Aug. 18-24, 2008
Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (Courses No. 2 and No. 4) - Village of Pinehurst, N.C.

PAR AND YARDAGE – The No. 2 course at Pinehurst will play at 7,281 yards and par 35-35--70. The No. 4 course at Pinehurst, which will be used for the first two days of stroke play only, will play at 7,030 yards and par 35-35--70.

PINEHURST RESORT & COUNTRY CLUB – Donald Ross designed the No. 2 course, which opened with play over 18 holes in 1907. Ross would fine-tune the layout several times through 1946. More recently, Rees Jones did renovations to the course prior to the 1999 U.S. Open. Ross also designed the course No. 4, which was opened for play in 1919. The most recent makeover was directed by Tom Fazio in 1999.

TICKETS AVAILABLE – Tickets can be purchased online at www.shoppinehurst.com or by calling (800) 795-4653. Ticket prices are $15 for a daily ticket and $50 for a weekly pass. There is also a "flex" package of four any-day tickets for $40. Children 17 and under are admitted free if accompanied by a paying adult. Children are also invited to visit the USGA's "Catch the Spirit" tent. General spectator parking will be provided free of charge at the Pinehurst Harness Track and shuttle service will be provided.

COURSE SET UP – The No. 2 Course at Pinehurst Resort will be set for green speeds of approximately 11 feet, 6 inches on the Stimpmeter. The greens are Penn G-2 grass.

A strip of intermediate rough of Common and Tifway Bermuda on each side of the fairways will be cut to 1½ inches in height. The primary rough will be grown to 2Ύ inches (20 feet of width outside the intermediate cut). A more penal secondary rough will be at 3½ inches.

SLOPE AND COURSE RATINGS – The No. 2 course setup at Pinehurst will result in a USGA Course Rating™ of 76.2 and a Slope Rating® of 140. The setup for course No. 4 will result in a Course Rating™ of 74.2 and a Slope Rating® of 138. An "average" Slope Rating® in the U.S. is about 113.

ONLINE COVERAGE – Log on to the USGA Internet site at www.usamateur.org for the latest and most complete U.S. Amateur Championship information.

No. 2 course
HOLE BY HOLE – 7,281 yards, par 35-35—70;

Note: Hole 3 will play at 336 yards during the match play portion of the championship

No. 4 course
HOLE BY HOLE – 7,030 yards, par 35-35—70;

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT PINEHURST RESORT – Pinehurst has hosted eight USGA championships, more than any other club in North Carolina. Included in the mix are two U.S. Opens and one U.S. Amateur. It hosted the Open in 1999 and 2005. The Amateur was contested at Pinehurst in 1962.

Year and Championship – Winner
2005 U.S. Open – Michael Campbell, 280 (E), by two strokes over Tiger Woods.
1999 U.S. Open – Payne Stewart, 279 (-1), by one stroke over Phil Mickelson.
1994 U.S. Senior Open – Simon Hobday, 274 (-10), by one stroke over Jim Albus and Graham Marsh.
1989 U.S. Women's Amateur – Vicki Goetze-Ackerman def. Brandie Burton, 4 and 3.
1980 Men's World Amateur Team – USA (848) by 27 strokes over South Africa.
1980 Women's World Amateur Team – USA (588) by seven strokes over Australia.
1967 World Senior Amateur Team Championship – USA (discontinued after 1969).
1962 U.S. Amateur – Labron Harris Jr. def. Downing Gray, 1 up.

2014 U.S OPEN AT PINEHURST NO. 2 – The 2014 U.S. Open will be contested for the third time on the No. 2 course. The dates will be from June 12-15.

2007 CHAMPION COLT KNOST – Colt Knost, 22, of Dallas, Texas, holed a 20-foot birdie putt for a win on the 31^st hole and led the rest of the way in defeating Michael Thompson of Tucson, Ariz., in the 36-hole match-play final, 2 and 1. Knost also won the 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links and was a member of the winning USA Walker Cup team last summer. He has since turned professional.

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS – Quarterfinalists from 2007 are fully exempt from having to qualify for the 2008 championship. Those exempt and entered (5) are Derek Fauthauer of Jensen Beach, Fla.; Eddie Olson of Aptos, Calif.; Cheng-Tsung Pan of Chinese Taipei; Nick Taylor of Canada; and Jhonattan Vega of Venezuela

ELEVEN USGA CHAMPIONS – Eleven USGA champions are included in 2008 U.S. Amateur field. They are listed below.

