USGA

U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR
CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

July 23, 1999U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
July 27-31, 1999
Country Club of York, York, Pa.

PAR AND YARDAGE - The Country Club of York will play at 6,445 yards and par 35-35-70.

THE COURSE - This is the first USGA championship to be hosted by the Country Club of York. The course has been the site of several Pennsylvania open and amateur championships. The course was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1927. Today, the original Ross design remains, although several bunkers have been removed and the 8th green was replaced.

FREE ADMISSION - Spectators are invited to attend the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship free of charge. Spectators are invited to walk the fairways behind the players, but no cameras are allowed during the days of competition.

THE SCHEDULE -
* Sunday, July 25 - Practice Rounds
* Monday, July 26 - Practice Rounds
* Tuesday, July 27 - First round, stroke play (18 holes)
* Wednesday, July 28 - Second round, stroke play (18 holes)
* Thursday, July 29 - First round, match play. Second round, match play
* Friday, July 30 - Third round, match play. Quarterfinals, match play
* Saturday, July 31 - Semifinals, match play. Final, match play

DEFENDING CHAMPION - James Oh, 17, of Lakewood, Calif., will try to defend the title he won last summer at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill. Oh, who qualified for the U.S. Amateur at age 14 (in 1996), sank a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to defeat Aaron Baddeley for the title, 1 up. Baddeley is ineligible in 1999 because of having exceeded the age limit.

ELIGIBILITY - The U. S. Junior Amateur Championship is open to amateur golfers who will not have reached their 18th birthday on or before July 31, and who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 8.4.

WWW.USGA.ORG - Log on to the USGA Internet site at www.usga.org for the latest and most complete U.S. Junior Amateur Championship information.

OTHER TOP RETURNING PLAYERS - Three of the four semifinalists from 1998 return. All were exempt from having to qualify by virtue of their finish a year ago. They are defending champion James Oh of Lakewood, Calif., Kenneth Lewis of South Dennis, Mass., and Travis Whisman of Reno, Nev.

TOP QUALIFIERS - Jake Ellison of Santa Clara, Utah, qualified for a second time after reaching the quarterfinal round of match play a year ago. Brent Wanner of Brewster, Mass., qualified again after reaching the third round of match play in 1998.

TOP RANKED - Hunter Mahan of McKinney, Texas, who is the top-ranked junior player in the United States, successfully qualified for this Championship. Earlier this month, Mahan finished second by a single stroke to James Oh of Lakewood, Calif., at the Rolex Tournament of Champions at the Ohio State Golf Course. His 72-hole 284 total included a second round of 8-under-par 64, the lowest score by four in the Tournament.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD - The 156 players age 17-and-under at the Championship proper have survived 36-hole sectional qualifying at 61 sites around the nation. There were three players who were exempt from having to qualify (see above).

REPEAT WINNERS - Tiger Woods is the only player to have won the U.S. Junior Amateur championship more than once, winning in 1991, 1992, and 1993.

THE CHAMPION RECEIVES -
* A gold medal and custody of the Junior Amateur Championship Trophy for the ensuing year
* An exemption from local qualifying at the 2000 U.S. Open Championship, if still an amateur
* An exemption from sectional qualifying at the 2000 U.S. Amateur Championship, if otherwise eligible
* An exemption from sectional qualifying at the 2000 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, if otherwise eligible

ENTRIES - A record 4,508 entries were accepted for this Championship, beating by 420 the previous record of 4,088 set in 1998. A record number of entries has been accepted for this championship every year since 1993.

NOTABLES - Former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower, who lived for a time in nearby Gettysburg, Pa., was an honorary member of the club. Professionals Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, Arnold Palmer, and Dutch Harrison also played the course.

COURSE SET-UP - For the 1999 U.S. Junior Amateur, the course at the Country Club of York will be set up to the following USGA championship standards: Fairways ½"
Greens Height necessary to obtain a measurement of 10' - 10'6" on the USGA Stimpmeter
Intermediate rough 1 ½"
Primary rough 4"
Collars around greens 30" in width and 3/8" in height
Teeing grounds 3/8" in height

CHAMPIONSHIP YARDAGE AND PAR - 6,445 yards and par 35-35-70 Holes one through nine: No. 1, 408-yard par 4; No. 2, 508-yard par 5; No. 3, 230-yard par 3; No. 4, 370-yard, par 4; No. 5, 390-yard, par 4; No. 6, 153-yard par 3; No. 7, 361-yard, par 4; No. 8, 408-yard par 4; No. 9, 448-yard par 4. Holes 10-through 18: No. 10, 330-yard par 4, No. 11, 423-yard par 4; No. 12, 196-yard par 3; No. 13, 303-yard par 4; No. 14, 516-yard par 5; No. 15, 442-yard par 4; No. 16, 402-yard par 4; No. 17, 173-yard, par 3; No. 18, 384-yard par 4.

