Resort, will be conducted as scheduled, provided that CDC recommendations and state and local government guidelines make it possible to do so. 

The USGA will thus conduct four championships in 2020, all at their originally scheduled sites. In early April, the USGA announced that the 120th U.S. Open will be played at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., from Sept. 17-20, and the 75th U.S. Women’s Open will be played at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas, from Dec. 10-13. Testing and robust health and safety protocols will be in place at each of the four championships.  

All four championships will be conducted without qualifying, which means the fields will be filled entirely through exemptions. Given continued health and safety concerns, as well as the potential burden on Allied Golf Associations and the courses scheduled to host qualifying, conducting hundreds of qualifiers across the country for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open was not seen as a viable option.  

“As you can imagine, this was an incredibly difficult decision, as qualifying is a cornerstone of USGA championships,” said Bodenhamer. “We take great pride in the fact that many thousands typically enter to pursue their dream of qualifying for a USGA championship and we deeply regret that they will not have that opportunity this year. But this structure provides the best path forward for us to conduct these championships in 2020.” 

Additional information regarding the expanded exemption categories for each championship will be made available in the coming weeks. 

For more USGA schedule updates, visit usga.org and usopen.com.

Due to uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the USGA announced that the following 2020 amateur championships will be canceled: the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (which was scheduled Aug. 29-Sept. 3 at Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C.); U.S. Senior Amateur (Aug. 29-Sept. 3 at Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.); U.S. Mid-Amateur (Sept. 12-17 at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va., and Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, Va.); and U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (Sept. 12-17 at The Lakewood Club in Point Clear, Ala.).   

“Throughout this process, our primary focus has been the safety and well-being of everyone involved, including our players, volunteers, host club representatives and staff,” said John Bodenhamer, senior managing director of Championships for the USGA. “We have not taken these decisions lightly and wish we had more options. But with a continued, keen interest in doing what is best for all involved, although we are extremely disappointed, this is the right decision.”   

The USGA previously announced the cancellation of six 2020 championships: the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Senior Women’s Open, U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Junior Amateur. 

The 2020 World Amateur Team Championships scheduled for October have been canceled due to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision follows the IGF’s announcement in February that the biennial event for men and women, originally to be held in Hong Kong, was moving to Singapore due to ongoing social unrest in Hong Kong.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IGF continued to work with the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) to host both competitions at Tanah Merah Country Club and Sentosa Golf Club on the same dates as planned, with the Espirito Santo Trophy for women scheduled from October 14-17 and the Eisenhower Trophy for men from October 21-24.

“This unprecedented decision was due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty that this has caused to ensuring that the 2020 WATC could be staged successfully,” said IGF Executive Director Antony Scanlon. “But most importantly, it was made to safeguard the health and safety of all athletes, officials and volunteers at the 2020 WATC, to which there was no certainty that this risk could be mitigated to an acceptable level.”

“I would also note that we gave thoughtful consideration to postponing the Championships to 2021,” Scanlon continued. “However, this would have created considerable scheduling and logistical issues that were insurmountable, plus we still could not say with absolute certainty that we could hold it without risk next year. Therefore, it is preferred that the IGF look forward to focusing on and delivering a wonderful 2022 event in France.”

Dating back to 1958, the World Amateur Team Championships include up to 72 countries competing in 72 holes of stroke play competition. Each country fields two or three players with the two lowest scores counting per round.

Due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the 72nd U.S. Girls’ Junior, which was scheduled for July 13-18 on the Blue Course at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Eisenhower Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the 73rd U.S. Junior Amateur, which was scheduled to be played July 20-25 at Hazeltine National Golf Club and Chaska Town Course, both in Chaska, Minn., have been canceled and will not be rescheduled. 

“Our primary focus when making determinations around championships continues to be the safety and well-being of everyone involved,” said John Bodenhamer, senior managing director of Championships for the USGA. “While we are incredibly disappointed to have to make the decision to cancel our two junior championships, we know it is the right one.”

Current and proposed federal, state and local guidelines regarding gatherings would make effectively conducting qualifying for both championships next to impossible for Allied Golf Associations, which were scheduled to hold 100 qualifiers in 41 states between late May and early July. 

“Given that juniors in most parts of the country are not physically attending school at this time, we did not feel comfortable asking them to compete in qualifying events,” said Bodenhamer. “We considered postponement but knowing that school will restart in many places around the country in August, we did not believe it was a viable option.”

