The USGA's US Open golf championship attracts thousands upon thousands of entries every year.
Most of the golfers who enter the US Open face having to go through two rounds of qualifying to get into the national championship, including an 18-hole local qualifier and then a 36-hole sectional qualifier.
In order to enter the US Open qualifying process, a golfer has to be an amateur golf carrying a USGA-approved Handicap Index of 1.4 or less. A professional golfer does not have to carry a specific Handicap Index.
In 2018, 9,049 golfers entered US Open qualifying to play at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, N.Y. Its the 10th time in US Open history the USGA has received at least 9,000 entries to compete in the championship.
The all-time record for US Open entries is 10,127, received for the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
Record number of US Open entries
- 2014 (Pinehurst No. 2) - 10,127 entries
- 2015 (Chambers Bay) - 9,882 entries
- 2016 (Oakmont Country Club) - 9,860 entries
- 2013 (Merion Golf Club) - 9,860
By comparison, typically just under 2,000 women sign up for US Women's Open qualifying.
