Matt Fitzpatrick has a chance to make some unique golf history on Sunday.
Not only does the 27-year-old Englishman have a chance to become just the 12th player to win both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open, but he’d be the first to do so at the same course. Fitzpatrick won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, and enters Sunday’s final round tied for first at 4 under with Will Zalatoris.
The last to accomplish the impressive feat? That’d be Bryson DeChambeau, who claimed the 2015 U.S. Amateur and the 2020 U.S. Open. Get to know the 12 players who have won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open.
By now everyone is well aware of Ouimet’s historic U.S. Open victory in the 1913 U.S. Open at The Country Club via a playoff with Harry Vardon and Ted Ray (as seen in the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played). The youngster won the 1914 U.S. Amateur just a year later and also won the 1931 U.S. Amateur.
Travers was next to do so, achieving the double the very next year by winning the 1915 U.S. Open after claiming the U.S. Amateur in 1907, 1908, 1912 and 1913. Travers lost his shot at a U.S. Amateur three-peat in 1914 when he got rolled in the final match by Ouimet, 6 and 5.
Francis Ouimet v Jerome Travers in their second round match of the 1913 US Amateur Championship at Garden City.
“I have scarcely ever seen a match between two amateurs in which the play went on hole after hole with so few mistakes and so many brilliant shots” – Bernard Darwin pic.twitter.com/eqxfUnQrK4
— TheGolfDivoTee™ (@TheGolfDivoTee) May 5, 2022
Evans joined the party a year later in 1916, becoming the first player to win both events in the same year. Like Ouimet, he won them in reverse order, claiming the U.S. Open in June of 1916 before adding the U.S. Amateur two months later in September. He also went on to win the 1920 U.S. Amateur.
Jones won the 1923 U.S. Open and followed it up with the 1924 U.S. Amateur before becoming the second player to win both championships in the same year in 1930, while also adding the British Amateur and British Open titles. He also won the U.S. Amateur in 1925, 1927 and 1928 and the U.S. Open in 1926 and 1929.
Goodman won the 1933 U.S. Open as an amateur and claimed the U.S. Amateur four years later in 1937.
37 days until the #USOpen! It’s been 86 years since an amateur won the title and Johnny Goodman was the last to do it at the 37th championship. #RoadToPebbleBeach pic.twitter.com/vlcKip9cdz
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) May 7, 2019
Little is a legend in the amateur golf world, winning both the U.S. and British amateurs in 1934 and 1935 for the double defense. A few years later Little won the 1940 U.S. Open.
Lawson Little. US Am, British Am + US Open winner. pic.twitter.com/WIJ5rXl5qH
— David Poulton (@doglegpar3) April 4, 2021
Palmer started his legacy as one of the best to ever touch a club with his win at the 1954 U.S. Amateur, and added to his legacy with his 1960 U.S. Open win, where he overcame a seven-shot deficit to defeat Jack Nicklaus.
Littler almost beat The King to the punch. He won the U.S. Amateur the year prior to Palmer in 1953, but won the U.S. Open a year after him in 1961.
You think Jack would let Arnie have all the fun? Nicklaus won the first of two U.S. Amateur titles in 1959 and won the first of four U.S. Open titles just three years later in 1962. He won his second U.S. Amateur the year before in 1961 and added the 1967, 1972 and 1980 U.S. Opens to complete his record total of 18 major championships.
Somewhat similar to what Fitzpatrick is attempting to accomplish, Nicklaus won both his second U.S. Amateur and third U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
Pate won the 1974 U.S. Amateur then claimed the 1976 U.S. Open as a rookie on Tour. Not a bad way to start your career.
Woods has three of each title to his name, completing the U.S. Amateur three-peat from 1994-1996 before winning his first U.S. Open in 2000 (and again in 2002 and 2008).
As noted above, DeChambeau is the most-recent winner of the USGA double (2015 U.S. Amateur and 2020 U.S. Open).