Are you interested in being a part of one the top amateur events in the United States Golf Association in 2024? This year’s qualification process will be a little different from the one in the past.
Wednesday’s announcement by the governing body was the first in 20 years that it made “significant changes” to its qualifying model. The U.S. will begin to recognize the U.S. in 2024. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. U.S. Girls Junior and Junior will increase the exemptions for the championships, expand the exemption categories, and adjust how the rest of the fields are filled.
The U.S. The U.S. Amateur Golf Association will undergo the biggest changes. It will be moving from a 36-hole, one-stage qualifying format to a two stage qualifying format. There will be 45 local qualifying sites for 18-holes and 19 final qualifying sites for the remaining 312-person field.
These changes will allow events not to lose their openness, but they will ensure that players of high caliber have ample opportunities to qualify for the field.
The USGA will increase from 50 to 100 the number of players who are fully exempted from the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Local qualifying will also be removed from the 600 top WAGR players.
Brent Paladino (senior director of Championship Administration) stated that the championships are known for their openness and aspirational spirit. We looked into ways to improve our structure so that qualifying is sustainable over the long-term without putting too much pressure on Allied Golf Associations (AGAs), and host clubs. These changes will give players additional routes to our championships via traditional qualifying, expanded exemption categories, and performance at state, AGA regional, and national amateur championships.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur will see 50 players instead of 25. The qualifying structure will not change, but there will be a reduction in the number of qualifying venues.
Both exemption categories for junior championships have been modified (top 100 for boys from 80 and top 50 for girls from 40). The qualifying-event structure encourages concurrent or join qualifiers.
The USGA received 44,737 entries in 2022 and collaborated closely with AGAs to host 678 qualifiers over 15 championships. Next year, there will be 94 fewer qualifying sites.
The USGA will lower the Handicap Index limits for all four championships, and will make modifications to its performance policy. These changes will be made later.
Next spring will see the opening of entries for the 2024 USGA amateur championships. The 2024 U.S. Amateur will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota. The 2024 U.S. Amateur will take place at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota. The 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur will take place at Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa (Oklahoma). The U.S. 2024 Junior will be at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The 2024 U.S. Junior will be held at Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The 2024 Girls’ Junior, however, will be held at El Caballero Country Club, Tarzana, California.
