Fact Sheet

July 9 - 14
Cantigny Golf
Wheaton, Ill.

PAR AND YARDAGE – Cantigny Golf (pronounced Canteeny) will play at 7,048/7,031 yards and a par of 36-36—72. The par-3 third hole can be played at 223 or 206 yards.

HOLE BY HOLE – Holes 1-9 (Woodside Nine) will play at 3,606/3,589 yards and par 36

Holes 10-18 (Lakeside Nine) will play at 3,442 and par 36

COURSE SET-UP – USGA Course Rating™ for the APL Championship at Cantigny Golf is 74.7 and USGA SLOPE Rating® is 142.
Teeing ground – perennial ryegrass/Poa annua; Height of grass – 0.44 "
Fairways and approaches – perennial ryegrass/Poa annua; Height of grass – 0.44"
Putting greens – creeping bentgrass/Poa annua; Speed – 11.0 feet on the USGA Stimpmeter
Rough – Kentucky bluegrass / perennial ryegrass/ fine fescue

ARCHITECT – Cantigny Golf was designed by Roger Packard and opened in 1989. The 27-hole facility features three distinct nine-hole layouts. The course has been updated by Jacobsen Golf Design. The Woodside and Lakeside nines will be used for the championship.

ILLINOIS AND THE APL: Although Cantigny is hosting its first APL and first USGA championship, this is the fifth time the championship is being contested in Illinois and the fourth time in the Chicago area. Cog Hill Golf Club in Lemont twice hosted the event in 1970 and ’89, while Spencer T. Olin Community Golf Course in Alton (east of St. Louis) had the APL in 1999 and Silver Lake G.C. in Orland hosted in 1958. This will be the 56th USGA championship to be held in the state.

Jerry Vidovic of Blue Island (Chicago suburb) is the only player from Illinois to have captured the APL title, defeating Jeff Kern, 4 and 2, at Brown Deer Park Golf Course in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1977. Vidovic is now the pro-manager at the Meadows of Blue Island, a public facility. Pete Miller of Chicago was the 1932 APL runner-up to R.L. Miller at Shawnee Golf Course in Louisville, Ky.

WHAT’S IN A NAME: Col. Robert R. McCormick was an artillery battalion commander in the Army’s famous 1st Infantry Division. Cantigny is a small town in France, where McCormick’s artillery battalion supported the 1st Infantry Division in the first United States-led offensive operation of World War I. The battle made a lasting impression on Colonel McCormick, who later became the publisher of the Chicago Tribune, and he commemorated the battle by renaming his 500-acre estate in Wheaton, Cantigny. The estate also features two museums, one of which is dedicated to the 1st Infantry Division, an organization that traces its evolution from the Revolutionary War to the present. The estate also features 10 acres of gardens.

CANTIGNY YOUTH LINKS: Across the street from the 27-hole championship golf facility sits the Cantigny Youth Links, a nine-hole course designed by Roger Packard strictly for children ages 8-15. The holes range in length from 65 to 160 yards. The unique facility, which opened in 1998, features a clubhouse and downstairs teaching area, where kids involved in the program can get certified through a written test and on-course understanding of etiquette, Rules and safety. Adults are permitted to play the course only as the guest of a youth, but can walk with their child if he/she has yet to be certified. Once certified, the youths can play the course by themselves, and anyone older than 15 must be "invited" by the youth to play. Adults can watch their children play from the pro shop via a closed-circuit television. The facility also is used for LPGA-USGA Girls’ Golf meetings during the summer months as well as the Cantigny Boys’ and Girls’ Club. Juniors 13 and older can also get involved with the Cantigny Caddie Program. Cantigny Youth Links also has a variety of Junior Golf Programs. For more information on Cantigny Youth Links, call (630) 260-8199 or go to www.CantignyGolf.com.

GROUPINGS AND STARTING TIMES – Groupings and starting times will be distributed to the media in early July. They will also be posted on the USGA Web site at www.usga.org.

WWW.USGA.ORG/CHAMPIONSHIPS - Log on to the USGA Internet site (www.usga.org/championships) for the latest U.S. Amateur Public Links information during the championship.

DEFENDING CHAMPION – Casey Watabu, 22, of Kapaa, Hawaii, recorded a 4-and-3 victory over 21-year-old California-born Anthony Kim of Traverse City, Mich., in the 36-hole championship match at the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship on the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club. Watabu became the fourth player from the state of Hawaii to win the APL and the first since Guy Yamamoto in 1994.

Kim, a member of the victorious 2005 USA Walker Cup team and a semifinalist at the 2005 APL, was 5 down after the morning 18 and trailed by as many as seven holes before making the final margin respectable.

"It’s unbelievable," said Watabu, who played his college golf at the University of Nevada, where he received his degree in December. "I knew I could play, and sooner or later it would be my time. I just kept on being patient. It took a while, but it’s well worth it. Well worth the wait."

Watabu had qualified for the APL on two previous occasions, but had failed to advance to match play. His parents took a red-eye flight from Hawaii on Friday night to see him compete in the final match. By winning the APL, Watabu also received an invitation to play in the 2007 Masters.

Watabu has entered the 2007 APL in hopes of defending his title.

THE FIELD – A total of 4,636 entries were accepted by the USGA for the 2007 championship. The record of 6,300 was set in 1998.

