The US Closed, and 4 USGA Champ's canceled

[Matt_Cohn]

No qualifying for the US "Open" this year; it will be an all-exempt field. All USGA Championships besides men's and women's Opens and Amateurs are canceled.


This year's Mid-Am was scheduled for Kinloch.

[Tommy Williamsen]

No qualifying for the US "Open" this year; it will be an all-exempt field. All USGA Championships besides men's and women's Opens and Amateurs are canceled.


This year's Mid-Am was scheduled for Kinloch.

It is understandable but Kinloch was stoked to have the Mid-Am. They just finished a big renovation.


https://www.morningread.com/travel/feature/2019-08-14/giles-kinloch-gem-receives-touch-up

[Matt_Cohn]

And no qualifying for US Amateur either. All exempt field. Just deleted a looooot of things off my tournament calendar.

[JESII]

Interesting...I wonder how they'll handle the US 4 Ball with it's qualifying rounds typically starting in the fall of the year before.

[Tom_Doak]

It is understandable but Kinloch was stoked to have the Mid-Am. They just finished a big renovation.

Is it just me, or does it seem to be the case that every tournament site has to have "just finished a big renovation" ?


Also, how do you have an all exempt field for the Amateur?  What is the approved list?

[JESII]

They'll just expand the exemption list which already has 70 or so people...


Adding State Amateur champions and winners of other Amateur tournaments across the country would be a good way to do it. Going straight off the World Amateur list would be the easy way.

[SL_Solow]

Note many State Ams have been/will be cancelled.  Problems with their qualifiers.

[Pete_Pittock]

The news release is at https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2020/05/usga-finalizes-2020-championship-schedule.html#returnable


Jim Sullivan,
Your question is covered in the last paragraph. Start of entries delayed until July 6.

[Pete_Pittock]

Note many State Ams have been/will be cancelled.  Problems with their qualifiers.

     Oregon is going ahead with their tournament schedule, only our mid-Am has been cancelled.  Major changes are the player is to show up at the club no more than 35 minutes before start time, registation has moved to their first tee 10 minutes prior to tee off.


     As to another suggestion, I don't see exempting state amateur champions, those 50 would comprise about 1/3 the field. Bad logic on my part. Adding all state am champions would be about 1/6 of the field of the US Amateur.

[Tom_Doak]

Note many State Ams have been/will be cancelled.  Problems with their qualifiers.

     Oregon is going ahead with their tournament schedule, only our mid-Am has been cancelled.  Major changes are the player is to show up at the club no more than 35 minutes before start time, registation has moved to their first tee 10 minutes prior to tee off.


     As to another suggestion, I don't see exempting state amateur champions, those 50 would comprise about 1/3 the field.

Personally, I think it would be great if the U.S. Amateur included the champion from every state!


I had not thought about rules restricting practice as a part of the coronavirus guidelines.  If they keep heading in this direction -- have to carry your own bag, fewer clubs, no practice -- I might be able to compete!   

[Laz Versalles]

There were more than 64 exempt players last year (I was not among them.)


Fun fact: 4 of the 8 quarterfinalists- including the eventual champion- were not exempt in 2019.

[Jon Wiggett]

No qualifying for the US "Open" this year; it will be an all-exempt field.

Can it still be called an 'Open' then? Surely it needs to be renamed 'Championship' or National Championship'

[JESII]

I'm sure that's high on their list at the moment...

[Jon Wiggett]

I'm sure that's high on their list at the moment...

You think.....

[Tim Gavrich]

Personally, I think it would be great if the U.S. Amateur included the champion from every state!

I've always thought this should be the case, even before the pandemic. Every Allied Golf Association's reigning amateur champ (so that includes the Met Am, GAP Am, etc.) gets into the U.S. Am. It probably wouldn't end up reducing the field size by too much because some of those winners may have qualified anyway, and some won't end up able to make the trip to the U.S. Am. But it would strengthen the eventual field for sure. Making it through 36 holes plus a match play bracket (or 72 holes, which is the Florida Am format) seems like a better "qualifier" than just 36 holes, IMO.

[Peter Flory]

Personally, I think it would be great if the U.S. Amateur included the champion from every state!

I never thought about that, but it would be an excellent idea.  It would only take up 50 spots and probably 30+ of those players would have been except or qualified naturally.  But it would be a great way to elevate the Wyoming State Am for example and would be interesting to see how the State winners fare against each other with full representation.

[Michael Felton]

Personally, I think it would be great if the U.S. Amateur included the champion from every state!

I've always thought this should be the case, even before the pandemic. Every Allied Golf Association's reigning amateur champ (so that includes the Met Am, GAP Am, etc.) gets into the U.S. Am. It probably wouldn't end up reducing the field size by too much because some of those winners may have qualified anyway, and some won't end up able to make the trip to the U.S. Am. But it would strengthen the eventual field for sure. Making it through 36 holes plus a match play bracket (or 72 holes, which is the Florida Am format) seems like a better "qualifier" than just 36 holes, IMO.

