A shiny trophy from the U.S. Open golf tournament displayed at a 2008 golf show.
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is a big golf tournament held every year in the United States. It is one of the four most important men's golf tournaments in the world, called the men's major golf championships. The tournament happens in the middle of June and is organized by the United States Golf Association.
Players compete in four rounds of golf, totaling 72 holes. The player who finishes with the fewest strokes, or lowest score, wins the tournament. The U.S. Open takes place at different courses each year, and the course is made very challenging so that players need to be very accurate with their shots.
As of 2024, the U.S. Open offers a prize money of $21.5 million, which is the largest prize in all of the major golf championships. Both top American golfers from the PGA Tour and international players from the European Tour compete in this exciting event.
History
The first U.S. Open was played on October 4, 1895, at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a 36-hole competition held in one day, with ten professionals and one amateur competing. The winner was Horace Rawlins, a 21-year-old Englishman who had just arrived in the U.S. to work at the club. He won $150 and a gold medal, and his club received a special trophy.
At first, British players often won the tournament, but in 1911, John J. McDermott became the first American to win. After that, American golfers began winning more often, and the U.S. Open became one of the four biggest golf tournaments, called the majors.
U.S. Open Trophy at the 2008 PGA Golf Show.
Since 1911, most winners have been from the United States. Since 1950, only a few players from other countries have won, with South Africa having the most wins. Between 2004 and 2007, winners were from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina. In 2010, Graeme McDowell from Northern Ireland became the first European to win since 1970.
U.S. Open courses are usually long and challenging, with high rough, tricky greens, and narrow fairways. Players often need very accurate shots to succeed. Some courses are changed to make them harder for the tournament, with designers like Rees Jones and his father Robert Trent Jones helping with these changes. The location of the tournament also depends on space for spectators and local facilities.
Qualification
The U.S. Open is open to professional golfers and amateurs with a low handicap score. Players can join the tournament either by having special exemptions or by doing well in qualifying rounds. About half of the players get in because they have these exemptions.
Exemptions include past U.S. Open winners, top amateur golfers, and winners of other big tournaments like the Masters and the Open Championship. Players can also get in by being high up in the world golf rankings or by winning tours like the PGA Tour. If players are not exempt, they need to go through local and sectional qualifying rounds to earn their spot. The youngest player to ever qualify was 14-year-old Andy Zhang from China in 2012. The U.S. Open sometimes gives special exemptions to famous golfers who want to play even if they don’t normally qualify.
Prizes
The prize money for the 2017 U.S. Open was $12 million, and the winner received $2.16 million. Winning the U.S. Open gives golfers many benefits. Champions are invited to play in the other three major tournaments — the Masters, The Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship — for the next five years. They also get to play in The Players Championship for five years and do not need to qualify for the U.S. Open for 10 years.
Winners also get to play in future tournaments without having to qualify. The top players in the U.S. Open are invited to play in the next year's tournament and some are invited to the Masters the following year.
Playoff format
Before 2018, if players were tied, they played an extra 18 holes the next day. If they were still tied, they would then play sudden-death starting on the 91st hole. This happened three times, most recently in 2008 when Tiger Woods won against Rocco Mediate.
Since 2018, the playoff format changed to a two-hole system after feedback from fans, players, and media. If the score is still tied after this, sudden death continues.
The U.S. Open has been played at 52 different golf courses. These courses are in many parts of the United States: 22 in the Northeast, 18 in the Midwest, 6 in the South, and 6 in the West.
In 2015, the tournament was held in Washington for the first time, making it the 18th state to host. In 2017, Wisconsin became the 19th state to host the U.S. Open.
Legend
State totals – preceding courses are in that state
Division totals – Divisions as defined by U.S. Census Bureau
Region totals – each is composed of 2 or 3 divisions
Total U.S. Opens
Col. 4 shows larger region which contains entity in col. 1
The U.S. Open has many interesting records. The oldest champion was Hale Irwin, who won in 1990 at 45 years old. The youngest champion was John McDermott, who won in 1911 at just 19 years old.
Sam Snead was the oldest player to make the cut, doing so in 1973 when he was 61 years old. Some players have won the U.S. Open multiple times. Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus each have four victories. The largest margin of victory was 15 strokes, set by Tiger Woods in 2000.
Other records include the lowest scores over different rounds. Martin Kaymer and Rickie Fowler both had a low score of 130 after two rounds. Rory McIlroy holds records for the lowest three-round and four-round scores, with 199 and 268 respectively. The lowest score for a single round is 62, achieved by Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele in 2023.
Since 2020, NBC Sports has shown the U.S. Open on NBC, USA Network, and Peacock. They took over after Fox Sports had the rights from 2015 to 2026. In 2020 and 2021, early rounds were on Golf Channel, but starting in 2022, they moved to USA Network. In August 2025, NBCUniversal renewed its rights for the U.S. Open from 2027 to 2032.
Before NBC, ABC showed the tournament from 1966 to 1994, and NBC took over in 1995 until 2014. In Australia, Fox Sports Australia was the exclusive broadcaster from 2015 to 2018.
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