The future of golf will be on display at storied Oakland Hills Country Club next week.
And fans can soak it all in, for free.
The U.S. Junior Amateur will be played at Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Township for the first time, starting Monday, with Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, and Miles Russell, who recently competed in the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, headlining the field.
“I look forward to seeing the next generation of future golf stars at Oakland Hills,” said Jeffrey Judge, an Oakland Hills member and chairman of the championship, “competing for the most-coveted championship in junior golf.
“It is great for Oakland Hills to be back on the world golf stage.”
The U.S. Junior Amateur is the first in a wave of United States Golf Association championships to be hosted by Oakland Hills in the coming decades, including multiple U.S. Opens and U.S. Women’s Opens. This is the first big tournament hosted by Oakland Hills since the renovation of the famous South Course was completed in 2021, and since the February 2022 fire that destroyed the stately and historic clubhouse.
It is the first USGA tournament hosted by Oakland Hills since the U.S. Amateur in 2016.
The U.S. Junior Amateur starts Monday, with stroke play Monday and Tuesday, each of the 264 golfers playing one round on each course. The low 64 scores then move on to match play, which starts Wednesday and will conclude with Saturday’s 36-hole championship match. If a playoff is needed to determine the last of the 64 players moving on to match play, that will be Wednesday morning, with match play starting afterward.
The championship will be free all week for fans, with no tickets needed.
Parking also is free, but there will be no on-site parking. There are three lots available: the Red Lot, at 20500 Civic Center Drive in Southfield; the White Lot at 25800 Northwestern Highway in Southfield; and the Blue Lot at 4200 Andover Road (Bloomfield Hills High School) in Bloomfield Township. A free shuttle service from each lot will begin each day at 6 a.m., with the final shuttle each day leaving Oakland Hills 30 minutes following the conclusion of play.
The South and North courses will be used Monday and Tuesday, with the South used exclusively after that.
There will be a concession stand near the first fairway on the South Course, featuring food and beverages from local food trucks. Oakland Hills’ interim golf shop also will be open and will have a fully stocked collection of championship gear. Club personnel had to scramble to order more inventory after Charlie Woods, Tiger’s 15-year-old kid who will be a sophomore in high school, qualified for the tournament. Two additional parking lots also were added after Charlie qualified. Tiger Woods is expected to be in the gallery.
Peacock will broadcast the semifinals on Friday, and the championship match on Saturday.
“Hosting major championships is part of our mission statement and what we are about as a club,” Judge said.
“It’s going to be an exciting week.”
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
Dec 21, 2024, 06:46 PM ETORLANDO, Fla. -- Tiger Woods and 15-year-old son Charlie ran off five straight birdies on the back nine Saturday for a 13-under 59 in t