By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Pierce County and neighboring counties realized a $134 million boost in total economic impact from hosting the U.S. Open men's golf championship last year, and officials want more. The county and other local government entities are working together to formally ask the United States Golf Association to schedule another Open at Chambers Bay Golf Course, the county-owned links in University Place that was the site of the 2015 Open. A potentially positive step toward one of world's premier golf tournaments returning to Chambers Bay was taken with the USGA's recent announcement that it will stage its U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship there in 2019. That will be the third time that a men's USGA national event has been conducted at Chambers Bay. The first time was the U.S. Amateur in 2010. "We have a long history of returning to host sites with excellent golf courses, where we have conducted successful and memorable championships,GÇ¥ said Stuart Francis, chairman of the USGA Championship Committee. For the first time in Washington or the Pacific Northwest, the 2015 U.S. Open was staged over a one-week period June 15-21 at Chambers Bay on the shore of Puget Sound. Crowds of spectators exceeding 30,000 flocked on a daily basis to the course to see the biggest names in the sport compete for the coveted title. Jordan Spieth won it in a dramatic, down-the-stretch finish that wasn't decided until the final putt of the tournament. The four-ball is in only its second year as a USGA event, but bringing it to Chambers Bay underscores our strong relationship with Pierce County, since it will be our third championship there in a decade,GÇ¥ Francis said. "We are thrilled to welcome the USGA back to Chambers Bay and the Pacific Northwest for the Four-Ball Championship,GÇ¥ said County Executive Pat McCarthy. "Our community wrapped its collective arms around the U.S. Open, and I'm confident we will host another successful championship in 2019.GÇ¥ The four-ball, a team competition, is for amateurs only, and with no age restrictions. But entry is limited to individuals with a Handicap Index no higher than 5.4. The tourney will consist of 128 two-player teams, each playing their own ball throughout the round. Each team's score will be determined by using the lower score of the partners for each hole. After 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying, the field will be reduced to the low 32 teams for the championship's match-play, a series of18-holes contests leading to the eventual winner. The economic inpact of last year's U.S. Open was reported in an independent study commissioned by the USGA and conducted by Pacific Northwest-based economists. The report reviewed tournament-related spending away from the golf course on lodging, food and beverage, shopping, transportation and recreational activities. The data was collected from sources such as electronic kiosks at Chambers Bay that surveyed nearly 8,000 spectators on their spending habits during the tournament. Officials said the final figures also included direct spending of $13.9 million by the USGA and USGA-contracted vendors before, during and after the tournament. Mike Butz, the USGA's senior managing director for U.S. Open and association relations, said the financial-impact report "validates the success of the championship's inaugural appearance in the Pacific Northwest and the importance of the relationship between the USGA and Pierce County.GÇ¥ "No other one-week event in the history of the Pacific Northwest has had a greater economic impact,GÇ¥ McCarthy said.
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