PROMINENT PLAYERS IN U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR HISTORY - Gay Brewer - Champion in 1949
David Duval - Champion in 1989
Al Geiberger - Runner-up in 1954
Gary Koch - Champion in 1970
Johnny Miller - Champion in 1964
Andy North - Runner-up in 1967
Jay Sigel - Runner-up in 1961
Scott Simpson - Runner-up in 1972
Ken Venturi - Runner-up in 1948
Willie Wood - Champion in 1977
Tiger Woods - Champion in 1991, 1992, and 1993

HISTORY - The USGA inaugurated the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1948 to determine the best junior golfer in the United States and also to help junior golfers learn how to realize the most from the game, win or lose. The Junior Amateur was hardly the first junior competition to attract a national field. The Western Junior had been established in 1914. In 1946, two more competitions appeared, each with a claim on the national title. One was sponsored by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, the other by the Hearst Newspapers.

The first Junior Amateur was played at the University of Michigan Golf Course and drew 495 entries. The starting field of 128 players was determined by sectional qualifying rounds at 41 sites. Dean Lind of Rockford, Ill., was the first champion. Lind defeated Ken Venturi, of San Francisco, a future U.S. Open champion, in the final. By 1963, entries had surged to 2,230, a record for the 14th consecutive year. At the time, there was no handicap limitation for entrants. That changed in 1964 when a handicap limit of 10 strokes was introduced. In 1998, the championship attracted a record 4,088 entries. In 1978, the USGA conducted the Junior Amateur over the South Course of the Wilmington (Del.) Country Club, while the Girls' Junior was being staged on the North Course.

This was the first time the USGA conducted two national championships simultaneously at the same golf club. The Junior Amateur is among the most difficult of all USGA championships to win, because of two factors: the age limit and the tremendous number of fine young players who enter each year. Only one player, Tiger Woods, of Cypress, Calif., has won the Junior Amateur more than once, winning in 1991, 1992, and 1993. In fact, only five players have reached the finals more than once.

Woods, who was 15 years, six months, and 28 days old when he won in 1991, remains the youngest champion.

The Junior Amateur remains today an educational opportunity as well as a competitive outlet. Pre-championship players' dinners have attracted guest speakers such as Francis Ouimet, Arnold Palmer, and Johnny Miller, all willing to share their knowledge and experience with young players. Jim Furyk will be the guest speaker this year.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS - The final match of the Junior Amateur has not ended before the 18th hole since 1987, a streak of 11 years. Since the first Junior Amateur in 1948, the final has gone extra holes on six occasions. Jack Renner (1973), Donald Hurter (1978), Charles Rymer (1985), Tiger Woods (1991 and 1993), and Shane McMenamy (1996) all went extra holes before winning the championship.

The Junior Amateur has been decided on the 18th hole on 15 occasions. Don Blispinghoff (1952), Larry Lee (1959), Charles McDowell (1961), Gary Sanders (1966), Jack Larkin (1979), Tim Straub (1983), Brett Quigley (1987), Jason Widener (1988), David Duval (1989), Mathew Todd (1990), Tiger Woods (1992), Terry Noe (1994), D. Scott Hailes (1995), Jason Allred (1997), and James Oh (1998) all won on the 18th hole.

NOTES - Tiger Woods, at 15 years, six months, and 28 days, became the youngest winner in 1991. Woods is the only player to have won more than once. He is also the only three-time winner (1991, 1992, 1993) and the only three-time finalist... The Junior Amateur is the only USGA championship for which Jack Nicklaus has been eligible that he did not win at least once. Nicklaus qualified five times but his best finish came in 1956 when he was a semifinalist.

The youngest contestant was Verner Stanley, who was 12 years old when he played in 1952... The lowest 18-hole qualifying score is 66, a record which is held by four players - Kurt Beck (1980), Brad Lehmann (1988), Rob McMillan (1993) and Aaron Baddeley (1998)... The lowest 36-hole qualifying score was 135 by Aaron Baddeley, in 1998.