By Fred Altvater
The U.S. Open will be held June 16-19 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts near Boston. This historic club hosted the 1913 U.S. Open won by a 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet, when he outdueled the great Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. Seeing this son of immigrants, successfully defeating two of the games greats, on a course reserved for the upper class, ignited a huge golf boom in this country. 
Ouimet’s victory is considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of sport and was elegantly brought to the big screen in the movie, “The Greatest Game Ever Played.”
This will be the 122nd U.S. Open Championship hosted by the United States Golf Association, which first began in 1895 in Newport, Rhode Island, with England’s Horace Rawlins getting the win.
Any golfer with a handicap index of 1.,4 or less is welcome to qualify for the U.S. Open. Only 48 players are fully exempt into the 2022 tournament. With a total field of 156 golfers, 9,265 hopefuls submitted entries to qualify for the remaining spots, including a couple of past champions, Graeme McDowell and Lucas Glover.
Local qualifiers have already been held at 109 courses in the U.S. and Canada. Two final qualifiers were held in Dallas, Texas and in Japan on May 23. Ten locations in Canada and the United States will host final qualifiers on June 6th.
This is the 13th time that the number of entries exceeded 9,000. Entries were accepted from golfers in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and 79 foreign countries.
Jon Rahm won this event last year at Torrey Pines in California. He is currently ranked No. 2 in the world, behind Scott Scheffler, who won the Masters Tournament in April.
Other fully exempt players include 11 past champions, Bryson DeChambeau (2020), Jim Furyk (2003), Dustin Johnson (2016), Martin Kaymer (2014), Brooks Koepka (2017, 2018), Rory McIlroy (2011), Justin Rose (2013), Webb Simpson (2012), Jordan Spieth (2015), Gary Woodland (2019) and Tiger Woods (2000, 2002, 2008).
The top 60 on the Official World Golf Ranking, as of May 23 and June 6 will also be fully exempt, plus any multiple winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship will also earn exemptions.
The Country Club has hosted the U.S. Open three times previously, 1913, 1963 and 1988, with each requiring an 18-hole Monday playoff. In 1988, Curtis Strange won the first of his two consecutive U.S. Open titles, when he defeated Nick Faldo by four strokes.
Both Ouimet (1913) and Julius Boros (1963) needed extra holes to hoist the U.S. Open Trophy.
The Country Club is one of the original five founding member clubs of the USGA and will host its 17th USGA championship.
It is rare that the general public is invited inside the gates at this exclusive private club. It should once again provide an excellent setting for the 122nd U.S. Open.
