In returning to the site of the 2020 Open, Winged Foot’s West Course is set to match Baltusrol as the second-most visited host site in the championship’s history, behind Oakmont (nine).
Bobby Jones won the first US Open at Winged Foot in 1929, when he beat Al Espinosa in a 36-hole playoff by 23 shots. Since then, Billy Casper (1959), Hale Irwin (174), Fuzzy Zoeller (1984), Geoff Ogilvy (2006) and Bryson DeChambeau have also won US Open titles at Winged Foot.
“Winged Foot has provided the backdrop for some of the most dramatic moments in the history of our sport, with many of golf’s legendary champions being crowned on the club’s iconic West Course,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer. “We strive to provide players with the greatest stages on which to compete for a national championship, and there are a few stages as grand as Winged Foot.”
The West Course celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, with the AW Tillinghurst designed course having first opened in 1923. The course was redesigned by Gil Hanse in 2018.
This summer sees The Los Angeles Country Club hosting the 2023 Us Open, followed by Pinehurst No.2 (2024), Oakmont (2025), Shinnecock Hills (2026) and Pebble Beach (2027). Pinehurst, Oakmont and Pebble Beach have recently been designated as ‘anchor sites’ for the USGA, with a total of 13 US Opens scheduled to take place at the three courses between now and 2049.
The USGA has already announced that the 2051 US Open is to be be held at Oakland Hills, the longest time in advance that the championship has ever been designated.