USGA

U.S. Amateur Preview:
Top Players Come to Pebble Beach

U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP FACT SHEET
August 16-22, 1999
Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.

PAR AND YARDAGE - Pebble Beach Golf Links will play at 6,828 yards and par 35-36 - 71. Spyglass Hill Golf Club, which will also be used for the first two days of stroke play qualifying, will play at 6,828 yards and par 36-36- 72

PEBBLE BEACH GOLF LINKS - Jack Neville and his friend Douglas Grant collaborated on the design and construction of Pebble Beach Golf Links without having had prior design or construction experience. Neville was chosen as the lead designer because he was a fine amateur golfer and a real estate salesman for Pacific Improvement Company, the company that owned the land.

He was a five-time California Amateur champion, winning the title in 1912,'13,'19,'22 and '29. He also was named to the 1923 U.S. Walker Cup team. First called Del Monte Golf and Country, the famed golf course was opened in 1918. Neither Neville nor Grant went on to become highly successful golf course architects.

FIRST GOLF EVENT AT PEBBLE BEACH - In 1919, Mike Brady of Massachusetts shot 79-75-154 to win the first golf tournament held at Pebble Beach by 13 strokes. In 1920, the California Amateur was moved to this site, where it has been contested each year since.

TICKETS AVAILABLE - Daily tickets may be purchased at Pebble Beach Golf Links (Will Call at the Blackhawk Tent) during the week of the Championship. Tickets are $15 each through Sunday (Aug. 22) and will be available at the Will Call office, located at the Highway 1 gate to 17-Mile Drive.

To purchase tickets in advance, call toll free (877) 473-2253. A weeklong ticket is $60. A premier pass, including entrance to the Premier Garden hospitality and special parking is $125. Tickets are limited.

DEFENDING CHAMPION - Hank Kuehne, 23, of McKinney, Texas, turned professional following the 1999 U.S. Open and will not defend his title. Kuehne defeated three consecutive holes on the last nine and then hung on for a narrow win over Tom McKnight, 45, of Galax, Va., 2 and 1. The 1998 Championship was played at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS - Last year's runner-up Tom McKnight, 45, of Galax, Va., heads the list of top returning players to the 1999 U.S. Amateur field. Other notables include 1997 champion Matt Kuchar, 21, of Lake Mary, Fla., who has already played in the Masters and U.S. Open this year.

OTHER TOP PLAYERS - Five of last year's quarterfinalists return through exemptions. In addition to Kuchar and McKnight (above), the other returning quarterfinalists are Sean Knapp of Oakmont, Pa., Landry Mahan of Richardson, Texas, and Bryce Molder of Conway, Ark.

WALKER CUP TEAMMATES FROM 1997 WINNING TEAM - Five members of the 1997 U.S. Walker Cup team have remained amateurs and therefore are exempt into the 1999 U.S. Amateur field. They are Jerry Courville Jr. of Milford, Conn., Duke Delcher of Bluffton, S.C., John Harris of Edina, Minn., Buddy Marucci of Berwyn, Pa., and Steve Scott of Coral Springs, Fla.

PAST CHAMPIONS - Three past champions are exempt into the field. In addition to 1997 champion Matt Kuchar, John Harris, 47, of Edina, Minn., and Mitch Voges, 49, of Simi Valley, Calif., are entered. Harris won the 1993 title; Voges the 1991 title. Amateur champions are given a 10-year exemption, but they lose their exemption upon becoming a professional. In all, 21 players were exempted into the Amateur field.

LAST FOUR RUNNERS-UP - Three of the last four U.S. Amateur runners-up are also in the field via exemptions. Buddy Marrucci (1995 runner-up) of Berwyn, Pa., and Steve Scott (1996 runner-up) are exempt for being members of the 1997 U.S. Walker Cup team. Tom McKnight of Galax, Va., earned his exemption as the 1998 runner-up.

USGA CHAMPIONS - Seven USGA champions are qualified for the 1999 U.S. Amateur - five were exempt into the field and two earned a place through sectional qualifying. They are:
Jason Allred, Ashland, Ore. - 1997 U.S. Junior Amateur
Jerry Courville Jr., Milford, Conn. - 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
John Harris, Edina, Minn. - 1993 U.S. Amateur champion
Matt Kuchar, Lake Mary, Fla. - 1997 U.S. Amateur champion
John "Spider" Miller, Bloomington, Ind. - 1997 and 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
James Oh, Lakewood, Calif. - 1998 U.S. Junior Amateur
Mitch Voges, Simi Valley, Calif. - 1991 U.S. Amateur champion

TOTAL ENTRIES - The USGA accepted a record high 7,920 entries for the 1999 U.S. Amateur, 1,254 more than the record high of 6,666 set in 1997, when the Handicap Index was at 3.4. Entries were just 41 shy of that number in 1998 when the Handicap Limit was lowered to 2.4. The 7,920 entries is more than any USGA championship has ever received, topping by 31 the 7,889 entries for the U.S. Open received earlier this championship season.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING - Sectional qualifying was conducted over 36 holes at 94 sites from July 26-August 3. Aside from the 17 exempt players, there were 7,902 players who attempted to qualify for 295 places through sectional qualifying.

