Why U.S. Open Host Sites Are on a 25-Year Game Plan

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — The winner of the 2051 U.S. Open may very well not even be born yet.

But as the 126th U.S. Open concludes at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Sunday, the USGA already has 22 future host sites mapped out over the next quarter century—all the way through 2051 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan.

John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer, knows that sounds absurd to most people—but says it’s for good reason.

“Previously, we used to think two or three years out for a U.S. Open, a U.S Women’s Open—any of our championships—and now we’re thinking 10, 15, 20 years out,” Bodenhamer told Front Office Sports this past week.

In February, the USGA announced Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, would host the U.S. Open in 2045—actually a shorter lead time than several other future hosts. That’s a much different approach than taken by the two other major championships that rotate venues annually.