United States Amateur
The U.S. Amateur is the biggest amateur tournament in golf. You can sign up for the tournament through the United States Golf Association (USGA) website. The entry fee is $125 and you must play in a 36-hole qualifier. To be eligible, you must have an established handicap of 2.4 or lower. The tournament is 36 holes of stroke play, followed by match play elimination. The top 64 scores after stroke play qualify for the match play competition. The winner receives an exemption into the U.S. Open and Masters.
United States Public Links
The United States Public Links Championship is open to all amateur golfers with a handicap of 4.4 or lower. The tournament is specifically for golfers who play public courses. If you have any playing privileges at a private country club, you will not be eligible. You can sign up for the tournament through the USGA website. The tournament is played over two rounds of stroke play and six rounds of match play. The field is cut to 64 players after two rounds of stroke play. After stroke play, the remaining 64 players compete in match play elimination. The winner receives an invitation to play in the Masters.
Western Amateur
The Western Amateur is open to all amateur golfers with a handicap of three or less. The entry fee can be found on the Western Amateur website. The field is limited to 156 players. Contestants play 36 holes of stroke play before the field is cut to 44 players. Those 44 players play another 36 holes of stroke play before the field is cut to 16 players. The remaining 16 players play match play elimination until the winner is decided. The winner receives an invitation to play in the PGA Tour Western Open.
About The Author
John Wagner is a certified golf instructor and professional golfer with over eight years of experience. As a certified GolfTEC and Chuck Cook golf instructor, he has given over 3,000 golf lessons. John writes for GolfLink.com and has over 40 articles published.
