Tiger Woods at the 1996 U.S. Amateur Championship
Robert Walker, USGA
NEW YORK, NEW YORK | The medal presented annually to the U.S. Amateur champion and the trophy awarded to the U.S. Junior Amateur champion will be renamed and redesigned to honor Tiger Woods, the USGA announced Saturday at its annual meeting, recognizing one of the most extraordinary competitive careers in the game’s history and his unparalleled amateur golf résumé.
Beginning with the 126th U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club and the 78th U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley Country Club later this year, each champion will receive the Tiger Woods Medal and the Tiger Woods Trophy, respectively, celebrating Woods’ legacy as the only player to win three consecutive U.S. Junior Amateurs and three consecutive U.S. Amateurs.
“Tiger Woods redefined what was possible in amateur golf,” said Mike Whan, the USGA’s CEO. “His achievements as a junior and amateur didn’t just set records – they set a new standard of excellence. Naming our U.S. Amateur medal and U.S. Junior Amateur trophy in his honor ensures that every future champion is forever connected to a legacy that helped shape the modern game.”
Woods joins a select group of golf’s most influential figures to be honored through the naming of USGA championship medals. The U.S. Open gold medal bears the name of Jack Nicklaus, while the U.S. Women’s Open medal honors Mickey Wright. Most recently, the USGA announced that the U.S. Women’s Amateur medal will be named for eight-time USGA champion JoAnne Carner and will be presented for the first time later this year.
Three of golf’s most storied stages are set to welcome Curtis Cup and Walker Cup matches in the coming decades. National Golf Links of America will host the 2040 Walker Cup, Cypress Point Club will host the 2042 Curtis Cup and 2048 Walker Cup, and Seminole Golf Club will host the 2046 Curtis Cup and 2052 Walker Cup.
Both the Curtis Cup and the Walker Cup will be contested this year. The Curtis Cup will be played at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles on June 12-14, and the Walker Cup will be played at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland on Sept. 5-6. Moving forward, the Walker Cup will be played in even-numbered years to avoid conflicts with the World Amateur Team Championship.
The Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, will host the 2045 U.S. Open and two other future USGA championships, the USGA announced.
Before hosting its fifth U.S. Open, Inverness will welcome the 2033 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2036 U.S. Women’s Amateur, building on a championship schedule that already includes the 2027 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2029 U.S. Amateur. The 2045 U.S. Open will be its 13th USGA championship.
Founded in 1903, Inverness hosted U.S. Opens in 1920, 1931, 1957 and 1979, as well as two U.S. Senior Opens, one U.S. Amateur and, most recently, the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur. The Donald Ross-designed course has undergone several modifications in its history, the most recent being Andrew Green’s acclaimed efforts to restore the layout to its early 20th-century feel. The par-71 layout can play to more than 7,700 yards, with 90 bunkers and small, undulating bentgrass greens acting as its defense. Green’s restoration was the critical element in welcoming Inverness back into the unofficial U.S. Open rota, Whan said.
The USGA elected Kevin Hammer of Boynton Beach, Florida, as its 68th president. Hammer will serve a two-year term spearheading the USGA Executive Committee, the volunteer-led policy-making board that provides oversight to the USGA’s full-time staff.
Outgoing USGA president Fred Perpall (right) greets incoming president Kevin Hammer.
Jason E. Miczek, USGA
Hammer brings a lifetime of golf experience to the role. He grew up in a “golf house,” as the son of Robert Hammer, a one-time PGA Tour and PGA of America professional and runner-up in the 1960 U.S. Junior Amateur. Hammer’s home was a revolving door of players, golf course architects, caddies and golf club experts. He earned first-team American Junior Golf Association All-America honors, played collegiately at the University of Florida and qualified for multiple USGA championships. Following his amateur career, he has brought his passion for the game to numerous leadership roles, notably serving on the USGA Executive Committee since 2022 and spending 10 years on the Florida State Golf Association board of directors, including two years as FSGA president (2020-21).
“I am fortunate to have spent my entire life around the game I love,” said Hammer. “In that time, I’ve learned that golf has the unique ability to bring people together – from elite professionals to junior golfers, families and communities. As the 68th president of the USGA, my focus will be on preserving the true spirit of the competition, accessibility, and fun that defines golf and the people who make it worth playing.”
Unlike his two immediate predecessors, Fred Perpall and Stu Francis, Hammer will serve a two-year term. Francis was the first president to serve for three years. Likewise, Perpall served for three years. However, since the position of president-elect came into being in 2018, the president’s term effectively became four years. That was thought to be too big of an ask for a volunteer position.
The USGA presented its highest honor, the Bob Jones Award, to Ellen Port in recognition of her exemplary sportsmanship, character and lifelong contributions to the game as one of the most accomplished amateur golfers in history and a devoted educator, coach and mentor.
Ellen Port
“What stands out about Ellen isn’t just the historic success she’s had as a player but the way she has gone about it – with humility, grace and a deep respect for everyone around her,” Whan said. “She has spent her life pouring into others as a teacher, coach and mentor, all while competing at the very highest level of amateur golf. Ellen embodies everything this award represents.”
Port is a seven-time USGA champion, having won four U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs and three U.S. Women’s Senior Amateurs.
Presented annually since 1955, the Bob Jones Award recognizes an individual who demonstrates the character, integrity and respect for the game that were among the many lasting qualities of Robert Tyre “Bob” Jones Jr.
Augusta National Golf Club and Masters Tournament Charities have committed $1.5 million over three years to support the expansion of the State Junior Team component of the U.S. National Development Program, the USGA announced in advance of the annual meeting.
The commitment, which runs from 2026 through 2028, will provide $500,000 annually to help grow and strengthen state-based junior development programs across the country, with the goal of having all 50 states participating in the State Junior Team Program by the end of 2028.
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Jim Nugent
