The Olympia Fields North Course has 88 sand bunkers and one lake and one creek. The greens are slightly smaller than the weekly PGA Tour stops with an average size of 5,000 square feet. About 22,000 rounds of golf are played annually on the North Course.

The fairways of bent and poa anna grasses will range in width from roughly 24 to 30 yards. The deepest rough, a bluegrass and ryegrass mix, will be 3½"; the intermediate rough of six feet on each side of the hole in will be set to 1¼". Around the greens, the intermediate rough will be 3-foot wide strip. The greens will be set to run at 12 feet on the Stimpmeter as of Monday and will be monitored the rest of the week. The North Course, designed by Willie Park Junior, will be set up at 7,190 yards and will play to par 36-34-70.

Olympia Fields Hole #10

Hole By Hole Scorecard:

HOLE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	OUT
PAR	5	4	4	3	4	5	3	4	4	36
YARDS	576	400	389	164	440	555	212	433	496	3,665
HOLE	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	IN
PAR	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	3	4	34
YARDS	444	467	458	397	414	187	451	247	460	3,525

The current layout is 349 yards more than the U.S. Senior Open was played at in 1997. The configuration of most of the holes is different as well. Holes 1 and 18 are the same.

2002 Results
Tiger Woods led from start to finish to win the 2002 Open, claiming his second title. He won his first U.S. Open championship in 2000. Woods finished at -3, three strokes over Phil Mickelson, five over Jeff Maggert and by six over Sergio Garcia.

2003 Information

Pairings will be available Friday, June 6 and will be posted on the USGA Internet site at www.usga.org.

Starting times for Thursday and Friday will begin at 7:00 a.m., off the first and tenth tees.

Schedule of Play - Eighteen holes of stroke play is scheduled each day from June 12 (Thursday) through June 15 (Sunday). In the case of a tie after 72 holes, an 18-hole playoff will be held on June 16 (Monday), beginning at noon (EDT).

Championship Field - The starting field of 156 golfers will be cut after 36 holes to the low 60 scorers (and ties), and any player within 10 strokes of the leader.

Attendance - 35,000 tickets have been sold for each day of the Championship making each day a sell out and this open the 17th consecutice sell out.

Exempt Players - Seventy-three players are fully exempt into the 156-player Open field, including nine past champions - Ernie Els (1997,1994), Retief Goosen (2001), Hale Irwin (1990,1979,1974), Lee Janzen (1998,1993), Steve Jones (1996), Tom Kite (1992), Corey Pavin (1995), Tom Watson (1982) and Tiger Woods (2002, 2000). A champion receives a full exemption into the field for 10 years.

Defending the Title - Since 1991, only one champion has finished better than 40th in his title defence. Tiger Woods finished 12th in 2001 after winning in 2000. Four champions missed the cut the next year, including Retief Goosen in 2002.

Traditional Pairing - Traditionall, the reigning U.S. Open, British Open and U.S. Amateur champions are paired together for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods will be paired with British Open winner Ernie Els and U.S. Amateur champion Ricky Barnes of Stockton, California for Thursday and Friday play at Olympia Fields.

33rd Consecutive Open Start for Irwin - Hale Irwin accepted a special exemption to compete in the upcoming U.S. Open, so he will be making his 33rd consecutive Open start (34th overall). Only Jack Nicklaus (44) and Gene Sarazen (33) have played in as many or more Opens. A three-time champion (1974, 1979 and 1990), Irwin played in his first Open as a professional in 1971 at Merion (Pa.) Golf Club. His first Open overall was in 1966, as an amateur, at the Olympic Club (Calif.). He started his consecutive streak in 1971. Another long-time participant will be 1992 Open champion Tom Kite, who will be playing in his 30th consecutive Open (32nd overall). Tom Watson, the 1982 Open champion, will be playing in his 30th Championship. Kite and Watson also received special exemptions.

Winner's Share - First-place money for this Open will be $1,080,000. The total purse in 2003 will be $6 million, an increase of $500,000 from a year ago.

Other Prizes - Among the benefits enjoyed by the Open winner are:

• an Open exemption for the next 10 years
• an invitation to the next five Masters Tournaments
• an invitation to the next 10 British Open Championships
• an invitation to the next five Players Championships
• an invitation to the next five PGA Championships
• exempt status on the PGA Tour for five years

• The top 15 finishers are exempt for next year's (2004) U.S. Open
• The top 8 finishers are invited to next year's (2004) Masters Tournament
• The winner qualifies for this year's (2003) British Open
• The winner qualifies for this year's (2003) PGA Championship

All photos courtesy of USGA