Things You Didn't Know About The US Open

On the calendar as a major since 1895, the US Open is steeped in tradition and history

Known to some as the toughest of the four majors on the men's calendar, many of golf's greats have won this tournament

But how much do you know about the US Open? Well, buckle up because here are 16 things you may not know about the US Open

Each year, any amateur with a handicap index of 1.4 or lower can enter

with over 8,000 golfers attempting to qualify each year. There's over 100 local qualifying sites around the US with 11 final qualifying events in total

A record 10,127 golfers entered in 2014. The first ever US Open took place in 1895, but it was actually considered the sideshow compared to the US amateur

In the first US Open, 11 golfers played four rounds at the nine-hole Newport Golf and Country Club

where 21-year-old Englishman Horace Rawlins became the inaugural US Open champion. It wasn until 1912 when an American John McDermott first won the US Open This was because the tournament was initially conducted mainly for the British wave of immigrant golf professionals coming to the United States In 1954 the US Open was roped from tee to green and was televised across the nation for the first ever time

The tournament moved from 36 to 72 holes in 1898, but it wasn't until 1965 when it became four days of 18 holes

Previously, it had been two and three day formats. In 2002, Bethpage State Park's famous Black Course became the first ever public course to host a US Open

Tiger Woods won the event with Phil Mickelson coming second. In 2005, international qualifying for the US Open was introduced for the first time

And it was that year when Michael Campbell, who came through qualifying at Walton Heath in England, won the US Open at Pinehurst

17-year-old Bo Hustler became the youngest man to make the cut at the US Open since World War II in 2012

while 61-year-old Sam Sneed was the oldest player to make the cut back in 1973

Four men have won four US Opens. That includes Scotland Willie Anderson and American Robert Trent Jones Jr Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus Tiger Woods and Hale Irwin have won three U Opens each Tiger Woods is the only man to have won the U Junior Amateur the U Amateur and the U Open

The last person to win the U.S. Open on their debut was American amateur Francis Wienet in 1913

He won an 18-hole playoff against Harry Varden and Ted Ray after the three of them tied the 72-hole lead at 6 over par

It was a famous victory against the two Brits who were strong favourites against the Americans

We May's win is credited for a huge boost in popularity of the game in the US

This battle at Brookline was made into the 2005 feature film, The Greatest Game Ever Played

The US Open is famed for being played on long and difficult golf courses

In 2007, Oakmont's par-3 eighth hole measured 300 yards, which was the longest par-3 in US Open history

The winner of that tournament, Angel Cabrera, finished at six over par for the tournament

one of the highest scores in recent history. On that note of high scores the highest ever winning score at a US Open was 331 by Willie Anderson in 1901 Rory McIlroy set the tournament record score of 268 at Congressional He also

became the first ever golfer to reach 17 under par in the US Open and holds the

record score to par of 16 under with Brooks Koepka who managed his total in

2017 at Erin Hills. J.D. Tucker set the unwanted record for the highest ever

with a single round score in a US Open. This was when he shot 157 at Myopia Hunt Club in 1898

Tiger Woods holds the record for the largest winning margin when he won the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach

by a whopping 15 strokes. The US Open is the only major Phil Mickelson hasn't won

He's been runner up in this event on six occasions and if you were to ever win it

he'd complete Golf's Grand Slam of majors. So there you have it, 16 facts about the US Open, one of golf's greatest events on the calendar

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