The Par 5 17th hole at Cherry Hills Country Club. Photos courtesy of Cherry Hills.
The nation’s top amateur golfers are packing their bags for Denver.
Cherry Hills Country Club is hosting the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship Aug.14 to 20.
Lance Sabella, the club’s chief operating officer, said the tournament had over 8,200 entries to fill only 312 spots. That broke a record set in 1999 for entries at Pebble Beach.
Lance Sabella, COO at Cherry Hills.
“I’m excited to present the club and a great hospitality experience to not only our members and sponsors but the public,” he said. “We’re really excited to be able to introduce the club to them in a way that they get a feel for what the golf course is about and how the people here just love golf. To be a part of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf tournament in the world is very rewarding.”
The club expects 3,500 to 6,000 attendees. Fans and spectators will be allowed to follow players along the fairways, and the club will have concessions and merchandise available for purchase.
The U.S. Amateur Championship began in 1895 and has been won by several notable golfers, including Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus.
This will be the third time the club has hosted the Amateur Championship after previously hosting in 1990 and 2012. This is also the 14th time it has hosted a national golf tournament.
Sabella said the course’s layout is unchanged for the nation’s best non-professional golfers. The last change to the course came last year when the club modified Little Dry Creek to reduce flooding potential and help with drainage. That made each hole where the creek comes into play, including the 14th through 15th, more challenging.
“They really feel that the course stands on its own as it is,” he said. “Certainly, there’ll be some agronomic changes. The rough will be grown higher than it normally would and it would be tougher than its normal day-to-day member play. But we really think the classic championship layout that we have here is a defense against a lot of these great players.”
The private club is co-hosting the championship with Colorado Golf Club in Parker. The USGA chose the Colorado Golf Club for the stroke play portion of the tournament.
The first rounds of stroke play will take place on Aug. 14 and 15, with one round at Colorado Golf Club and one at Cherry Hills.
After the stroke play, the number of players will dwindle to 64 and they will play six rounds of match play at Cherry Hills on Aug.16 until the 36-hole championship match on Aug. 20.
Sabella said that because of the number of players in the championship, the tournament had to split between Cherry Hills and Colorado Golf Club.
The championship winner will receive a gold medal, exemptions from qualifying for the next 10 U.S Amateur Championships and likely an invitation to the 2023 Masters Tournament.
Sabella said the club will donate all proceeds from the tournament that exceed its costs to several golf-centered charities across the state: the Palmer Scholarship, the Western Golf Association and The First Tee.
Fans must purchase $25 tickets for one-day admission. The club will be selling a deal of five tickets for $100.
The Par 5 17th hole at Cherry Hills Country Club. Photos courtesy of Cherry Hills.
The nation’s top amateur golfers are packing their bags for Denver.
Cherry Hills Country Club is hosting the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship Aug.14 to 20.
Lance Sabella, the club’s chief operating officer, said the tournament had over 8,200 entries to fill only 312 spots. That broke a record set in 1999 for entries at Pebble Beach.
Lance Sabella, COO at Cherry Hills.
“I’m excited to present the club and a great hospitality experience to not only our members and sponsors but the public,” he said. “We’re really excited to be able to introduce the club to them in a way that they get a feel for what the golf course is about and how the people here just love golf. To be a part of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf tournament in the world is very rewarding.”
The club expects 3,500 to 6,000 attendees. Fans and spectators will be allowed to follow players along the fairways, and the club will have concessions and merchandise available for purchase.
The U.S. Amateur Championship began in 1895 and has been won by several notable golfers, including Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus.
This will be the third time the club has hosted the Amateur Championship after previously hosting in 1990 and 2012. This is also the 14th time it has hosted a national golf tournament.
Sabella said the course’s layout is unchanged for the nation’s best non-professional golfers. The last change to the course came last year when the club modified Little Dry Creek to reduce flooding potential and help with drainage. That made each hole where the creek comes into play, including the 14th through 15th, more challenging.
“They really feel that the course stands on its own as it is,” he said. “Certainly, there’ll be some agronomic changes. The rough will be grown higher than it normally would and it would be tougher than its normal day-to-day member play. But we really think the classic championship layout that we have here is a defense against a lot of these great players.”
The private club is co-hosting the championship with Colorado Golf Club in Parker. The USGA chose the Colorado Golf Club for the stroke play portion of the tournament.
The first rounds of stroke play will take place on Aug. 14 and 15, with one round at Colorado Golf Club and one at Cherry Hills.
After the stroke play, the number of players will dwindle to 64 and they will play six rounds of match play at Cherry Hills on Aug.16 until the 36-hole championship match on Aug. 20.
Sabella said that because of the number of players in the championship, the tournament had to split between Cherry Hills and Colorado Golf Club.
The championship winner will receive a gold medal, exemptions from qualifying for the next 10 U.S Amateur Championships and likely an invitation to the 2023 Masters Tournament.
Sabella said the club will donate all proceeds from the tournament that exceed its costs to several golf-centered charities across the state: the Palmer Scholarship, the Western Golf Association and The First Tee.
Fans must purchase $25 tickets for one-day admission. The club will be selling a deal of five tickets for $100.