Austin Eaton III, New London, N.H. – 2004 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Philip Francis, Scottsdale, Ariz. – 2006 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. – 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. – 2003 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
Sihwan Kim, Buena Park, Calif. – 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
Kevin Marsh, Las Vegas, Nev. – 2005 U.S. Amateur Mid-Amateur champion
Jack Newman, Des Moines, Iowa – 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion
Cameron Peck, Olympia, Wash. – 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. – 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Kevin Tway, Edmond, Okla. – 2005 U.S. Junior champion
Dave Womack, McDonough, Ga. – 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion

EXEMPT PLAYERS – There are 28 golfers who were exempt from having to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Amateur, including eight of the 11 USGA champions listed above, The eight who are exempt due to from having qualified for the 2008 U.S. Open are Jordan Cox of Redwood City, Calif.; Derek Fathauer of Jensen Beach, Fla.; Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, Calif.; Jimmy Henderson of Lebanon, Ohio; Michael Quagliano of White Plains, N.Y.; Nick Taylor of Canada; Kevin Tway of Edmond, Okla.; and Jeff Wilson of Fairfield, Calif.

WALKER CUPPERS – Members of the 2005 and 2007 USA Walker Cup team are exempted into the 2008 U.S. Amateur. The members of the 2007 USA team playing are Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, Calif.; Billy Horschel of Gainesville, Fla.; Jamie Lovemark of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; and Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor, Wash. Brian Harman of Savannah, Ga., was a 2005 team member. Jonathan Caldwell of Northern Ireland was a member of the 2007 team for Great Britain and Ireland.

TOTAL ENTRIES – The USGA accepted 7,298 entries for the 2008 U.S. Amateur. The most entries ever received for an Amateur championship was 7,920 in 1999 when the U.S. Amateur was played at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links.

WHO CAN ENTER – The U.S. Amateur Championship is open to amateur golfers who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING – Sectional qualifying was conducted over 36 holes at 101 sites from July 21–Aug. 5.

THE WINNER RECEIVES – The champion receives an exemption into the 2009 U.S. Open and British Open, and a probable invitation to play in the 2009 Masters Tournament, if he remains an amateur. He also receives a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Amateur field so long as he remains an amateur.

FORMAT – Following two days of stroke play (Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 18-19), the field of 315 golfers will be reduced to the lowest 64 scorers, who will advance to match play. All matches are 18 holes except the final match. The 36-hole championship final match is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 24.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY – The first and second rounds of stroke play are set for Monday and Tuesday (Aug. 18-19) at Pinehurst Resort's No. 2 and No. 4 courses. All match-play rounds will be played at the No. 2 course, beginning Wednesday (Aug. 20). A single round of match play is scheduled on Wednesday, followed by the second and third rounds on Thursday (Aug. 21), and single rounds again from Friday-Sunday (Aug. 22-24).

TELEVISION COVERAGE – The U.S. Amateur will have 10 hours of coverage on the Golf Channel over the last five days of the championship.

The Golf Channel
First Round Matches – Wed. (Aug. 20), 1-4 p.m. (EDT)
Third Round Matches – Thurs. (Aug. 21), 12-2 p.m. (EDT)
Quarterfinal Matches – Fri. (Aug. 22), 12-2 p.m. (EDT)
Semifinal Matches – Sat. (Aug. 23), 1-4 p.m. (EDT)
Championship Match – Sun. (Aug. 24), 1-4 p.m. (EDT)

FUTURE U.S. AMATEUR SITE – The 2009, the Amateur will be played from Aug. 24-30 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.; the 2010 championship is set from Aug. 23-29 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.; and the 2011 Amateur is planned from Aug. 22-28 at Erin Hills Golf Club in Erin, Wis.

MEDIA CENTER AT PINEHURST RESORT – The Media Center will be located in the St. Andrews Room in the clubhouse. Use your one-day gate pass to gain admission to the parking area in the main lot. USGA staff members on site will be Craig Smith, Pete Kowalski and Suzanne Colson. The phone number for the Media Center is (910) 215-9275 (as of 8/16).

CELL PHONE LISTINGS –
Craig Smith – (908) 216-3229
Pete Kowalski – (908) 216-8435
Suzanne Colson – (908) 310-7757

MEDIA PARKING – Media should use their one-day gate pass and park in the main clubhouse parking lot at Pinehurst Resort.