What it would certainly strengthen is the state am events. The field is enormous for the US Am. There are already qualifiers in virtually every state anyway, so why not reduce those by 1 (if you even need to) and add the state Am champion. I can't see it having a deleterious effect on the field and it would be quite fun.

[Matt_Cohn]

Is it just me, or does it seem to be the case that every tournament site has to have "just finished a big renovation" ?

I think other than the men's majors, it's more about showing off what they've already done as opposed to spending big money trying to attract a tournament.


BTW my guess would be:


US Am match play last year (64)
Round of 8 at last year's Mid Am and Junior (8 each)
Most recent State Am champs (50)
The other usual exemptions
Lots and lots of WAGR-based spots.


Not sure if they will still plan for a full field of 312. Maybe they will cut it down.

[Adam Clayman]

Great timing USGA. The same day the CDC re-evaluates the risk of exposure from touching inanimate objects, these protectors of the game put another nail in the coffin of thoughtful justifications and policies.


True advocates for the Sport would have been extolling the virtues of Golf, as a healthy, and safe activity, for the past 70 days.

[Keith Phillips]

Great timing USGA. The same day the CDC re-evaluates the risk of exposure from touching inanimate objects, these protectors of the game put another nail in the coffin of thoughtful justifications and policies.


True advocates for the Sport would have been extolling the virtues of Golf, as a healthy, and safe activity, for the past 70 days.

THIS!

[Mark Smolens]

Looks like the USGA is getting its information from the same morons who've advised JB Pritzker that only twosomes should be allowed on the course in Illinois. . .

[Matt_Cohn]

Great timing USGA. The same day the CDC re-evaluates the risk of exposure from touching inanimate objects, these protectors of the game put another nail in the coffin of thoughtful justifications and policies.


True advocates for the Sport would have been extolling the virtues of Golf, as a healthy, and safe activity, for the past 70 days.

"Given continued health and safety concerns, as well as the potential burden on Allied Golf Associations and the courses scheduled to host qualifying, conducting hundreds of qualifiers across the country for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open was not seen as a viable option."

I'm wondering if you read the article. Nothing is being canceled because of the inability to touch flagsticks. My golf association, the NCGA, just released guidelines for competitions starting next month with flagsticks in and no bunker rakes. It's about the mostly older volunteers who run the qualifiers, the travel necessary for participants and officials, and the varying safety situations around the country (what if 10 states couldn't have qualifiers?). Those sound like thoughtful justifications for me. I trust they wouldn't have canceled qualifiers now if they could just as easily have made the decision later.

[Pete_Pittock]

Another reason is USGA House is smack dab in the middle of the biggest cluster of COVID-19.  I think that some of the tournaments were in states requiring 14 day quarantines for people travelling from the NY metro area.

[Rob Marshall]

Great timing USGA. The same day the CDC re-evaluates the risk of exposure from touching inanimate objects, these protectors of the game put another nail in the coffin of thoughtful justifications and policies.


True advocates for the Sport would have been extolling the virtues of Golf, as a healthy, and safe activity, for the past 70 days.

"Given continued health and safety concerns, as well as the potential burden on Allied Golf Associations and the courses scheduled to host qualifying, conducting hundreds of qualifiers across the country for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open was not seen as a viable option."

I'm wondering if you read the article. Nothing is being canceled because of the inability to touch flagsticks. My golf association, the NCGA, just released guidelines for competitions starting next month with flagsticks in and no bunker rakes. It's about the mostly older volunteers who run the qualifiers, the travel necessary for participants and officials, and the varying safety situations around the country (what if 10 states couldn't have qualifiers?). Those sound like thoughtful justifications for me. I trust they wouldn't have canceled qualifiers now if they could just as easily have made the decision later.

Matt, What are they doing with bunkers? Play it as it lies?

[Matt_Cohn]

Great timing USGA. The same day the CDC re-evaluates the risk of exposure from touching inanimate objects, these protectors of the game put another nail in the coffin of thoughtful justifications and policies.


True advocates for the Sport would have been extolling the virtues of Golf, as a healthy, and safe activity, for the past 70 days.

"Given continued health and safety concerns, as well as the potential burden on Allied Golf Associations and the courses scheduled to host qualifying, conducting hundreds of qualifiers across the country for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open was not seen as a viable option."

I'm wondering if you read the article. Nothing is being canceled because of the inability to touch flagsticks. My golf association, the NCGA, just released guidelines for competitions starting next month with flagsticks in and no bunker rakes. It's about the mostly older volunteers who run the qualifiers, the travel necessary for participants and officials, and the varying safety situations around the country (what if 10 states couldn't have qualifiers?). Those sound like thoughtful justifications for me. I trust they wouldn't have canceled qualifiers now if they could just as easily have made the decision later.

Matt, What are they doing with bunkers? Play it as it lies?

Unless they can be raked by volunteers or personal rakes (unlikely), you'll be able to place within one club length, still in the same bunker, no closer to hole.