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U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR

2018 U.S. Senior Amateur Fast Facts

By David Shefter, USGA

| Aug 14, 2018 | Far Hills, N.J.

Paul Simson, of Raleigh, N.C., claimed the U.S. Senior Amateur title in 2010 and 2012, and was the runner-up in 2017. (USGA/Fred Vuich)

U.S. Senior Amateur Home

   
Championship Venue Eugene (Ore.) Country Club
Opened 1899
Architect(s) H. Chandler Egan (first 18-hole layout in 1923)
Redesign by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1960
Dates of Championship Aug. 25-30
Yardage/Par 6,869 yards/Par 72 (Subject to change)
Field 156 players
Entries Accepted 2,381
Sectional Qualifying Sectional qualifying will take place at 50 sites between July 16 and Aug. 10.
Eligibility Open to any amateur golfer who has turned 55 by Aug. 25, and whose Handicap Index that does not exceed 7.4
Exempt Players (24) Buddy Alexander (1986 U.S. Amateur champion)
Tom Brandes (2015 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up)
Kevin Cahill (2016 U.S. Senior Amateur semifinalist)
Gene Elliott (2017 Canadian Amateur champion; Top 500 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Trevor Foster (2018 champion of Senior Amateur  Championship, conducted by The R&A)
Robert Funk (Completed 72 holes in 2018 U.S. Senior Open)
Vinny Giles (2009 U.S. Senior Amateur champion)
Randy Haag (Runner-up in 2018 Senior Amateur Championship, conducted by The R&A) 
Doug Hanzel (2013 U.S. Senior Amateur champion; Top 500 in World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Tim Jackson (2016 U.S. Senior Amateur semifinalist; Top 500 of World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Sean Knapp (2017 U.S. Senior Amateur champion)
Ken Lee (2017 U.S. Senior Amateur quarterfinalist)
Chip Lutz (2015 U.S. Senior Amateur champion)
George (Buddy) Marucci (2008 U.S. Senior Amateur champion)
Michael McCoy (2015 USA Walker Cup competitor)
David Nocar (2017 U.S. Senior Amateur quarterfinalist)
John Pierce (2017 U.S. Senior Amateur quarterfinalist)
Dave Ryan (2016 U.S. Senior Amateur champion; 2017 U.S. Senior Amateur semifinalist)
Paul Simson (2010 and 2012 U.S. Senior Amateur champion; 2017 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up)
Matthew Sughrue (2016 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up; 2017 U.S. Senior Amateur quarterfinalist)
Patrick Tallent (2014 U.S. Senior Amateur champion)
Frank Vana (2017 U.S. Senior Amateur semifinalist)
Guy Yamamoto (1994 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion)
Jeff Wilson (Completed 72 holes in 2018 U.S. Senior Open)
2017 Championship Competing in his first U.S. Senior Amateur, Sean Knapp, 55, of Oakmont, Pa., converted a 20-foot par putt on the 17th green to defeat two-time champion Paul Simson, of Raleigh, N.C., 2 and 1, in the final match at The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minn.
Quotable “The last two times in the Mid-Am in [2008 and 2010], I got to the semis, and then in 2012 I lost to Nathan [Smith, Knapp’s best friend and a five-time USGA champion] in extra holes in the final 16. He went on to win, and I really felt like it was so tough to accept that. I knew what to do to beat him, and I did everything but beat him. I just said, if I get in this situation again, I’m going to put the throttle down.” -- Sean Knapp
Notable Events Held at Eugene C.C. 1959 NCAA Division I Championship (Houston/Dick Crawford)
1961 Women's Trans-Mississippi Championship (JoAnne Gunderson Carner)
1964 U.S. Junior Amateur (Johnny Miller)
1974 Women's Trans-National (Barbara Barrow)
1974 Pacific Coast Amateur (Mark Pfeil)
1978 NCAA Division I Men's Championship (Oklahoma State/David Edwards)
1982 Pacific Coast Amateur (Tony Grimes)
1986 Pacific Coast Amateur (Brian Henninger)
1990 Pacific Coast Amateur (Terrence Miskell)
1993 U.S. Mid-Amateur (Jeff Thomas)
1998 Pacific Coast Amateur (Ben Crane)
2002 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur (Kathy Hartwiger)
2004 Pacific Coast Amateur (Michael Putnam)
2008 U.S. Women's Amateur (Amanda Blumenherst)
2010 Pacific Coast Amateur (Andrew Putnam)
2015 Pacific Coast Amateur (Aaron Wise)
2016 NCAA Division I Women's Championship (Washington/Virginia Elena Carta)
2016 NCAA Division I Men's Championship (Oregon/Aaron Wise)
U.S. Senior Amateurs in Oregon (2) 1964: Waverley Country Club, Portland (William D. Higgins)
1999: Portland Golf Club (Bill Ploeger)
Notable U.S. Senior Amateur Champions J. Wood Platt (1955); J. Clark Espie (1957, 1959); Dexter Daniels (1961, 1966); Gene Andrews (1970); Lewis W. Oehmig (1972, 1976, 1985); Dale Morey (1974, 1977); William C. Campbell (1979-80); Ed Updegraff (1981); William Hyndman III (1983); John Richardson (1987); O. Gordon Brewer (1994, 1996); Bill Shean Jr. (1998, 2000); Kemp Richardson (2001, 2003); Stan Lee (2007); George “Buddy” Marucci (2008); Marvin “Vinny” Giles (2009); Paul Simson (2010, 2012); Louis Lee (2011); Pat Tallent (2014); Chip Lutz (2015)
Notable U.S. Senior Amateur Runners-Up J. Clark Espie (1956); Ernest Pieper Jr. (1971-72); Lewis W. Oehmig (1974, 1977, 1979); Dale Morey (1981); Ed Updegraff (1982); Richard Runkle (1983-84); John Harbottle (1986); George Zahringer (2008); Pat Tallent (2010); Bryan Norton (2014); Paul Simson (2017)
Schedule of Play Saturday, Aug. 25 (Stroke Play, Round 1, 18 holes)
Sunday, Aug. 26 (Stroke Play, Round 1, 18 holes)
Monday, Aug. 27 (Round of 64, match play)
Tuesday, Aug. 28 (Round of 32/Round of 16, match play)
Wednesday, Aug. 29 (Quarterfinals/Semifinals, match play)
Thursday, Aug. 30 (Championship Match, 18 holes)
Match-Play Cut The low 64 scorers following stroke play will qualify for match play. If necessary, a playoff will be conducted to determine the final match-play spots.
Future Sites 2019: Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham, N.C./Aug. 24-29
2020: Country Club of Detroit, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./Aug. 29-Sept. 3
2021: The Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tenn/Aug. 28-Sept. 2
2022: The Kittansett Club, Marion, Mass./Aug. 27-Sept. 1