One of golf’s most special events, the All-American Amateur returns this week at Cherry Hills Country Club.
The Denver-area course has hosted the event twice before, most recently in 2012 when Stephen Fox won the title on the 37th hole.
Twenty-two years ago in 1990, Phil Mickelson won his only U.S. Amateur tournament by beating South Africa’s Manny Zurman 5&4 in the final at Cherry Hills.
Last year, Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett beat Ben Kerr one-up at New Jersey’s Ridgewood Country Club. As the defending champion, Bennett received an invitation to the Augusta National and grabbed the attention of the entire golf world at the 2023 Masters.
This year, the USGA hosted a record 8,253 entrants, which were eventually narrowed down to 312 entrants through various qualifying stages.
These 312 players will play two 18-hole stroke play rounds at Cherry Hills and the nearby Colorado Golf Club. The USGA then recruits the top 64 players to create slots for match play.
In the event of a tie, the USGA will establish a playoff, guaranteeing 64 players advance to the match play stage.
schedule:
Monday, August 14th
One 18-hole stroke-play round open to all competitors at either Cherry Hills or Colorado Golf Club. All National Amateur venues have co-organizers, and both days each course will have his 156 players teeing up full-field.
Tuesday, August 15th
One 18-hole stroke-play round open to all competitors at either Cherry Hills or Colorado Golf Club.
USGA forces a reduction. The top 64 players advance to the Match Play quota.
Wednesday, August 16th
The Round of 64 marks its first day of televised coverage. Peacock will be broadcasting live from 5:00 to 6:00 pm ET and The Golf Channel will be broadcasting the game from 6:00 to 8:00 pm ET.
Thursday, August 17th
Both Round of 32 and Round of 16 matches will be played. Peacock will be broadcasting Round 16 from 5:00 to 6:00 PM ET, while The Golf Channel will continue to broadcast live from 6:00 to 8:00 PM ET.
Friday, August 18th
The top eight remaining players will meet in the quarterfinals. Peacock coverage will run from 5:00 to 6:00 pm ET, while The Golf Channel will air the quarterfinals from 6:00 to 8:00 pm ET.
Saturday, August 19th
The final four golfers finished standing play simultaneously in the semi-final match. The Golf Channel will begin broadcasting at 3:00 PM ET, after which NBC will begin broadcasting at 4:00 PM ET and will continue live until 6:00 PM ET.
Sunday, August 20th
Championship matches are always 36 holes and both rounds are played at Cherry Hills. The finals will air live on The Golf Channel from 3:00 to 4:00 pm ET. NBC will then go live and broadcast the championship from 4pm ET to 6pm ET or until the winner lifts the elusive Habmeier his trophy.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko Cover more golf.be sure to check @_PlayingThrough too.
