PAR AND YARDAGE: The Country Club (http://www.2013usamateur.com) will be set up at 7,310 yards and will play to a par of 34-36–70. The companion stroke-play qualifying course, Charles River Country Club (http://www.charlesrivercc.org) will be set up at 6,548 yards and will play to a par of 35-34–69. (All yardages subject to change)

THE COUNTRY CLUB HOLE BY HOLE:

CHARLES RIVER COUNTRY CLUB HOLE BY HOLE:

ARCHITECTS: The Country Club evolved as a collaborative design. In 1893, the first six holes were designed by the club’s first golf committee, which comprised members Arthur Hunnewell, Laurence Curtis and Robert Bacon. Willie Campbell was hired as the professional in 1894 and helped add three new holes and redesign the original six. The club expanded to 18 holes in 1899. William Flynn designed a third nine in 1927, which is called Primrose.

The course used for championships, including the 2013 U.S. Amateur, is a composite that incorporates three-and-a-half holes from the Primrose. Geoffrey Cornish made changes before the 1963 U.S. Open. Rees Jones supervised revisions to the course before the 1988 U.S. Open. Gil Hanse has also done some recent restoration to the course. Charles River Country Club was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1921.

WHO CAN ENTER: The championship is open to amateur golfers who hold a USGA Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4. The USGA accepted 6,403 entries in 2012. The record number of entrants is 7,920, in 1999.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING: Sectional qualifying, played over 36 holes, will be held between July 13-30. The deadline for entries is June 26. The number of qualifying sites has yet to be determined. (Note: Qualifying dates are subject to change)

SCHEDULE OF PLAY: A field of 312 players will play 18 holes of stroke play on Aug. 12 and 13, after which the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers. Six rounds of match play begin on Aug. 14 and the championship concludes with a scheduled 36-hole championship match on Aug. 18.

TICKETS 
Tickets are on sale by logging on to http://www.2013usamateur.com/club/scripts/section/section.asp?grp=17923&NS=TICKETS.

Tickets are $25 (single-day grounds) online or $30 on-site. Other passes and packages are available.

THE WINNER RECEIVES: Among the benefits enjoyed by the U.S. Amateur winner are:

1)  A gold medal and custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for the ensuing year
2)  An exemption from local and sectional qualifying for the next U.S. Open
3)  An exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Amateurs
4)  An exemption from qualifying for the next British Open Championship
5)  A likely invitation to the next Masters Tournament

HISTORY: This is the 113th U.S. Amateur Championship. The U.S. Amateur Championship is the oldest golf championship in this country, one day older than the U.S. Open. Except for an eight-year period, 1965-1972, when it was contested at stroke play, the Amateur has been a match-play championship.

Throughout its history, the U.S. Amateur has been the most coveted of all amateur titles. Many of the great names of modern professional golf, such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lanny Wadkins, Craig Stadler, Jerry Pate, Mark O'Meara, Hal Sutton, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, grace the Havemeyer Trophy.

It was, however, legendary amateur Robert T. Jones Jr., who first attracted national media coverage and sparked spectator attendance at the U.S. Amateur. Jones captured the championship five times (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928 and 1930). His 1930 victory was a seminal moment in golf history Jones won the four major American and British championships in one year and completed the Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Amateur at Merion Cricket Club in Ardmore, Pa.

Sixty-six years later, in 1996, Tiger Woods attracted similar levels of interest and enthusiasm at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore., when he won a record third straight U.S. Amateur, having registered 18 consecutive match-play victories. In 1994, Woods, at 18, had first entered the record book as the youngest U.S. Amateur champion, following his three consecutive Junior Amateur titles (1991-1993). That record has since been broken twice, first by 17-year-old Danny Lee in 2008 at Pinehurst No. 2 in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C., then in 2009, when 17-year-old Byeong-Hun An won at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., with a 7-and-5 victory over Ben Martin, of Greenwood, S.C.

2012 CHAMPION: Steven Fox, 21, of Hendersonville, Tenn., made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 37th hole to defeat Michael Weaver, 21, of Fresno, Calif., at Cherry Hills Country Club, near Denver Colo. Fox, who like Weaver advanced to match play as one of 14 survivors of a 17-man playoff earlier in the week, became the lowest seed, No. 63, to win the U.S. Amateur since the USGA began the seeding process in 1985. Fox became the first to win the Amateur after advancing through a playoff since Italy’s Edorardo Molinari in 2005.

USGA AT THE COUNTRY CLUB: The Country Club has hosted five U.S. Amateurs and three U.S. Opens. In 1982, Jay Sigel won the first of two consecutive Amateur championships. This is the 100th anniversary of amateur Francis Ouimet’s historic U.S. Open win over Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. The champions in all three Opens at The Country Club won in playoffs, including Julius Boros in 1963 and Curtis Strange in 1988.