In addition to the cancellation of the junior championships, the USGA has made the decision to delay opening entries for six additional amateur championships until the week of May 18: the U.S. Women’s Amateur (scheduled for Aug. 3-9 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.); U.S. Amateur (Aug. 10-16 at Bandon (Ore.) Dunes Golf Resort); U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (Aug. 28-Sept. 3 at Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C.); U.S. Senior Amateur (Aug. 28-Sept. 3 at Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.); U.S. Mid-Amateur (Sept. 12-17 at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va., and Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, Va.); and U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (Sept. 12-17 at The Lakewood Club in Point Clear, Ala.).  

The USGA will continue to rely on CDC and WHO recommendations, as well as state and local government guidelines in locations where championships and qualifiers are to be conducted, in determining schedule considerations for the remaining six 2020 amateur championships. 

In addition to the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Junior Amateur Championships, the USGA previously canceled four 2020 championships: the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball on March 17, and the U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Senior Women’s Open on April 6.
 
In early April, the USGA also announced the postponement of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open to Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas, and the postponement of the 120th U.S. Open Championship to Sept. 17-20 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. For all 2020 USGA schedule updates, click here.  

Due to the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued uncertainty surrounding it, the 120th U.S. Open, which was scheduled to be held June 18-21 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., has been postponed. The championship has been rescheduled to Sept. 17-20 at Winged Foot.

“We are hopeful that postponing the championship will offer us the opportunity to mitigate health and safety issues while still providing us with the best opportunity to conduct the U.S. Open this year,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA. “We are incredibly thankful to the membership and staff at Winged Foot for their flexibility and support. We are also grateful for the wonderful collaboration among the professional tours and other majors in working through a complicated schedule.”

The USGA is currently evaluating how the postponement will affect exemption categories, and definitive changes will be communicated as soon as possible. As previously announced, the USGA will strive to conduct qualifying that fits health and safety guidelines while accommodating the rescheduled championship dates.

More information about the postponement can be found here.

In addition to the postponement of the U.S. Open, the USGA has made the decision to cancel the U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championships for 2020.

The 41st U.S. Senior Open had been scheduled for June 25-28 at Newport Country Club in Newport, R.I. The 41st edition of the championship will now be played at Omaha (Neb.) Country Club from July 8-11, 2021. The 3rd U.S. Senior Women’s Open, which was scheduled to take place July 9-12 at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Conn., will not be conducted this year. More information about future sites and dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Canceling this year’s Senior Open championships was a very difficult decision to make,” said Davis. “Not only are they important pillars of our championship schedule, but we also value our relationships with both Newport Country Club and Brooklawn Country Club and were looking forward to staging incredible events there this summer. Given the ongoing health and safety issues related to COVID-19 and the significant consolidation of schedules into the back half of 2020, including the postponement of the U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Open, we felt it necessary to make these unfortunate adjustments to our 2020 championship plans.”

More information regarding the Senior Open championships can be found here.

Due to the evolving dynamics of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, originally scheduled for June 4-7 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas, has been postponed to Dec. 10-13. 

“The USGA remains committed to hosting the U.S. Women’s Open in 2020,” said USGA CEO Mike Davis. “We are grateful to the LPGA and our broadcast partner FOX for their terrific collaboration in finding a new date for the championship. Our priority remains ensuring the safety of all involved with the U.S. Women’s Open, while still providing the world’s best players the opportunity to compete this year.” 

To account for reduced daylight given the move to December, the Jackrabbit Course at Champions Golf Club will be used in conjunction with the Cypress Creek Course, which was originally slated to host all four rounds of championship play. The Jackrabbit will co-host Rounds 1 and 2. 

U.S. Women’s Open qualifying, which is run in conjunction with Allied Golf Associations and international federations, is expected to be held on rescheduled dates and potentially some new locations. The USGA is also reviewing how the postponement will affect exemption categories, and definitive changes will be communicated when they are finalized. 

Click here to read the full release...

2020 U.S. Women's Open: Postponement FAQs

The USGA and The R&A today announced that due to the evolving dynamics of the global COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions to international travel, the 2020 Curtis Cup Match has been postponed. The biennial team competition contested by female amateur golfers has been rescheduled for the summer of 2021 at Conwy Golf Club in Wales, the original host site.

Click here to read the full release...

Given ongoing CDC guidance and the ever-changing dynamics of the Coronavirus pandemic, the USGA has decided to delay opening entries for the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior until the week of April 27.

The schedule of qualifying dates and sites will remain the same. Additional information will be available in the coming weeks.

