Among the 156 golfers in the 2012 U.S. Open there are:
10 -US Open Champions – Angel Cabrera (2007), Michael Campbell (2005), Ernie Els (1994, ’97), Jim Furyk (2003), Lucas Glover (2009), Retief Goosen (2001, ’04), Graeme McDowell (2010), Rory McIlroy (2011), Geoff Ogilvy (2006) and Tiger Woods (2000, ’02, ’08).
7 -US Open runners-up – Jason Day (2011), Ernie Els (2000), Jim Furyk (2006, ‘07), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2000), Davis Love III (1996), Phil Mickelson (1999, 2002, ’04, ’06, ‘09) and Tiger Woods (2005, ’07).
14 -US OPENS WON BY 2012 CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD – Angel Cabrera (1), Michael Campbell (1), Ernie Els (2), Jim Furyk (1), Lucas Glover (1), Retief Goosen (2), Graeme McDowell (1), Rory McIlroy (1), Geoff Ogilvy (1) and Tiger Woods (3).
23 -MOST US OPEN APPEARANCES by Davis Love III - followed by Phil Mickelson (22), Ernie Els (20), Jim Furyk (18), Stewart Cink (17), Steve Stricker (17), Tiger Woods (17), David Toms (16), Retief Goosen (15) and Padraig Harrington (15).
20 - ACTIVE CONSECUTIVE US OPEN APPEARANCES by Ernie Els (20), followed by Phil Mickelson (19), Stewart Cink (17) and Jim Furyk (17).
9,006 - entries in 2012. A record 9,086 entries were accepted for the 2009 U.S. Open.
8 - amateurs have made the 156-player field. The number is the lowest total since 2002.
7,170 -the yardage of Olympic Club’s Lake Course will be set up at 7,170 yards and will play to a par of 34-36–70. Sam Whiting designed the current layout of the Lake Course, which opened in 1927. Revisions to the course, prior to the 1955 US Open, were supervised by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Bill Love has supervised all the design work on the course since 2004, which includes new rear tees, the green construction project in 2008-09 and a recently added bunker on the 17th hole.
5 -US OPENS AT THE OLYMPIC CLUB
This is the fifth US Open Championship to be conducted at The Olympic Club’s Lake Course.
In 1955, Jack Fleck defeated four-time Open champion Ben Hogan in a play-off. Fleck, a municipal-course professional from Davenport, Iowa, who was playing his first full year on the tour, birdied two of the last four holes to tie Hogan at seven-over-par 287. He shot 69 in the 18-hole playoff and never trailed, as Hogan carded a 73.
In 1966, Billy Casper won his second US Open in a play-off with Arnold Palmer. Casper trailed by seven strokes with nine holes to play in the final round, but rallied to match Palmer at two-under-par 278. In the play-off, Palmer led by two shots after nine holes, but Casper erased the lead with a 50-foot birdie at the par-3 13th. Casper finished with a one-under-par 69, while Palmer shot 73.
Scott Simpson birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th holes of the final round to win the 1987 US Open, overtaking Tom Watson. Simpson’s 72-hole total of three-under 277 was one stroke better than Watson’s 278. They were the only players to better par for the championship.
Lee Janzen made four birdies and no bogeys over the final 15 holes to capture his second US Open in 1998 at The Olympic Club. Janzen, who finished at even-par 280 for a one-stroke win, came from seven strokes behind Payne Stewart for the largest come-from-behind victory after 54 holes in 25 years. He earned a share of the lead with birdies on the 12th and 13th holes, before carefully navigating pars the rest of the way. Stewart bogeyed the 16th, but had a chance to tie Janzen on the finishing hole. His 25-foot birdie putt slid inches below the hole.
