9th July 2008
Country Club will host U.S. Amateur
We have learned that the contract to host the event is in the hands of The Country Club, making it extremely likely the 100th anniversary of Francis Ouimet’s stunning win in the 1913 U.S. Open will be properly commemorated at The Country Club with the national amateur championship.
It was at The Country Club in 1913 that Ouimet, the 20-year-old amateur who lived across from the course and also caddied there, shocked the world by defeating legendary British professionals Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a playoff to win the Open.
Considering that The Country Club celebrated the 50th and 75th anniversaries of Ouimet’s win by hosting the 1963 and 1988 U.S. Opens, it had been assumed the 2013 national championship would be played there. However, for a variety of reasons, the USGA awarded the 2013 Open to Merion Golf Club, which is just outside Philadelphia.
But perhaps hosting the U.S. Amateur in 2013 is an even more appropriate way to honor Ouimet, who remained an amateur golfer of great distinction his entire life, winning the 1914 and 1931 U.S. Amateurs.
The 2013 U.S. Amateur would be the seventh hosted by The Country Club. The most recent at the track was the 1982 Amateur, which was won by Jay Sigel
By Joe Gordon Boston Herald