EXEMPT PLAYERS: A total of seven players are fully exempt from qualifying for the 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. They are:

Mark Harrell, Hazlehurst, Ga. – 2007 U.S. Open qualifier
Daniel Im, Fullerton, Calif. – 2006 APL quarterfinalist
Garrett Jones, Rewey, Wis. – 2005 APL semifinalist
Sihwan Kim, Buena Park, Calif. – 2006 APL quarterfinalist
Dayton Rose, Midwest City, Okla. – 2004 APL runner-up
Matt Savage, Louisville, Ky. – 2006 APL quarterfinalist
Casey Watabu, Kapaa, Hawaii – 2006 APL champion

LOCAL PLAYERS – Seven players from the state of Illinois have currently qualified for the championship. They are: Philip Arouca (Wilmette), Eric Burch (Rockford), Chris Eddy (Belleville), Mark Gardiner (Mascoutah), Curtis Minkel (Pekin), Jonathon Schram (Buffalo Grove) and Tim Streng (Arlington Heights).

USGA CHAMPIONS IN THE FIELD – In addition to defending APL champion Casey Watabu, there are two other USGA champion in the field: Sihwan Kim of Buena Park, Calif. (2004 Junior Amateur) and Alan Hill of Spring Branch, Texas (2005 USGA Men’s State Team Championship).

SCHEDULE OF PLAY –
Monday and Tuesday, July 9-10 – Stroke-play qualifying, 18 holes, (field reduced to the lowest 64 players, who advance to match play).
Wednesday, July 11 – First round, 18 holes, match play.
Thursday, July 12 – Second and third round, 18 holes, match play.
Friday, July 13 – Quarterfinals and semifinals, 18 holes, match play.
Saturday, July 14 – Final, 36 holes, match play. Awards ceremony following play.

ADMISSION – Admission is free. Tickets are not needed for this USGA championship, and spectators are encouraged to attend.

FOR THE WINNER – The champion receives:

• A gold medal and custody of the James D. Standish Jr. Cup for one year.
• A 10-year exemption from sectional qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
• An exemption from local qualifying for the next three U.S. Open Championships.
• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the 2006 and 2007 U.S. Amateur.
• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the 2006 and 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur, if otherwise eligible.
• A likely invitation to compete in the next Masters Tournament, if still an amateur.

THE TROPHY - The Championship trophy was presented in 1922 by James D. Standish Jr., the central figure in organizing this championship. Standish served a 13-year term on the USGA Executive Committee, including two years as president (1950-51). At the same time, the USGA presented the Warren G. Harding team trophy, awarded to the team with the best 36-hole total during stroke-play qualifying. Teams can comprise two or three players with the lowest 36-hole score from each day counting towards the team total.

WHO CAN PLAY – The championship is open to any amateur golfer, who since Jan. 1, 2007, has been bona fide public-course player and has not held privileges at any course that does not expend playing privileges to the general public, or privileges of any private club maintaining its own course, and has a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 8.4. A bona fide public-course player may hold incidental privileges of a course not open to the public when such privileges are provided by (1) an educational institution at which she is a student, or (2) a federal armed service of which she is a member, or (3) an industry by which she is employed. Entries closed on May 30.

QUALIFYING – National qualifying was held at 74 sites from June 7-26.

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – The 2006 APL Team Championship was won by the team from Tulsa, Okla., at 8-under-par 280. Fifty teams competed.

HISTORY – The U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship has been an unqualified success since its inception in 1922, giving exposure to many public-course players who otherwise might not have an opportunity to compete in a national championship. The inaugural event drew 140 entrants, with less than half wearing golf shoes. Today, the APL attracts as many as 6,000 entries. While a majority of the field is comprised of high school and college students, the event still attracts bus drivers, bartenders, firemen, waiters, riveters, engineers and college professors.

The competition also has been a springboard to professional success for players such as U.S. Open champions Ed Furgol, Tommy Bolt and Ken Venturi; British Open champion Tony Lema; PGA Champions Dave Marr and Bobby Nichols; and Masters winner George Archer.

Billy Mayfair and reigning champion Ryan Moore are the only players to have captured the U.S. Amateur and APL titles, the latter doing it in the same year. In 1946, Smiley Quick was the APL champion and U.S. Amateur runner-up.

Carl Kauffmann of Pittsburgh, Pa., is the only player to have won the APL three times, doing so in consecutive years from 1927-29. Seven others have won it twice.

California has produced the most APL champions with 22. Florida, Texas, New York and Pennsylvania have each had five winners, followed by Hawaii and Washington with four apiece.

PAST CHAMPIONS – Former APL winners who have gone on to professional careers include Jodie Mudd, Billy Mayfair, David Berganio Jr., Tim Clark, Trevor Immelman, Hunter Haas, D.J. Trahan, Brandt Snedeker and Ryan Moore.

FUTURE APL SITES: In 2008, the championship will be played at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora, Colo., while the 2009 APL is set for the Jimmy Austin/University of Oklahoma Golf Club in Norman, Okla.

USGA MEDIA CONTACT – David Shefter will be the USGA media representative on site. Prior to the championship he can be reached at (908) 234-2300, ext. 1315 or via e-mail at dshefter@usga.org.