20 -PLAYERS WHO PLAYED IN 1998 US OPEN AT OLYMPIC CLUB –Shane Bertsch (MC), Thomas Bjorn (T25), Olin Browne (T43), Stewart Cink (T10), Joe Durant (T32), Ernie Els (T48), Jim Furyk (T14), Retief Goosen (MC), Padraig Harrington (T32), Tim Herron (T53), Robert Karlsson (MC), Matt Kuchar (T14), Davis Love III (MC), Casey Martin (T23), Phil Mickelson (T10), Vijah Singh (T25), Steve Stricker (T5), Lee Westwood (T7), Mark Wilson (MC), Tiger Woods (T18).
LONG PAR 4s– In 2012, The Olympic Club (Lake Course) will have the third-longest par 4 in U.S. Open history. The 520-yard first hole will serve as a demanding start for the championship.
LONG PAR 5s– In 2012, The Olympic Club (Lake Course) will feature the longest par 5 in US Open history with the 670-yard 16th hole.
THIRTY SOMETHING– Previous US Open champions at The Olympic Club were all in their early 30s. Jack Fleck was a 33 years old when he defeated Ben Hogan in 1955. Billy Casper was 34 when he beat Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff in 1966. Scott Simpson (1987) and Lee Janzen (1998) were 31 and 33, respectively.
THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED AT A US OPEN–
Rory McIlroy – the last international winner (2011)
Curtis Strange – the last to defend title successfully (1989)
Francis Ouimet – the last to won the Open in his first appearance (1913)
Jerry Pate – the last to win on his second attempt (1976)
Rory McIlroy – the last start-to-finish winner with no ties (2011)
a-Robert T. Jones Jr. – the last winner to birdie the 72nd hole and win by one stroke (1926)
Tiger Woods – the last winner to birdie the 72nd hole (2008)
Tiger Woods – the last winner to birdie the 72nd hole to force a play-off (2008)
Geoff Ogilvy – the last winner without a round in the 60s (2006)
Rory McIlroy – the last winner with all rounds in the 60s (2011)
Rory McIlory – the last winner between ages 20-29 (was 22 in 2011)
Graeme McDowell – the last winner between ages 30-39 (was 30 in 2010)
Payne Stewart – the last winner over age 40 (was 42 in 1999)
Angel Cabrera – the last defending champion to miss the cut (2008)
Hale Irwin – the last to win after receiving a special exemption (1990)
Lucas Glover – the last winner to come through sectional qualifying (2009)
Orville Moody – the last winner to come through local and sectional qualifying (1969)
John Goodman – the last amateur to win the Open (1933)
PAST MAJOR CHAMPIONS– Fourteen players have won the last 14 Majors. The current run dates back to the 2008 US PGA Championship, when Padraig Harrington recorded his second consecutive win in a Major championship. Five of the 14 Major Championships have been decided with a play-off.
HISTORY– This is the 112th US Open Championship. The US Open, which was first played in 1895, was not contested for two years (1917-18) during World War I and for four years (1942-45) during World War II. The youngest winner of the U.S. Open was 19-year-old John McDermott, who won in 1911. McDermott is among eight players age 21 or younger who have won the U.S. Open. The oldest winner is Hale Irwin, who was 45 and playing on a special exemption when he won his third U.S. Open title in 1990. Irwin also won in 1974 and 1979.
There are four four-time US Open winners: Willie Anderson (1901, 1903, 1904, 1905); amateur Robert T. Jones Jr. (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930); Ben Hogan (1948, 1950, 1951, 1953); and Jack Nicklaus (1962, 1967, 1972, 1980).
FIELD FOR THE AGES– There are eight players in the 2012 US Open field who will be 21 years old or younger when the first round begins on Thursday, June 14. Andy Zhang, at age 14, is the youngest golfer in the group. He is believed to be the youngest to play in a U.S. Open. Tadd Fujikawa previously held that distinction; he was 15 at the 2006 Open at Winged Foot Golf Club. Patrick Cantlay, a 20-year-old, was the runner-up at the 2011 U.S. Amateur.
There are 11 players in the field who are 45 or older. Michael Allen and Olin Browne, at age 53, are the oldest players in the field. Davis Love III and Miguel Angel Jimenez, a pair of U.S. Open runners-up, are each 48 years old.
