Oakland Hills Earns 6 More USGA Hosting Rights, Including 2 U.S. Opens

*Approach to the 18th green and former clubhouse*

By Tom Lang

The USGA and Oakland Hills had a joint announcement today (March 22) signaling that the iconic club in Southeast Michigan will play host to two U.S. Open Championships, in 2034 and 2051, as well as 4 more amateur events ranging from the U.S. Junior Amateur just two years from now in 2024 and the 2047 U.S. Amateur.

Adding to Oakland Hills’ incredible history in the game of golf, both U.S. Opens come on key anniversary years. The 2034 championship will be 110 years since the club hosted its first U.S. Open, in 1924 when Cyril Walker prevailed over defending champion Bob Jones by 3 strokes. Then the 100th anniversary of Ben Hogan’s classic win and subsequent tagline of “taming the Monster” will be the 2051 U.S. Open.

“This is a significant and meaningful day for all of us at Oakland Hills,” said Rick Palmer, club president. “The commitment of two U.S. Opens as well as four top amateur championships is a testament to the fabulous work of everyone at Oakland Hills. With a total of eight USGA championships coming to our club starting in 2024, we can’t wait to add to our storied history. We look forward to continuing our championship golf tradition at Oakland Hills and our long-standing relationship with the USGA.”

The fact that Oakland Hills will host the U.S. Junior Amateur in two years is significant in that a new clubhouse to replace the original building that was totally destroyed last month in the dramatic fire, will not be rebuilt by then. Oakland Hills will have to use some type of temporary structure to host it, but the USGA approved to keep its plans in place even after the recent fire.

Agreements for all 8 events were solidified many months ago before the clubhouse fire took place. Discussions between the two organizations on hosting future USGA events began in 2017. Each will be played on the iconic South Course, which was shut down for all of 2020 and early 2021 for Gil Hanse to restore it to the original Donald Ross design; that included eliminating hundreds of trees and reclaiming the original size of the greens by making them 20-30 percent larger, according to Hanse who was present at the announcement. Andy North also took part. He won the 1985 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills.

“For us the ultimate measure is in really providing a great test is players need to get every club in their bag dirty,” John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer said at the announcement at the Detroit Athletic Club. “They need to hit it high, low, left, right, control it on the ground, mental, physical. Andy (North) talks about it. He's a champion two times. He gets it. He's done it. That's what we try to achieve to really create something special so when somebody wins a U.S. Open or U.S. Women's Open, they've done something really special.”

Bodenhamer also said at the announcement that he previously asked Oakland Hills officials if they could still do the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2024, and Palmer told him, yes, not only could they do it, but they need it. Oakland Hills last hosted the U.S. Amateur in 2016.

The biggest surprise to me was the fact the USGA tagged on 4 additional tournaments. Oakland Hills has always wanted to return to hosting professional majors like the U.S. Open since its last one in 1996, won by Steve Jones whose unexpected victory came after going through final qualifying. But agreement to host the events for amateurs just proves the respect the members at Oakland Hills have for supporting youth, women’s and overall amateur golf. It also is one of the few private clubs that allow high school tournaments to be played on its historical land.

It was previously announced that Oakland Hills will host the U.S. Women’s Opens in 2031 and 2042. The others include the 2029 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2038 U.S. Girls Junior. All 8 of these events between 2024 and 2051 are further confirmation of the state of Michigan’s support of the great game of golf but also will bring significant exposure, and economic impact, to Southeast Michigan and our state in general. Oakland Hills will become the fifth club to have hosted a U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur – a short list indeed.

“USGA championships are both aspirational and inspirational,” Bodenhamer added. “They showcase and celebrate the world's best players and give them the stage for achieving their dreams. Players of all ages and all backgrounds, both individuals and teams alike with our championships.

“In doing so, we host the National Championships in America, showcasing the nation's very best golf courses, which we like to think are the cathedrals of the game. We love that term. That's a Jason Gore coined term. Today we're furthering a longstanding relationship that does just that. It pairs our best in place National Championships with one of America's greatest championship venues, a true cathedral of the game, that is Oakland Hills Country Club.