The US Men’s Public Links Championship, an amateur event whose winner earns a berth in the Masters, and its women’s version are being ended after 2014, the US Golf Association (USGA) said Monday.
Golf’s US governing body plans to replace the events with a men’s and women’s US Amateur Four-Ball Championship starting in 2015, the first new events created by the USGA in a quarter-of-a-century.
They will be played between mid-March and late May with hosts of the inaugural editions yet to be announced.
The Public Links has helped launch numerous PGA Tour careers, with its winners including South Africa’s Tim Clark in 1997, 2008 Masters winner Trevor Immelman of South Africa in 1998 and reigning PGA playoff champion Brandt Snedeker in 2003.
The US Women’s Public Links past winners include Taiwan’s World No. 1 Yani Tseng in 2004, South Korean Pearl Sinn in 1988 and US star Michelle Wie, who won the 2003 title at age 13 to become the youngest champion in USGA history.
With links to the sport’s amateur roots dating to legendary Bobby Jones, the Masters would offer a berth in the next year’s event to Public Links winners if they were still amateurs.
The USGA said an internal review determined the Public Links events “no longer serve their original mission because of the widespread accessibility public-course golfers today enjoy in USGA championships.”
“While our fondness for these championships made this decision a difficult one, we will continue to proudly celebrate the legacy and important role that the (events) have had on the game by forever honoring them in the USGA Museum,” USGA rules director John Bodenhamer said.
USGA vice president Thomas O’Toole said the popularity of four-ball led the USGA to create the new events.
“Because the four-ball format lends itself to spirited team competition and aggressive risk-reward shotmaking, we are confident these championships will deliver exciting amateur golf to the national stage for both players and spectators alike,” he said.
USGA scraps Public Links events for Fourballs