On March 13, it was announced that the 2020 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals had been postponed due to the impact of the Coronavirus COVID-19. After thoughtful deliberation, and with the guidance of public health experts, the Founding Partners have provided the following update:

• The 2020-21 Drive, Chip and Putt qualifying season, set to begin May 2, will be canceled, given the continued effect of COVID-19 on scheduling during the time period critical to the success of local qualifying. Ultimately, the Founding Partners determined cancellation was the most responsible measure to take in protecting the health of everyone involved in this national endeavor, which includes tens of thousands of participants, their families and all those essential to staging hundreds of qualifying events across all 50 states.

• This year’s Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals originally scheduled for April 5, 2020, will be rescheduled for April 4, 2021, the eve of the Masters Tournament. Each National Finalist will be invited to compete at Augusta National Golf Club in the same age division for which he or she previously qualified in 2020, regardless of their age on that date. Purchasers of Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals tickets will be sent a refund in May and guaranteed the opportunity to purchase tickets for the National Finals next year.

“As deeply disappointing as it is for us to make this very difficult decision, it’s clearly the right thing to do for all involved,” said Stu Francis, president of the USGA. “We look forward to seeing everyone play golf again, especially these juniors whose talent, joy and drive to compete inspire all of us.”

Click here to read the full release...

The USGA stands with our entire golf community during this time. We all love the game for the escape it provides, and it is our great hope that we will all be able to play it, watch it and enjoy it together soon. We continue to urge everyone to follow the guidelines from health and governmental officials to keep you and those around you safe, and to minimize any possible exposure to coronavirus. This is especially true on a golf course, where golfers, workers and owners should heighten their level of awareness on exposure to surfaces like flagsticks, golf balls, bunker rakes, tees, carts and scorecards. We all need to do our part to respect expert advice and make the right decisions to protect each other.

It is not the intended purpose of the below guidance to either encourage or discourage anyone from playing the game, but rather, in our governance role, to help golf course operators, committees and golfers better understand how the Rules of Golf and Rules of Handicapping apply to the various questions we have received.

To read the full statement, click here.

To better address the questions that have come about because of these unique circumstances and the related challenges, additional guidance can be accessed by clicking here.

The USGA did not take the decision to cancel the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championships lightly. But given these unprecedented times, we believe it was the best course of action. We looked at a number of factors, starting with the CDC guidance and placing the utmost priority on the health and safety of everyone involved with these championships. We also prioritized what is best at this time for everyone associated in conducting a major amateur championship, including our host sites, which were supportive of this decision. 

In an ideal world, we would have rescheduled these championships to later in the season. But given the ever-growing list of cancellations and postponements throughout the golf community and the broader sports world, as well as anticipated challenges that lie ahead for so many, we simply did not have an option to reschedule. 

We understand and share in the disappointment of the players who will not have an opportunity to compete. Conducting championships has been the core of the USGA’s mission since our inception in 1894, and we are deeply appreciative of the importance players place on qualifying for and playing in USGA championships.

On February 4, the USGA and The R&A committed to releasing research topics related to the next phase of our Distance Insights work within 45 days. At this time, the golf industry needs to focus on its response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, we have decided to delay this announcement until a more appropriate time. This will obviously extend the deadline for the research. We will share more information in due course.

Given the recent CDC guidance and the evolving dynamics of the Coronavirus pandemic, the USGA announced today that it has canceled its first two 2020 championships, the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball, originally scheduled for April 25-29 at Quail Creek Country Club in Naples, Fla., and the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, originally scheduled for May 23-27 at Philadelphia (Pa.) Cricket Club. These championships will not be rescheduled in 2020.

In addition, the USGA has canceled local (first stage) qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Open and qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Women's Open in their current forms, and in conjunction with our Allied Golf Association (AGA) partners and International Federations, will look to redesign qualifying going forward as events unfold. We will continue to hold the dates for the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club and the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club. 

At this time, it is premature to speculate what might occur with other 2020 USGA championships. We will continue to monitor all available guidance and regulations from the CDC, WHO and other federal, state and local authorities to do what is in the best interests of our community. We appreciate everyone's understanding and support during these unprecedented times. 

The USGA has been carefully monitoring all information available regarding the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 and remains focused on the health and safety of the USGA community, including our staff, players, officials, volunteers and spectators. We have established an internal task force and are communicating on a regular basis with our peers in the golf community and the broader sports world as information on this evolving issue continues to be shared. Our leadership continues to follow current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization and will remain vigilant in working with local and state authorities to monitor the virus and its implications for the entire USGA community. 

Our championship season begins in late April and runs through September, with the U.S. Open being played in June, and as of today, we have not made any decisions to alter this schedule. We are committed to being proactive in updating our constituents regarding any changes and will provide more information as it becomes available. We will take action in the event there are direct impacts to our people or our championships, including our qualifiers.