76th Junior Amateur Preview; Oakland Hills Hosts

76th Junior Amateur Preview; Oakland Hills Hosts

The USGA’s Junior Amateur Championship is coming to Oakland Hills July 22 – 27.

Interest is very high, as Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie is slated to play. A Tiger sighting seems likely.

I played Oakland Hills South after the most recent renovations. You can read my appreciation at the link.

Practice rounds will be held on July 20-21. The championship begins with 18-hole stroke-play rounds on July 22-23. The field will then be cut to the low 64 scorers for match play. Six rounds of match play will determine the champion. The championship match is contested over 36 holes.

Admission and Parking

Admission is free. Tickets are not required for the U.S. Junior Amateur, and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Complimentary spectator parking with shuttle service to/from the championship is provided at three nearby locations. No on-site parking is available.

Red Lot: 20500 Civic Center Dr., Southfield, MI  
White Lot: 25800 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield, MI 
Blue Lot: 4200 Andover Rd, Bloomfield Twp, MI (Bloomfield Hills H.S) 

Shuttle service begins at 6 a.m. daily, with the final return shuttle departing Oakland Hills 30 minutes following the conclusion of the day’s play. 

SCHEDULE OF PLAY  

Monday, July 22 – First round, stroke play, 18 holes 
Tuesday, July 23 – Second round, stroke play, 18 holes 
Wednesday, July 24 – Round of 64, match play 
Thursday, July 25 – Round of 32 and Round of 16, match play 
Friday, July 26 – Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, match play 
Saturday, July 27 – Championship match, 36 holes 

PAR AND YARDAGE

Oakland Hills Country Club’s South Course will be set up at 7,303 yards and will play to a par of 35-35—70. The North Course, which will serve as the stroke-play co-host course for the two days of stroke play, will be set up at 6,808 yards and play to a par of 35-35–70. 

(NOTE: Yardages subject to change.) 

ARCHITECTS 

The South Course at Oakland Hills, also known as “The Monster,” was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1918. It was renovated by Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1950), Rees Jones (2006) and Gil Hanse (2021). The most recent restoration, which aimed to return the property to its original early 1900s layout, included tree removal throughout the property and the reshaping of all 18 greens to their original specifications. 

The club’s South Course has played host to 11 USGA championships in its 105-year history, including six U.S. Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens, two U.S. Amateurs and a U.S. Women’s Amateur. In addition, Oakland Hills has also hosted three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup. 

The North Course at Oakland Hills was also designed by Ross and opened for play in 1923. The course was used alongside the South during stroke play at the 2002 and 2016 U.S. Amateurs. 

COURSE RATING AND SLOPE

Based on the course setup for the championship, the Course Rating™ for the South Course is 76.2 and its Slope Rating® is 146. The Course Rating for the North Course is 74.7 and its Slope Rating is 146. 

2023 CHAMPION

Bryan Kim, of Brookeville, Md., an incoming freshman at Duke University, outlasted New Zealand’s Joshua Bai, 2 up, in the 36-hole championship match at Daniel Island Club in Charleston, S.C. Kim joined Jason Widener as the only Duke players to win the U.S. Junior Amateur. 

WHAT THE WINNER RECEIVES: 

►A gold medal 
►Custody of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship Trophy for one year 
►Exemption into 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club (must be an amateur)  
►Exemption into future U.S. Junior Amateurs (while age eligible) 
►Exemption into the next two U.S. Amateurs (2024, 2025) 

HISTORY 

In 1948, the USGA inaugurated the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship to determine the best junior golfer in the United States and to help junior golfers realize the most from the game, win or lose. The first U.S. Junior Amateur was played at the University of Michigan Golf Course and received 495 entries. 

Dean Lind, of Rockford, Ill., was the first champion. Lind defeated Ken Venturi, of San Francisco, a future U.S. Open champion, in the final. Only two players, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth, have won the Junior Amateur more than once; Woods winning in 1991, 1992 and 1993, and Spieth in 2009 and 2011. Other notable champions include Johnny Miller, David Duval, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris. 

In 2017, the U.S. Junior Amateur champion began receiving a full exemption into the following year’s U.S. Open Championship. In 2020, the U.S. Junior Amateur was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aligning with ongoing USGA initiatives to expand support of junior golf, the field size for the U.S. Junior Amateur increased from 156 players to 264, beginning with the 2021 championship at The Country Club of North Carolina. 

USGA AND OAKLAND HILLS 

The 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur will be the 12th USGA championship contested at Oakland Hills. It is the first of eight USGA championships that will be held at Oakland Hills between 2024 and 2051. With the 2029 U.S. Women’s Open, Oakland Hills will become the fifth club in history to have hosted a U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur. 

