The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Athletic Club lands 3 top U.S. events

U.S. Amateur in 2030 on 100th anniversar­y of Jones’ Grand Slam.

- By Stan Awtrey

The Atlanta Athletic Club is getting back in the championsh­ip business in a big way.

The Johns Creek club announced Tuesday it would host three major amateur championsh­ips over the next 13 years: the 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 2030 U.S. Amateur and the 2035 U.S. Women’s Amateur. The most significan­t was the U.S. Amateur, which will commemorat­e the 100th anniversar­y of Bobby Jones’ Grand Slam at his home club.

Unquestion­ably the game’s greatest amateur, Jones won 13 major championsh­ips during his career. He was a five-time U.S. Amateur champion, including 1930, when he also won the British Amateur, U.S. Open and British Open. He retired after 1930 and from that point competed only in the Masters.

Bob Jones IV, the grandson of Bobby Jones and a member of the Atlanta Athletic Club, said, “For me personally to know that the centennial of the Grand Slam is coming to my grandfathe­r’s club in my hometown, it’s almost moving beyond words. It really is. We have an opportunit­y over the next seven or eight years to help retell the Bobby Jones story for an entire new generation and get people to see him more in living color than just simply as a sepia photograph. We’re very excited about it.”

The Atlanta Athletic Club’s mission statement includes the desire to host major championsh­ips. Since the club moved to its current location in Johns Creek, it has hosted the U.S. Open (1976), PGA Championsh­ip (1981, 2001, 2011), U.S. Women’s Open (1990), U.S. Amateur (2014), KPMG Women’s PGA Championsh­ip (2021), U.S. Mid-amateur (1984), Arnold Palmer Cup (2017) and Junior World Open (1982).

“The Atlanta Athletic Club is

proud to continue its tradition of hosting national championsh­ips,” said Kevin Costello, club president. “Building on our enduring relationsh­ip with the USGA, it’s an honor to showcase our golf courses to the world and play host to these prestigiou­s championsh­ips that truly embody the spirit of the amateur game and support the next generation of golfers.”

The club will use its two courses, Highlands and Riverside, to conduct the two rounds of stroke play at the Amateur and Women’s Amateur. The match-play portion will be contested on the famed Highlands course.

The USGA is undecided but may opt to use the Riverside course for the Girls’ Junior. The course, which hosted the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open, is being renovated by architect Tripp Davis.

“We are thrilled to return to Atlanta Athletic Club to conduct these three USGA championsh­ips,” said Mark Hill, USGA senior managing director of championsh­ips. “It was very intentiona­l. There are deep connection­s here.”

The 2014 U.S. Amateur was won by unheralded Gunn Yang, who bested a field that included future U.S. Amateur winners Jon Rahm and Bryson Dechambeau.

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