Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban Mamaroneck, New York, was named host of the 2020 US Open on Monday by the US Golf Association, marking the sixth time the club has hosted the major championship.

The most recent time the US Open was staged at Winged Foot was in 2006, when Australian Geoff Ogilvy edged Colin Montgomerie, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson by a stroke after an epic collapse by Mickelson on the final hole.

Seeking his third major title in a row, Mickelson had only to par the 72nd hole to claim the crown, but sent his tee shot way left off a tent. He then struck a tree out of the rough and put his third into a bunker on the way to a double bogey.

The average winning score at Winged Foot for its five previous US Opens is five-over par, with Fuzzy Zoeller's 1984 triumph at four-under par the only sub-par winning score at a US Open there.

Other US Open winners at Winged Foot include Bobby Jones in 1929, Billy Casper in 1959 and Hale Irwin in 1974.

"Winged Foot is a quintessential US Open golf course, and we're thrilled to have the opportunity to bring our national championship back to a site that boasts such a long tradition of world-class competition," said USGA executive director Mike Davis.

This year's US Open will be staged at Merion near Philadelphia with other future sites including Pinehurst in 2014, Chambers Bay in 2015, Oakmont in 2016, Erin Hills in 2017, Shinnecock in 2018 and Pebble Beach in 2019.

AFP

(China Daily 01/30/2013 page23)