Six Alabamians are in the 312-player US Amateur Field
US Junior Am winner Nick Dunlap hopes his hot streak continues
Here’s your primer to the US Amateur at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh, which tees off on Monday morning.
Who from Alabama is competing in the U.S. Amateur? There are six competitors from Alabama. The best known is 17-year-old Nick Dunlap of Huntsville who on July 24 won the last of his six matches to win the U.S. Junior Amateur. Others are Chris Devlin, 46, of Birmingham; Gordon Sargent, 18, of Birmingham, who was a quarterfinalist in the Junior Am won by Dunlap; Sam Murphy of Decatur; Nick Robillard of Birmingham; and Jack Goldasich of Birmingham.
Who can enter? The USGA accepted 7,811 entries for the U.S. Amateur in 2021. The championship is open to amateur golfers with a Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4. The 2020 championship featured a fully exempt field due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What does the winner get? As an amateur event, the U.S. Amateur has no prize money, but there is a gold medal. However, the winner gains exemptions into other top championships, including an exemption from local and final qualifying for the next U.S. Open (2022); an exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Amateurs; an exemption from qualifying for the next Open Championship, conducted by The R&A; and a likely invitation to the next Masters Tournament (2022)
What’s the format? The 312 competitors will play two rounds of stroke play on Monday and Tuesday. The top 64 finishers are then seeded into brackets for match play, with the first round comprising 64 players to be played on Wednesday. Each round of match play reduces the field by half. On Thursday, two sets of matches will further reduce the field, and Friday’s matches will reduce the field to four. On Saturday, the semi-finals will reduce the field to two. On Sunday, a single 36-hole final match will be played for the championship.
When is the U.S. Amateur on TV? The event will be broadcast on NBC, Golf Channel and NBC’s Peacock streaming network, starting on Wednesday afternoon with coverage of the round of 64.
Where is it being played? Oakmont Country Club and the nearby Longvue Club outside of Pittsburgh are the co-hosts. The field will be split between the two courses on the first two days of stroke play, but all match play will be played at Oakmont. This is the 16th time a USGA championship has been played at Oakmont. Only Merion, Baltusrol and the Country Club in Brookline, Mass., have hosted more.
What’s the story behind Oakmont? Sitting above the Allegheny River valley, Oakmont was opened in 1903. It was designed by Henry Fownes. Oakmont was the nation’s first golf course to be recognized as a national historic landmark.
Compiled by Alabama Golf News Online Editor Dan Vukelich
Featured image: Oakmont Country Club by Fred Vuich/USGA
