The 120th U.S. Amateur Championship, our oldest national championship, is being played at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore. this week, Aug. 10-16, 2020.
When it all began in 1895 at Newport (R.I.) Country Club, it was played concurrently with the U.S. Open. Back then, the amateur championship was the larger and more prestigious of the two. That inaugural event was won by Charles B. Macdonald. Throughout its 125-year history, the U.S. Amateur Championship has tested the game’s greatest players and showcased many of its up-and-coming stars. Past champions such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have gone on to stardom in the professional game.
The USGA Golf Museum celebrates this championship’s important history through the preservation of artifacts, library materials, footage and photographs. It has recently listed nine of the USGA staff’s favorite U.S. Amateur artifacts in its collection. And what a collection it is! Check it out — from Bobby Jones’ golf ball to Jack Nicklaus’ 9-iron and Tiger Woods’ scorecard. Click here to see the artifacts.
While you’re at it, you might enjoy this video of past U.S. Amateur champions Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Bryson DeChambeau, Ryan Moore, and Hal Sutton as they reminisce about their victories and what it takes to raise the coveted Havemeyer Trophy.