Legendary Paul Simson of North Carolina is among the early leaders

Play begins Saturday, August 24, with two rounds of stroke play and then a 64-player match play bracket, concluding with an 18-hole final on Thursday, August 29.

The Honors Course, having hosted numerous elite amateur tournaments over the years, will lend an advantage to at least 24 players who participated in the John T. Lupton Memorial earlier this year. 

2023 championship

Todd White, 55, of Spartanburg, S.C., captured the 68th U.S. Senior Amateur Championship in his first year of eligibility with a 4-and-3 victory over Jody Fanagan of the Republic of Ireland at Martis Camp Club in Truckee, Calif. It was a matchup of past Walker Cup competitors: White in 2003 for the USA and Fanagan for Great Britain and Ireland in 1995. Fanagan was the first international player to advance to the championship match in U.S. Senior Amateur history.

“At this point in time, words fail me, White told the USGA after his win. "I sit here, and I look at all the hard work that's gone into it over the course of my life, and it's just incredible validation of that work. Hopefully, it's something that I can take back with me into my career in the classroom and show the students that hard work does pay off and nothing is given to you. You have to earn it. I feel like that's what I've done here this week is I've earned it."

Honors Course

Scott Tomasello of AmateurGolf.com got an opportunity to play the Honors Course and gave a full breakdown of what the players can expect this week. 

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The Honors Course Preview: U.S. Senior Amateur championship

Past championships at the Honors Course

1991 U.S. Amateur (Mitch Voges)
1994 Curtis Cup (Tie, GB&I retained Curtis Cup)
1996 NCAA Championship (Team: Arizona State; Individual: Tiger Woods)
2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur (Kevin Marsh)
2010 NCAA Championship (Team: Augusta State; Individual: Scott Langley)
2011 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur (Terri Frohnmayer)
2016 U.S. Junior Amateur (Min Woo Lee)

Notable U.S. Senior Amateur champions

J. Wood Platt (1955); J. Clark Espie (1957, 1959); Dexter Daniels (1961, 1966); Curtis Person Sr. (1968-69); Gene Andrews (1970); Lewis W. Oehmig (1972, 1976, 1985); Dale Morey (1974, 1977); William C. Campbell (1979-80); Ed Updegraff (1981); William Hyndman III (1983); John Richardson (1987); O. Gordon Brewer (1994, 1996); Bill Shean Jr. (1998, 2000); Kemp Richardson (2001, 2003); Stan Lee (2007); George “Buddy” Marucci (2008); Marvin “Vinny” Giles (2009); Paul Simson (2010, 2012); Louis Lee (2011); Doug Hanzel (2013); Pat Tallent (2014); Chip Lutz (2015); Sean Knapp (2017); Jeff Wilson (2018), Gene Elliott (2021), Todd White (2023)

Notable U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up

J. Clark Espie (1956); Ernest Pieper Jr. (1971-72); Lewis W. Oehmig (1974, 1977, 1979); Dale Morey (1981); Ed Updegraff (1982); Richard Runkle (1983-84); John Harbottle (1986); George Zahringer (2008); Pat Tallent (2010); Bryan Norton (2014); Paul Simson (2017); Sean Knapp (2018); Doug Hanzel (2022), Jody Fanagan (2023)

What the champion receives

-A gold medal
-Custody of the Frederick L. Dold Trophy for one year
-Exemption from local qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Open Championship
-Exemption from qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Senior Open Championship (must be an *-amateur)
-Exemption from qualifying for the 2025 and 2026 U.S. Amateur Championships
-Exemption from qualifying for the 2024 and 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships
-Exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Senior Amateur Championships

Schedule of play

Saturday, Aug. 24 (Stroke Play, Round 1, 18 holes)
Sunday, Aug. 25 (Stroke Play, Round 1, 18 holes)
Monday, Aug. 26 (Round of 64, match play)
Tuesday, Aug. 27 (Round of 32/Round of 16, match play)
Wednesday, Aug. 28 (Quarterfinals/Semifinals, match play)
Thursday, Aug. 29 (Championship Match, 18 holes)

Future events at the Honors Course

2025: Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville, N.C./Aug. 23-28
2026: Baltimore Country Club (East Course), Baltimore, Md./Aug. 29-Sept. 3
2028: Oak Hills Country Club, San Antonio, Texas/Aug. 26-31
2029: The Omni Homestead Resort (Cascades Course), Hot Springs, Va./Aug. 25-30
2030: The Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst, N.C./Aug. 24-29
2033: Canterbury Golf Club, Cleveland, Ohio/Aug. 27-Sept. 1
2035: Columbia Country Club, Chevy Chase, Md./Aug. 25-30