It will be first U.S. championship for the Durham, N.C. club, which was founded in 2001 by a group including former United States Golf Association President Jim Hyler and former University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith.

 

Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. has been selected by the United States Golf Association (USGA) as the host site for the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C. reported. The 65^th Senior Amateur will be held at Old Chatham from August 24-29, 2019.

Founded in 2001 by a small group of North Carolina businessmen that included former USGA President Jim Hyler and former University of North Carolina men’s basketball coach Dean Smith, Old Chatham Golf GC features a 7,234 yard, 18-hole championship course set in 400 acres of protected woodlands in a section of the Research Triangle regions rolling hills, northeast of Jordan Lake. The course maximizes use of the land’s natural contours, and consecutive holes never follow the same direction.

The course was designed by Rees Jones, who has renovated seven U.S. Open courses. Jones completed a course enhancement project in 2012 that added undulation to six greens, nine new bunkers to five holes, and 45,000 native North American grass plants. Additionally, greens were converted from bentgrass to bermudagrass, and large areas of bermuda rough have been converted to native fescue grasses.

The Senior Amateur will be the club’s first USGA national tournament. Old Chatham GC has hosted several state and regional events, including the 2009 North Carolina Amateur and the 2014 North Carolina Mid-Amateur. The club has also been a frequent host of USGA qualifying events, most recently hosting a qualifier for the 2016 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in September 2015,

“It is an honor to be selected to host the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at Old Chatham Golf Club,” said club President Allen Wilson. “It has been part of our mission to support amateur golf since our founding in 2001, and on behalf of our membership, we are excited to welcome these distinguished competitors with our Southern hospitality.”

The U.S. Senior Amateur is open to amateur golfers who have reached age 55 on or before the start of the championship and who have a handicap index not exceeding 7.4. The championship features 36 holes of stroke play before the field is cut to the low 64 scorers for match play.

“The USGA is thrilled to welcome Old Chatham into our family of championship host sites,” Stuart Francis, USGA Championship Committee chairman, said in a prepared statement. “We are confident the course will not only provide a great test of golf, but also a memorable experience for these seasoned players.”

It will be the 33rd USGA championship contested in North Carolina, which most recently hosted the historic back-to-back 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open championships in Pinehurst. Upcoming USGA championships in the Tar Heel State include the 2017 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and the 2019 U.S. Amateur, both at Pinehurst; the 2018 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Charlotte Country Club; and the 2019 Senior Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines.

The 2016 U.S. Senior Amateur Championships will be held Sept. 17-22 at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, Mo. Other upcoming USGA Senior Amateurs are planned for 2017 in Minneapolis, Minn.; and 2018 in Eugene, Ore.