USGA accepts 8,000+ applicants for 2011 US Open

USGA accepts 8,000+ applicants for 2011 US Open

The United States Golf Association (USGA) has confirmed it received 8,300 applications by professional and amateur golfers for the 2011 U.S. Open Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

Something new for the USGA was how they accepted the applications for the 11th U.S. Open. Unlike previous years when players would submit a paper application, this year all applications were required to submit their application via the internet. The result? The USGA received 680 applications on the final day (April 27th) including 135 entries in the final hour and one in the final 15 seconds.

Who Are The 8,300 Applicants for the 2011 U.S. Open?

What makes the U.S. Open a great championship is it's open to any professional golfer or amateur with a USGA Handicap Index of 1.4 or better. The 8,300 applicants are made up from the following demographics:

* Applicants came from all 50 US States and the District of Colombia (Washington, DC)
* 752 applicants from 66 foreign countries
* 65 fully exempt players (click here for the list of players fully exempt)
* 9 previous U.S. Open Champions are included in the exempt list

The Qualification Process

Now that the applications have been submitted, the players must qualify. All 8,300 applicants, minus the 65 exempt players, will attempt to move beyond the local qualifying round May 6-19th. This consists of an 18 hole qualifying round at one of 111 sites in the United States.

If a player passes the first test, they will then move to the sectional qualifier. The sectional is 36 holes held at 11 US sites and either Japan or England for the international players. This is the seventh year the USGA is offering the sectional qualifying in international countries.