Following a successful defense of the St Jude Classic by Daniel Berger, the world’s best golfers now make their way to Wisconsin and Erin Hills for the 117th edition of the United States Open Championship.

 
The field in Erin, Wisconsin is loaded with 156 of the very best players in the world, including world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who will be looking to defend his first major championship.

As we wait for the first strike of the ball on Thursday morning, here are 20 interesting numbers related to the 2017 U.S. Open Championship.

The Course

• 1 – Erin Hills will be the first course in the state of Wisconsin to host a U.S. Open.
• 3 – It will become the third course in the last decade to host a U.S. Open for the first time (Torrey Pines/2008 won by Tiger Woods, Chambers Bay/2015 won by Jordan Spieth)
• 72 – Erin Hills will be the first par-72 setup in a U.S. Open since 1992 when Pebble Beach Golf Links hosted and ninth since World War II.
• 7,741 – That is the number in yards that Erin Hills will measure out at this week. It marks the longest course in U.S. Open history, edging behind Chambers Bay (7,695 yards, 2015) and Torrey Pines (7,643 yards, 2008)

The Prize

• 2 – The winner will receive $2.16M, the first time the winner’s prize has been over $2M. The last two winners, Dustin Johnson (2016) and Jordan Spieth (2015), took home $1.8M for their titles. For what it’s worth, $350K is a fairly large increase.
• 5 – He will also receive five-year exemptions to the Masters, Open Championship, PGA Championship, THE PLAYERS, and a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
• 10 – The U.S. Open winner receives a 10 year exemption to future Opens.

History

• 2 – There have been two (2) U.S Open trophies. The original one, created in the opening year of 1895, was destroyed during the fire at the Tam O’Shanter clubhouse in 1946 (an exact replica was designed the following season, in 1947). Two is also the number of strokes England’s Horace Rawlins went on to win, beating Willie Dunn by two strokes.
• 6 – That’s the number of years the championship was not played, as it was cancelled in 1917-18 and 1942-45 for the two world wars.
• 16 – For the first 15 years, all titles were won by English (4) and Scottish (11) golfers. At the 16th U.S. Open championship, John McDermott became the first American to win. McDermott won in 1911 at the Chicago Golf Club, beating fellow countrymen Mike Brady and George Simpson in a playoff.
• 44 – Jack Nicklaus holds the championship record for the most consecutive starts. Jack teed it up in 44 straight U.S Opens, from 1957-2000.
• 61 – Sam Snead is the oldest player to make the cut. In 1973, Snead, then 61 years-old, made the cut at Oakmont, finishing T-29.
• 117 – The first U.S. Open was played in 1895, and this year marks the 117th playing of America’s national golf championship. It is the second oldest golf championship in the world, behind The Open Championship (British).

Past Champions

• 3 – Willie Anderson, of Scotland, is also the only champion to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles (1903-05).
• 4 – Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus hold the record for the most U.S. Open wins (4).
• 15 – The largest margin of victory in the tournament’s history came in the year 2000, when 3-time U.S. Open champion Tiger Woods finished at 12-under par to win by a staggering 15 strokes.
• 16 – The lowest aggregate score was recorded in 2011 by Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who finished with a score of 268, 16-under par.
• 19 – At 19 years-old (10 months, and 14 days), John McDermott is, to this day, the youngest to ever win the U.S Open.
• 21 – The age of 2015 champion Jordan Spieth when he defeated Dustin Johnson and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen by a single stroke at Chambers Bay. At 21, he became the youngest U.S. Open champion in 92 years, since Bobby Jones in 1923.
• 45 – Hale Irwin, at 45 in 1990, is the tournament’s oldest champion.

Some content from this post was repurposed from 2016 US Open: 18 Facts By The Numbers