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE COUNTRY CLUB     

Championship Years and Winners 
1902 U.S. Women’s Amateur – Genevieve Hecker def. Louisa A. Wells, 4 and 3
1910 U.S. Amateur – William C. Fownes Jr. def. Warren K. Wood, 4 and 3
1913 U.S. Open – Francis Ouimet def. Harry Vardon & Ted Ray, 304 (72) – 304 (77) – 304 (78)
1922 U.S. Amateur – Jess Sweetser def. Charles Evans Jr., 3 and 2
1934 U.S. Amateur – W. Lawson Little Jr. def. David Goldman, 8 and 7
1941 U.S. Women’s Amateur – Elizabeth Hicks def. Helen Sigel, 5 and 3
1953 U.S. Girls’ Junior – Mildred Meyerson def. Holly Jean Roth, 4 and 2
1957 U.S. Amateur – Hillman Robbins Jr. def. Dr. Frank M. Taylor, 5 and 4
1968 U.S. Junior Amateur – Eddie Pearce def. W.B. Harman Jr., 6 and 5
1963 U.S. Open – Julius Boros def. Jacky Cupit & Arnold Palmer, 293 (70) – 293 (73) – 293 (76)
1982 U.S. Amateur – Jay Sigel def. David Tolley, 8 and 7
1988 U.S. Open – Curtis Strange def, Nick Faldo, 278 (71) – 278 (75)
1995 U.S. Women’s Amateur – Kelli Kuehne def. Anne-Marie Knight, 4 and 3

INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE COUNTRY CLUB         

Competition Years and Winners 
1932 Walker Cup – USA def. Great Britain & Ireland, 8-1
1973 Walker Cup – USA def. Great Britain & Ireland, 14-10

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MASSACHUSETTS: The 2013 U.S Amateur will be the 55th USGA championship and sixth Amateur to be conducted in Massachusetts. The state has hosted 12 of 13 USGA national championships. In 1928, Robert T. Jones Jr. won the fourth of his five Amateur titles with a 10-and-9 victory over T. Phillip Perkins at Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton. Jay Sigel claimed the first of his two consecutive Amateur championships at The Country Club in 1982 with an 8-and-7 triumph over David Tolley.

U.S. AMATEURS IN MASSACHUSETTS 

Years, Courses and Winners 
1910 U.S. Amateur – The Country Club, Brookline (William C. Fownes Jr.)
1922 U.S. Amateur – The Country Club, Brookline (Jess Sweetser)
1928 U.S. Amateur – Brae Burn Country Club, West Newton (Robert T. Jones Jr.)
1934 U.S. Amateur – The Country Club, Brookline (Lawson Little)
1957 U.S. Amateur – The Country Club, Brookline (Hillman Robbins Jr.)
1982 U.S. Amateur – The Country Club, Brookline (Jay Sigel)

OTHER CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE COUNTRY CLUB: The Country Club has hosted the Massachusetts State Amateur on 15 occasions, including 1925 when Francis Ouimet captured his sixth state amateur championship. The club was the site for the 1999 Ryder Cup. The United States edged Great Britain & Ireland, 14.5-13.5.

FUTURE SITES
Aug. 11-17, 2014 – Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga.
Aug. 17-23, 2015 – Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields, Ill.
Aug. 15-21, 2016 – Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Aug. 14-20, 2017 – Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Dates TBD, 2018 – Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.            

EXEMPT PLAYERS: A total of 18 golfers are currently exempt from qualifying for the 2013 U.S. Amateur based on past performances in USGA championships. Other golfers will become exempt based on their standing in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) or performances in other major amateur competitions. The players currently exempt:

Alan Dunbar (2012 British Amateur champion; member of 2011 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team)
Steven Fox (2012 U.S. Amateur champion; member of 2012 USA World Amateur Team)
Oliver Goss (2012 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist)
Tianlang Guan (2012 Asian Amateur champion) 
Ricardo Gouveia (2012 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist)
Brandon Hagy (2012 U.S. Amateur semifinalist)
Beau Hossler (returned 72-hole score at 2011 U.S. Open)
Randal Lewis (2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion)
Cheng-Tsung Pan (2012 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist)
Rhys Pugh (member 2011 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team)
Garrett Rank (2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up)
Patrick Rodgers (member of 2011 USA Walker Cup Team)
Jordan Russell (2011 U.S. Amateur semifinalist)
Nathan Smith (2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion; member 2011 USA Walker Cup Team)
Andy Hyeon Bo Shim (2012 U.S. Junior Amateur champion)
Justin Thomas (2012 U.S. Amateur semifinalist; member of 2012 USA World Amateur Team)
Michael Weaver (2012 U.S. Amateur runner-up)
Chris Williams (2012 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist; member of 2011 USA Walker Cup Team; member of 2012 USA World Amateur Team)

PHOTO MEDIA SERVICE: The USGA will offer daily complimentary high-resolution photographs during the U.S. Amateur (Monday-Sunday) for news use only. For more information and to register, contact photorequests@usga.org.

PHONE NUMBER
USGA Communications Department – (908) 234-2300.

MORE INFORMATION: Please contact USGA Championship Communications (Pete Kowalski: by cell phone at (908) 216-8435 or email at pkowalski@usga.org; or Brian DePasquale: by cell phone at (908) 655-8395 or email at bdepasquale@usga.org). For more information on the USGA, please visit www.usga.org. Media-specific information can be found at http://www.usga.org/Media-Center/Media-Center.