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HISTORY The first U.S. Open Men's Championship was played on October 4 , 1895 on a nine-hole course in Newport, Rhode Island . It was a thirty six hole competition and was played in a single day. Ten professionals and one amateur entered. The winner was a 21-year-old Englishman called Horace Rawlins who had arrived in the U.S. in January that year to take up a position at the host club. He received $150 dollars out of a cash prize fund of $325 plus a $50 dollar gold medal and for his club, the Open Championship Cup, which was presented by the USGA. In the beginning, the tournament was dominated by experienced British players until 1911 when John J. McDermott became the first native-born American winner. Very quickly American golfers began to win and the tournament evolved to become one of the four Majors . QUALIFICATION AND PRIZES The U.S. Open is open to any professional, or to any amateur with an up-to-date USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 1.4. The field is 156 players. Players may obtain a place by being fully exempt or by competing successfully in Qualifying. Around half of the field is made up of players who are fully exempt from qualifying. There are seventeen full exemption categories, including winners of the U.S. Open for the last ten years and the other three majors for the last five years, the top 30 from the previous year's PGA Tour money list, the top 15 from the previous year's European Tour money list, and the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings as of two weeks before the tournament. {Link without Title} . Would be competitors who are not fully exempt must enter the Qualifying process, which has two stages. Firstly there is Local Qualifying, which is played over 18 holes at over 100 courses around the United States. Many leading players are exempt from this first stage {Link without Title} , and they join the successful local qualifiers at the Sectional Qualifying stage, which is played over 36 holes at several sites in the U.S. and one each in Europe and Japan. The purse at the 2005 U.S. Open was $6,500,000, and the winner's share was $1,170,000. In line with the other majors, winning the U.S. Open gives a golfer several privileges which make his career much more secure, if he is not already one of the elite of the sport. U.S. Open champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors ( The Masters , British Open and the PGA Championship ) for the next five years, and are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open itself for ten years. They also receive membership on the PGA TOUR for the following five seasons and invitations to THE PLAYERS Championship for five years. The top fifteen finishers at the U.S. Open are fully exempt from qualifying for the following year's Open, and the top eight are automatically invited to the following season's Masters. WINNERS
Am = Amateur ^ Many early U.S. Opens were won by English and Scottish golfers who learned the game in their own country and moved to America as adults to take up positions as club professionals. Their original countries are shown unless they are known to have become U.S. citizens before their victories, as is the case with English born and raised Jim Barnes and Scottish born and raised Tommy Armour. Harry Vardon and Ted Ray made only short term visits to the U.S. to play tournament golf. Multiple winners The following golfers have won the U.S. Open more than once through 2005. 4 wins:
3 wins:
2 wins:
RECORDS ''Oldest champion'': Hale Irwin in 1990 at 45 years, 0 months and 15 days. ''Youngest champion'': John McDermott in 1911 at 19 years, 10 months and 14 days. ''Oldest player to make the cut'': Sam Snead in 1973 at 61 years old. He tied for 29th place. ''Most consecutive victories'': 3 by Willie Anderson 1903-1905. ''Most consecutive opens started'': 44 by Jack Nicklaus from 1957 to 2000. ''Largest margin of victory'': 15 strokes by Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2000. ''Lowest score for 72 holes'':
''Most strokes under par for 72 holes'': 12 under (272) by Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2000. ''Most frequent venues'':
There is an extensive records section on the official site here FUTURE SITES
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