Executive Committee Members Begin Hydrating Themselves On News of Southern Hills Landing Amateur A Year Early

As first reported by Leonard Shapiro Thursday... 

SOUTHERN HILLS TO HOST 2009 U.S. AMATEUR
 
Far Hills, N.J. – Based on a joint agreement, Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., will host the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship, replacing Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., the United States Golf Association has announced. The dates of the 2009 championship are Aug. 23-30.
 
Southern Hills was originally scheduled to host the 2010 Amateur and Congressional, the 2009 championship.  The site of two previous U.S. Opens, Congressional is also scheduled to host the 2011 Open.
 
Recent weather trends in the mid-Atlantic region were extreme this past August and were exacerbated by prolonged drought, causing course condition problems at Congressional and many other clubs. In order to begin specified U.S. Open course revisions and complete them on time for the 2011 Open, the USGA and Congressional agreed to move the 2009 Amateur from Congressional and Southern Hills accepted the switch.
 
The site of the 2010 U.S. Amateur is to be determined.
 
“We are grateful to Southern Hills for its flexibility as Congressional prepares for the U.S. Open in 2011,” Jim Hyler, chairman of the USGA championship committee said. “In this way, the players at both the 2009 U.S. Amateur and the 2011 U.S. Open will have the kind of playing conditions that are the hallmark of USGA championships.  We and Congressional agreed that the movement of the 2009 Amateur made a great deal of sense and will provide enough time for Congressional to embark on plans that will result in a terrific venue for the 2011 U.S. Open.  We see this move as the right decision for both the 2009 Amateur and the 2011 U.S. Open.”
 
“Congressional Country Club is in total agreement with the USGA that relocating the 2009 Amateur would be in all parties’ best interests while allowing for a successful 2011 U.S. Open,” said Stuart Long, president of Congressional Country Club.  “The drought and unwavering high heat have proved to be tough on our courses and highlighted several areas that needed attention. By relocating the Amateur, we can give our courses time to recover from the stresses of the notorious D.C. summer, and make some course renovations for the Open Championship and implement several other course rehabilitation projects that will provide long-term benefits for our members, as well as forour involvement in future events at Congressional.”
 
The 2009 Amateur is the ninth USGA championship and second U.S. Amateur (Bob Murphy won in 1965), to be conducted at Southern Hills, a classic Perry Maxwell design, built in 1936. Previously, the club has hosted three U.S. Opens (1957, 1977, 2001), the 1946 Women’s Amateur, the 1953 Junior Amateur, and the 1987 Women’s Mid-Amateur.
 
Prior to 2009, the U.S. Amateur will be played at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort from Aug. 18-24, 2008.
 
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the game’s golfers and golf courses.
 
The Association's most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open.  Ten additional USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs, and include the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women's Amateur. 

The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, maintains an official Handicap System, shuttles its president around the country in a private jet, unceremoniously fires longtime staffers in the middle of championship season, and administers an ongoing "For the Good of the Game" grants program, which has allocated more than $56 million over 10 years to programs that seek to grow the game.  For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.

Just kidding there in the final paragraph! Only wanted to make sure you were still reading.