More United States Golf Association tournaments have been held at Cherry Hills Country Club than any other site in Colorado, and soon the club’s total will increase to nine.
The USGA formally announced Saturday what has been circulating in golf circles for the last month — that the 2012 U.S. Amateur will be played at Cherry Hills. The dates are set for Aug. 20-26, with Colorado Golf Club in Parker helping to host the stroke-play portion of the tournament Aug. 20-21.
“We have a wonderful relationship with the USGA,” Cherry Hills head professional John Ogden said last month. “That’s part of what Cherry Hills is about.”
The club just south of Denver has hosted three U.S. Opens, a U.S. Women’s Open and a U.S. Senior Open. And on the strictly amateur side, the 1990 U.S. Amateur took place there — with Phil Mickelson winning the only USGA title of his career — as did a U.S. Mid-Amateur and a U.S. Senior Amateur. When the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open was contested at Cherry Hills, the announced attendance for the week was an impressive 131,000.
The historic course, which has hosted two PGA Championships in addition to the three U.S. Opens, is undergoing a $7 million renovation, with the work expected to be completed in the spring. The project will restore many of the original design features that course architect William Flynn put in place when the club opened in 1922, in addition to lengthening the layout to more than 7,500 yards.
U.S. Amateur sites through 2011 were previously set, with Southern Hills in Tulsa hosting this year, Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., planned for 2010, and Erin Hills in Erin, Wis., on the schedule for 2011.
The U.S. Amateur has been played only three times in Colorado. In addition to 1990 at Cherry Hills, the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs hosted the event in 1959 and “˜67. Jack Nicklaus won the first of his two U.S. Amateurs in “˜59, while Robert Dickson captured the title in “˜67.
After completing its course work this year, Cherry Hills will host a couple of notable national tournaments in 2009: the Palmer Cup June 3-5 and the Trans-Mississippi Four-Ball Sept. 21-24. The Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-like competition between the best college players from the U.S. and Europe, and the Trans-Miss draws high-level amateurs from Trans-Mississippi Golf Association member clubs across the country.
The U.S. Amateur will be another feather in the cap of Colorado as far as hosting major golf events in the new century. Besides the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open being held at Cherry Hills, the Broadmoor hosted 2008 U.S. Senior Open and will do likewise for the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open. Last year’s U.S. Amateur Publinks took place at Aurora’s Murphy Creek Golf Course, and Colorado Golf Club recently landed the 2010 Senior PGA Championship.
