 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Merion Golf Club has hosted more USGA championships (17) than any other venue and the Ardmore, Pa., club is a major proponent of amateur competitions, including the 2009 Walker Cup Match. (USGA Museum) |
By John Companiotte
Merion's East Course is notable as the host site for more USGA championships than any other course in America. Of the 17 USGA championships held at Merion, from the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1904 through the 2005 U.S. Amateur, 13 were amateur events; two being team events (Curtis Cup and World Amateur Team Championship) and 11 being individual championships. When it hosts the 2009 Walker Cup Match Sept. 12-13, the club will join the Old Course at St. Andrews as the only venues to have hosted the Walker Cup, Curtis Cup and World Amateur Team Championships.
Merion Golf Club was founded in 1896 by members of the Merion Cricket Club (esta. 1865) and has been situated in Ardmore, Pa., just northwest of downtown Philadelphia, since 1912. Club member Hugh Wilson, a Scottish immigrant, designed the East Course as well as the West Course, which opened in 1914.
The club's longstanding commitment to amateur golf begins with nurturing junior members, continues through supporting many club members who compete at the local, regional and national level and reaches its pinnacle with being the host site for competitions at every level of play.
The competitive spirit of Merion's women golfers is evidenced by their 60 victories in the Philadelphia Cup, the interclub matches of the Women's Golf Association of Philadelphia, going back to 1898. Member Vinny West has competed in the event for more than 40 years.
And, arguably, one of the most remarkable achievements in golf culminated at Merion when Bob Jones completed the fabled “Grand Slam” in 1930 by winning the U.S. Amateur. Earlier, Jones had claimed the British Amateur, British Open and U.S. Open. No golfer since has won all four major championships – now comprising the U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship and the Masters Tournament – in the same calendar year.
In fact, Jones’ introduction to golf at the national level occurred at Merion in 1916 when at the age of 14, he advanced to the quarterfinals in his first U.S. Amateur. He caught the attention of USGA officials earlier that summer when he won the Georgia State Amateur Championship. He returned to Merion in 1924 and won the U.S. Amateur in decisive fashion over George Von Elm in the final, 9 and 8.
Junior golf is heavily supported at Merion through The Stewart Cup, the junior boys championship that began in 1948, and the Baruch Cup, the club’s junior girls championship.
The U.S. Girls' Junior Championship was held at Merion in 1998 and won by Leigh Anne Hardin. The Glenna Collett Vare Trophy, named for one of Merion's most outstanding members and one of America’s greatest female amateurs in the 1920s and 1930s, is given to the U.S. Girls’ Junior champion. Vare won several events at Merion, including the 1939, 1941, and 1953 Dorothy Campbell Howe Trophy.
Proving that there may be a gene for golf aptitude, Mrs. John G. Capers Jr. was the Merion women's club champion nine times between 1942 and 1967. Her son, John Capers III has won several men's club championships and men's senior club championships. John III's daughter, Betsy Capers, twice won the girls junior championship at Merion. She should be a contender for many years to come if she follows her father's example. John III won his first men's club championship in 1972 and claimed titles at the club championship and the men's senior club championship in 2004.
The Hugh Wilson Invitational began in 1978 and is among the premier amateur events annually held in the U.S. Originally conducted with a partners’ better-ball format, it was changed to individual medal play in 1993. Merion member George "Buddy" Marucci Jr., the 2009 USA Walker Cup captain, partnered with Jay Sigel to win in 1985, and then partnered with David Brookreson to win in 1990.
In 1995, Marucci won the mid-amateur (25 and over) category of the Hugh Wilson Invitational. Last fall, Marucci won the USGA Senior Amateur for his first national championship. He was the runner-up to Tiger Woods in the 1995 U.S. Amateur and competed on two USA Walker Cup teams. He served as the captain of the winning USA squad that beat Great Britain and Ireland 12½-11½ in 2007.
Philadelphia native Dorothy G. Porter won the 1949 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship at Merion. Her daughter, Nancy, eventually became a member at Merion, and both women qualified for the 1976 U.S. Women's Open. Nancy won 12 women's club championships at Merion from 1975 through 2004.
In a letter to the club in 1975, Dorothy expressed her admiration of Merion's East Course, summarizing the challenge that awaits any golfer: "Merion is outstanding, in my opinion, because it relies on the ability of the golfer to think and make all types of golf shots rather than sheer length. The number and strategic placement of your [bunkers] is known throughout the golfing world. The greens are large, undulating and can make or break a golfer. Many of your shorter, so-called easier holes have broken the back of the careless, greedy golfer. No hole, no shot can be taken for granted."
John Campionette is a member of the USGA’s Communications Committee and an occasional contributor to USGA Web sites.
