U.S. Open Golf Courses - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Springfield, New Jersey. The Lower Course was used every thirteen years from 1954 to 1993, with Jack Nicklaus triumphing in the two middle years, setting a record with a 272 in 1980.
• A2) St. Louis, Missouri. South Africa's Gary Player won his only U.S. Open in 1965, the only time Bellerive hosted.
• A3) Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. Arnold Palmer won his only U.S. Open in 1960 and Andy North the first of two in 1978.
• A4) Bethesda, Maryland. Ken Venturi was victorious on the Blue Course in 1964 and Ernie Els in 1997, his second U.S. Open in four years.
• A5) Chaska, Minnesota. Tony Jacklin became the most recent Englishman to capture a U.S. Open in 1970.
• A6) Medinah, Illinois. Course No. 3 was used in 1949, 1975, and 1990, with Hale Irwin taking the third of his three U.S. Opens the last time.
• A7) Ardmore, Pennsylvania. The East Course has seen both Ben Hogan (1950) and Lee Trevino (1971) win their second U.S. Opens here, and David Graham became the first Australian winner in 1981.
• A8) Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The South Course has hosted four times from 1951 to 1996, including Andy North's second title in 1985.
• A9) Pinehurst, North Carolina. Course No. 2 was the site of Payne Stewart's last major victory before perishing in a plane crash just four months later in 1999, while Michael Campbell became the only New Zealander to capture a U.S. Open in 2005.
• A10) Shinnecock Hills, New York. Retief Goosen won his second U.S. Open in four years in 2004, while Raymond Floyd and Corey Pavin took their only titles in 1986 and 1995 respectively.
• A11) Brookline, Massachusetts. Eleven years after winning his first U.S. Open, Julius Boros added a second in 1963, while Curtis Strange won the first of two consecutive titles in 1988.
• A12) La Jolla, California. Tiger Woods earned his third U.S. Open title and fourteenth career major in dramatic fashion in 2008, playing on a left leg that would require anterior cruciate ligament surgery only two days later.

The other courses used since World War II, which cancelled four events, have been Olympic Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links, and Riviera Country Club in California; Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois; Oak Hill Country Club and Winged Foot Golf Club in New York; Canterbury Golf Club and Inverness Club in Ohio; Southern Hills Country Club in Oklahoma; Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania; and Champions Golf Club and Northwood Club in Texas.

U.S. Open Golf Courses - Random Trivia Questions

With the U.S. Open golf tournament about to wrap up in Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York (barring a playoff, which would encompass 18 more holes on Monday [correction: thanks to Mother Nature's untimely decision to water the greens, the fairways, the bunkers, and the rest of the Northeast, the tournament is indeed still going on on Monday]), it's time to test your knowledge of the courses that the June championship has been held on. All you need to do is specify which U.S. state each of these courses is located in (possibly useless hint: each of the dozen courses is in a different state).

U.S. Open Golf Courses Questions

• Q1) Baltusrol Golf Club
• Q2) Bellerive Country Club
• Q3) Cherry Hills Country Club
• Q4) Congressional Country Club
• Q5) Hazeltine National Golf Club
• Q6) Medinah Country Club
• Q7) Merion Golf Club
• Q8) Oakland Hills Country Club
• Q9) Pinehurst Resort
• Q10) Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
• Q11) The Country Club
• Q12) Torrey Pines Golf Course

Feats of Clay - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer ended the Spanish lefty's 81-match clay winning streak in the Hamburg Final 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 just before the 2007 French Open. Nadal had won 13 consecutive clay tournaments since losing to Igor Andreev in the 2005 Valencia quarterfinals.
• A2) Guillermo Vilas. The Argentinian captured 53 straight dirt matches from May to September 1977 and was in Paris to witness Nadal's historic 54th consecutive win at the 2006 French Open. Bjorn Borg won 46 straight from 1977 to 1979, and Thomas Muster 40 in 1995 and 38 from 1995 to 1996.
• A3) Chris Evert. The American legend didn't lose on clay for almost six years, winning 125 consecutive matches and 24 tournaments from August 1973 until May 1979. Tracy Austin finally upset her 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 in the semifinals of the Italian Open.
• A4) Roger Federer. The number one player in the world has won 53 straight on natural turf since a first-round loss to Mario Ancic at Wimbledon in 2002. Bjorn Borg took 41 straight from 1976 to 1981, all at Wimbledon.
• A5) Martina Navratilova. The Czech-born American won 47 straight grass matches from Eastbourne in 1983 to the Australian Open in 1984.
• A6) Roger Federer. The Swiss ran off 56 straight hard court victories from 2005 to 2006, losing to Rafael Nadal in the Dubai Final in March. Pete Sampras is a distant second at 34 straight, and Ivan Lendl third with 31.
• A7) Ivan Lendl. The Czech, who immigrated to the U.S. a few years later, won 66 straight indoor matches from 1981 to 1983, losing to John McEnroe in the Philadelphia final.
• A8) John McEnroe. The lefty crafted a 75-match winning streak on carpet from September 1983 to April 1985.
• A9) Guillermo Vilas. The southpaw's 1977 run included 46 straight wins (and four more in Davis Cup competition). Ivan Lendl won 44 straight from 1981 to 1982, John McEnroe 42 in 1984, Roger Federer 41 from 2006 to 2007, and Bjorn Borg 38 from 1979 to 1980 and 35 in 1978.
• A10) Martina Navratilova. The Czechoslovakian-American won an amazing 74 straight matches in 1984, bookended by a January loss to Hana Mandlikova in the Virginia Slims of California final and a December loss to Helena Sukova in the Australian Open semifinals. Navratilova also had streaks of 58 from 1986 to 1987 and 54 from 1983 to 1984. Steffi Graf won 66 straight from 1989 to 1990, Margaret Court 57 from 1972 to 1973, and Chris Evert 55 in 1974.
• A11) Bjorn Borg. The Ice Man won 28 straight matches from 1978 to 1981 but retired before the 1982 tournament.
• A12) Chris Evert. The Ice Maiden won 29 straight matches from 1974 to 1981, losing in the semifinals to Hana Mandlikova. She captured the tournament in 1974, 1975, 1979, and 1980 but skipped the event from 1976 to 1978.

Feats of Clay - Random Trivia Questions

As the French Open nears, let's look at some tennis winning streaks in the Open Era (beginning in 1968, when the Grand Slam tournaments began allowing professionals to compete). Davis Cup matches are not included.

Feats of Clay Questions

• Q1) Which male pro tennis player won the most consecutive clay court matches in the Open Era?
• Q2) Whose record did he break?
• Q3) Who holds the women's record on clay?
• Q4) Who holds the men's record on grass?
• Q5) Who holds the women's record on grass?
• Q6) Who holds the men's record on hard courts?
• Q7) Who holds the men's record indoors?
• Q8) Who holds the men's record on carpet?
• Q9) Who holds the men's record on all surfaces?
• Q10) Who holds the women's record on all surfaces?
• Q11) Which male won the most consecutive French Open matches?
• Q12) Which female won the most consecutive French Open matches?