NOTES FROM SECTIONAL QUALIFYING - Four golfers from Augusta (Ga.) Country Club qualified for the U.S. Amateur. They are John Engler, Charles Howell, Jeff Knox and Brian Scurlock... D.A. Weibring will caddie for his son, Matt, who qualified for the second consecutive year... Todd Miller, son of NBC announcer and former U.S. Open winner Johnny Miller, qualified... Steve Sheehan, brother of LPGA Hall-of-Famer Patti Sheehan, qualified... David Jacobsen, brother of professional golfer Peter Jacobsen, qualified... brothers Edward Loar and Nick Loar, of Rockwall, Texas, have qualified... Carl Brooking traveled all the way from his New Zealand home to attempt to qualify in California, and made it.

WHO CAN ENTER - The U.S. Amateur Championship is open to amateur golfers who have USGA Handicap Indexes not exceeding 2.4. The Handicap limit was lowered from 3.4 in 1998.

THE WINNER RECEIVES - The champion receives an exemption into the 2000 U.S. Open and an invitation to play in the 2000 Masters Tournament, if he remains an amateur. He also receives a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Amateur field so long as he remains an amateur.

FORMAT - Following two days of stroke play (Monday, Aug. 16, and Tuesday, Aug. 17), the field of 312 golfers will be reduced to the lowest 64 scorers, who will advance to match play. All matches are 18 holes except the final match. The 36-hole championship final match is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 22.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY - The first and second rounds of stroke play are set for Monday and Tuesday (Aug. 16-17). A single round of match play is scheduled on Wednesday (Aug. 18), followed by the second and third rounds on Thursday (Aug. 19), and single rounds again from Friday-Sunday (Aug. 20-22).

TELEVISION COVERAGE - The U.S. Amateur will have 13 hours of live national coverage on ESPN/NBC over the last five days of the Championship. ESPN will air three hours per day from Wednesday through Friday, and NBC will carry two hours daily on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

ESPN - Wed.-Fri. (Aug. 16-18), 3-6 p.m. (EDT) NBC - Saturday (Aug. 21), 4-6 p.m. (EDT); Sunday (Aug. 22), 4:30-6:30 p.m. (EDT)

COURSE SET UPS - Holes one through nine at Pebble Beach Golf Links: No. 1, 381-yard, par 4; No. 2, 484-yard, par 4; No. 3, 390-yard, par 4; No. 4, 331-yard, par 4; No. 5, 188-yard, par 3; No. 6, 513-yard, par 5; No. 7, 106-yard, par 3; No. 8, 418-yard, par 4; No. 9, 466-yard, par 4. Holes 10 through 18: No. 10, 446-yard, par 4; No. 11, 380-yard, par 4; No. 12, 202-yard, par 3; No. 13, 399-yard, par 4; No. 14, 573-yard, par 5; No. 15, 397-yard, par 4; No. 16, 403-yard, par 4; No. 17, 208-yard, par 3; No. 18, 543-yard, par 5.

Holes one through nine at Spyglass Hill Golf Club: No. 1, 600-yard, par 5; No. 2, 351-yard, par 4; No. 3, 152-yard, par 3; No. 4, 370-yard, par 4; No. 5, 186-yard, par 3; No. 6, 409-yard, par 4; No. 7, 529-yard, par 5; 396-yard, par 4; No. 9, 430-yard, par 4. Holes 10 through 18: No. 10, 408-yard, par 4; No. 11, 528-yard, par 5; No. 12, 178-yard, par 3; No. 13, 426-yard, par 4; No. 14, 561-yard, par 5; No. 15, 121-yard, par 3; No. 16, 454-yard, par 4; No. 17, 322-yard, par 4; No. 18, 407-yard, par 4.

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT PEBBLE BEACH - Pebble Beach is no stranger to high-caliber competition. This will be the ninth national championship to be conducted at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The first USGA championship at Pebble Beach was the 1929 U.S. Amateur. The Amateur came back again in 1947 and 1961. The U.S. Open was conducted here in 1972, 1982 and 1992. And the U.S. Women's Amateur was held at Pebble Beach in 1940 and 1948.

OTHER MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS AT PEBBLE BEACH - * AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -- Since 1947 and with six title changes, this tournament is held in late January each year. Mark O'Meara is a five-time winner.

* California Amateur has been held here since 1920

FUTURE U.S. AMATEUR SITES - The U.S. Amateur Championship will be played at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., Aug. 21-27, 2000; at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 20-26, 2001; at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Aug. 19-25, 2001; and at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa., Aug. 18-24, 2002.

BEGINNING NEXT YEAR - The U.S. Amateur will become the fifth USGA championship to adopt the use of golf shoes with alternative spikes (non-metal) for all contestants.