The 2034 U.S. Open will take place 110 years after the first U.S. Open at Oakland Hills in 1924, when Cyril Walker prevailed over defending champion Bob Jones by 3 strokes. Ralph Guldahl won the first of his two consecutive U.S. Opens in 1937. In 1951, Ben Hogan won his third U.S. Open in four years, saying it was the “toughest 18 holes I’ve ever seen.” The 1961 edition saw Gene Littler capture his only major title and Jack Nicklaus earn low-amateur honors at age 21. In 1985, Andy North claimed his second U.S. Open, and in 1996, Steve Jones became the first U.S. Open champion to go through final qualifying since Jerry Pate in 1976. 

Nicklaus would go on to claim a USGA title at Oakland Hills in 1991, when he won the U.S. Senior Open. Glenna Collett Vare (1929 U.S. Women’s Amateur) and Arnold Palmer (1981 U.S. Senior Open) are also among the legendary champions to hoist a USGA trophy at Oakland Hills. 

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT OAKLAND HILLS 

• 1924 U.S. Open (Cyril Walker) 
• 1929 U.S. Women’s Amateur (Glenna Collett Vare) 
• 1937 U.S. Open (Ralph Guldahl) 
• 1951 U.S. Open (Ben Hogan) 
• 1961 U.S. Open (Gene Littler) 
• 1981 U.S. Senior Open (Arnold Palmer) 
• 1985 U.S. Open (Andy North) 
• 1991 U.S. Senior Open (Jack Nicklaus) 
• 1996 U.S. Open (Steve Jones) 
• 2002 U.S. Amateur (Ricky Barnes) 
• 2016 U.S. Amateur (Curtis Luck) 

UPCOMING USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT OAKLAND HILLS  

• 2029 U.S. Women’s Amateur 
• 2031 U.S. Women’s Open 
• 2034 U.S. Open 
• 2038 U.S. Girls’ Junior 
• 2042 U.S. Women’s Open 
• 2047 U.S. Amateur 
• 2051 U.S. Open 

OTHER NOTABLE CHAMPIONSHIPS AT OAKLAND HILLS 

• 1922 Western Open (Mike Brady) 
• 1924 Michigan Women’s Amateur (Violet Hanley) 
• 1931 Michigan Women’s Amateur (Dorothy Higbie) 
• 1939 Women’s Western Amateur (Edith Estabrooks) 
• 1955 Michigan Women’s Amateur (Margaret Smith)
• 1964 Carling World Open (Bobby Nichols)
• 1972 PGA Championship (Gary Player) 
• 1979 PGA Championship (David Graham) 
• 1992 Michigan Amateur (Randy Lewis) 
• 2004 Ryder Cup (Team Europe) 
• 2008 PGA Championship (Padraig Harrington) 
• 2012 Michigan Amateur (Drew Preston) 
• 2019 Michigan Amateur (Patrick Sullivan) 
• 2023 Michigan Amateur (August Meekhof) 

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MICHIGAN 

This will be the 34th USGA championship and fifth U.S. Junior Amateur contested in Michigan. Most recently, the Wolverine State hosted the 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur at the Country Club of Detroit, won by Gene Elliott. 

Previous U.S. Junior Amateur Championships in Michigan (4): 

• 1948: University of Michigan Golf Course, Ann Arbor (Dean Lind) 
• 1962: Lochmoor Club, Grosse Pointe Woods (James Wiechers) 
• 1980: Pine Lake Country Club, Orchard Lake (Eric Johnson) 
• 2010: Egypt Valley Country Club, Ada (Jim Liu)  

MOST USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS HOSTED BY VENUES IN MICHIGAN 
(includes 2024 championships) 

• 12 – Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills 
• 3 – Country Club of Detroit, Grosse Pointe Farms 
• 3 – Indianwood Golf & Country Club, Lake Orion 
• 2 – Barton Hills Country Club, Ann Arbor 
• 2 – Birmingham Country Club, Birmingham 
• 2 – Rackham Golf Club, Huntington Woods 

CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY 

This large sterling silver trophy, produced by J.E. Caldwell and Co., of Philadelphia, is a replica of a bowl produced by noted early American silversmith Samuel Williamson, which is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Dean Lind was the first to receive the trophy after his 1948 victory at the University of Michigan Golf Course, in Ann Arbor, Mich. 

The original U.S. Junior Amateur Trophy is on display at the USGA Golf Museum in Far Hills, N.J.