Page 29 - Western Amateur 120th Championship Program 2022, Exmoor Country Club

Tradition-Rich Western Amateur
Showcases Golf’s Future Stars

When Tiger Woods won the Western Danny Lee (2008 champion), Ryan remained through 2008. The Point
Amateur in 1994, he called the event Moore (2004 champion), Doug Ghim O’ Woods era produced such champions
“the Masters of amateur golf.” (2014 medalist), C.T. Pan (2009 and 2010 as Woods, Mickelson, Sutton, Strange
medalist) and Camilo Villegas and and Crenshaw.
It’s an apt description.
Kevin Stadler (2002 co-medalists).
Founded in 1899, the Western Amateur The Western Amateur returned to
Early in its history, the Western Golf the Chicago area in 2009 when the
is the world’s third-oldest amateur event,
Association conducted the Western championship was conducted at
along with the British Amateur (1885)
Amateur at premier golf courses in the Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest,
and the U.S. Amateur (1895). In addition
Chicago area. The tournament soon site of the 2017 BMW Championship,
to the purity of its golf tradition, the
began moving to revered courses around also conducted by the WGA.
Western Amateur continues to attract
the country while regularly rotating
the best amateurs in the world and No matter where it’s played, the
back to the Chicago area.
showcases their skills in a format Western Amateur brings with it a
widely viewed as the most demanding In 1971, the Western Amateur moved to peerless tradition and unparalleled
in the game. Point O’ Woods Golf & Country Club in competition.
Benton Harbor, Michigan, an esteemed
Western Amateur champions have gone
Robert Trent Jones course, where it
on to win 54 major championships, with
Jack Nicklaus (18 majors) and Tiger
Woods (15 majors) leading the way.
Other Western Amateur champions
who went on to win majors span the
20th Century, from H.C. Egan in 1902
(four U.S. Opens) to Charles “Chick”
Evans in 1909 (U.S. Open) to Nicklaus in
1961 to Phil Mickelson in 1991 (six majors,
including the 2021 PGA Championship)
and Woods in 1994. Evans, Nicklaus and
Woods are the only three golfers to have
won the Western Amateur, Western
Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open.
Francis Ouimet (1917), Tommy Aaron
(1960), Tom Weiskopf (1963), Lanny
Wadkins (1970), Ben Crenshaw (1973),
Curtis Strange (1974), Hal Sutton (1979–
80), and Justin Leonard (1992-93) are
other esteemed Western Amateur
champions who have gone on to
win professional majors.
In addition, the Western Amateur’s
72-hole stroke play medalists include
such major champions as the legendary
Bobby Jones (1920), Tom Kite (1970), Tom
Watson (1971), and Mark O’Meara (1980).
In recent years, a number of Western
Amateur champions and medalists have
From left to right. Row 1: 1904 Western Amateur Exmoor CC, Chick Evans, Jack and Barbara Nicklaus
made it to the PGA TOUR, including
Row 2: Phil Mickelson and Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson
Beau Hossler (2014 champion), Row 3: Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas

2022 Western Amateur Championship Western Amateur Championship History 27