United States Open is one of the most important annual golf tournaments in both men’s and women’s golf. The men’s and women’s U.S. Opens, along with certain other tournaments, are called the majors.
The United States Open is the third major men’s tournament played each year. The other three, in the order of play, are the Masters Tournament, the United States PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) Championship, and the British Open. Along with the United States Open, the women’s majors are the Chevron Championship (formerly called the ANA Inspiration), the KPMG Women’s PGA (formerly called the LPGA [Ladies Professional Golf Association] Championship), the Women’s British Open, and the Evian Championship.
The original four most important tournaments for men consisted of the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, British Amateur, and British Open. Only once did a golfer win all four in a single year. The American amateur golfer Bobby Jones accomplished the feat in 1930. The American golfer Tiger Woods won the modern four majors in a two-year period, in 2000 and 2001. No woman golfer has won all four majors in a single year.
Both the men’s and women’s U.S. Opens accept amateur and professional golfers who meet certain qualifications. The tournaments are held in June or July. The course on which the tournament is played varies from year to year. Each tournament runs Thursday through Sunday, with 18 holes played each day. In the men’s tournament, if there is a tie after 72 holes, an 18-hole playoff is held the following day. The first men’s Open was held in 1895. The first women’s Open was held in 1946.
Four men have won four Opens during their careers—Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus. Anderson was born in Scotland. The other three are Americans. Betsy Rawls and Mickey Wright of the United States are the only golfers to win as many as four women’s United States Open titles.
