Par and Yardage — Pinehurst (No. 2 Course) is set up at 7,175 yards and par 35-35- 70.

Architects — Originally developed by Donald Ross and opened in 1903. Rees Jones did the most recent renovations in preparation for this U.S. Open.

Defending Champion — Lee Janzen won his second U.S. Open title in five years, overtaking Payne Stewart down the stretch on the final day. Janzen finished with five consecutive pars, earning victory with an even-par 280, by one stroke over Stewart, the leader after each of the first three rounds.

Janzen Doubles Up — With his second Open victory, the 35-year-old Lee Janzen became only the 18th player to win two or more Opens. In fact, Ernie Els also became a two-time winner with his victory in 1997.

Janzen’s Final Round Of 68 — With his 2-under-par 68, Janzen was the only player in contention who shot under par for the final round. Among the top six players to finish, the next best score was a 3-over 73.

Quick Recap — Payne Stewart, the leader by four strokes over Tom Lehman and Bob Tway after three rounds (3-under-par 207), shot a final round of 74 that included a costly bogey 6 on the 16th hole. Janzen started five strokes behind after three rounds, and fell seven back with bogeys at holes 2 and 3 before rallying to make four birdies the rest of the way.

Lee Janzen Upon Winning The 1998 Open — "It’s satisfying to know that I went out and played my absolute best to win the one championship I love more than any other…I really feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to play golf for a living, and to win a second U.S. Open, well you can’t do any better than that…After 11 (birdie 3 from 8 feet), I realized I had a chance to win. I kept thinking that this was the U.S. Open, our national championship. I kept reminding myself to stay focused...The confidence will always be there that I can play difficult courses well."

Attractive Pairing — For Thursday and Friday of the U.S. Open, defending champion Lee Janzen will be paired with 1998 British Open champion Mark O’Meara and long-hitting 1998 U.S. Amateur champion Hank Kuehne.

Pairings And Starting Times — Pairings and starting times will be available Thursday, June 10, two days after sectional qualifying has been completed. They will be posted on the USGA Internet site at www.usga.org.

WWW.USGA.ORG — Log on to the USGA Internet site (www.usopen.org) for the latest U.S. Open information during the championship.

Repeat Winner — Curtis Strange, in 1989, was the last golfer to successfully defend his U.S. Open title.

Total Entries — The USGA will receive more than 7,000 entries by the deadline of April 28.

Exempt Players — Sixty-four players are fully exempt into the 156-player Open field, including 10 past champions — Lee Janzen (1998,1993), Ernie Els (1997, 1994), Steve Jones (1996), Corey Pavin (1995), Tom Kite (1992), Payne Stewart (1991), Hale Irwin (1990), Curtis Strange (1989, 1988), Tom Watson (1982), and Jack Nicklaus (1980, 1972, 1967, 1962). A champion receives a full exemption into the field for 10 years.

Nicklaus Open Streak at 43 — The 59-year-old Jack Nicklaus will be playing in his 43rd consecutive U.S. Open, dating back to his first one in 1957 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, as a amateur. He also holds the Open record for cuts made at 35 after tying for 43rd place last year at The Olympic Club (California). Hale Irwin will be playing in his 30th Open, while Tom Watson and Tom Kite will be playing in their 28th.

Open A Sellout — For the 13th consecutive year the U.S. Open is a sellout, with 30,000 tickets sold for each day of the championship.

Other USGA Championships At Pinehurst (No. 2) (6) — In all, Pinehurst has been the host for six other USGA championships:

1962 U.S. Amateur — Labron Harris rallied from five holes down to defeat Downing Gray, 1 up.

1967 World Senior Amateur Team Championship — In the first of only two championships held, the four-man U.S. team won by 17 strokes in a field of 39 teams.

1980 World Amateur Team Championship — Jay Sigel, Bob Tway and Hal Sutton were members of this U.S. four-man team that won by 17 strokes in a field of 39 teams.

1980 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship — Juli Inkster and Carol Semple Thompson helped the U.S. team to a seven-stroke victory in a 28-team field.

1989 U.S. Women’s Amateur — Vicki Goetz (Ackerman) became the third youngest to win a Women’s Amateur, defeating Brandie Burton, 4 and 3.

1994 U.S. Senior Open — Simon Hobday faltered down the stretch on the final day, but hung on to shoot 14-under 274 and win by one over Graham Marsh and Jim Albus.

Other Major Professional Events at Pinehurst

1936 PGA Championship — Denny Shute closed out his final match against Jimmy Thompson with an eagle 3 on the 34th hole to win 3 and 2.

1951 Ryder Cup — A U.S. team including Ben Hogan and Sam Snead won a lopsided victory, 9 1/2 to 2 1/2.

1991 PGA Tour Championship — Craig Stadler (5-under-par 279) won over Russ Cockran with a birdie on the second extra hole. The course played at 7,005 yards and par 71.

1992 PGA Tour Championship — Paul Azinger (8-under-par 276) made this his only victory of the season. Three strokes back were Lee Janzen and Corey Pavin. The course played at 7,005 yards and par 71.

Other Major Events At Pinehurst — Pinehurst is the home of the annual North and South Amateur championship for men and women. Former USGA president William Campbell won the North and South four times.

The Winner’s Share — First place money for this Open is $625,000. The total purse in 1999 will be $3.5 million.

Other Prizes — Among the benefits enjoyed by the Open winner are these:

1) an Open exemption for the next 10 years

2) an invitation to the next five Masters Tournaments

3) an invitation to the next 10 British Open Championships

4) an invitation to the next 10 Players Championships

5) an invitation to the next five PGA Championships

6) exempt status on the PGA Tour for five years

Television Coverage — The Open will enjoy 28 hours of live network coverage, with 16 of those hours live on NBC. Dick Enberg will again be at the helm of the NBC broadcast team. ESPN will air 11 hours over the first two days of play.

Eastern Daylight Times: Thursday and Friday (June 17-18) - 3-5 p.m. on NBC, 12-3 p.m. and 5-7:30 p.m. on ESPN. Saturday and Sunday (June 19-20) - 12:30-7 p.m. on NBC. If an 18-hole playoff were necessary on Monday, ESPN would begin coverage from its start at noon. NBC would pick up the playoff at 2 p.m.

History — This is the 99th U.S. Open Championship. The first was played in 1895. The Open championship was not held for two years (1917-18) during WWI and for four years (1942-45) during WWII.

The youngest winner of the Open was 19-year-old John McDermott, who won in 1911. Eight players 21 or younger have won the Open, but not since Robert Jones did it in 1923. Since then, Jerry Pate is the youngest winner at age 22 in 1976. The oldest winner is Hale Irwin, who was 45 when he won in 1990.

Only four players have ever won the Masters and Open titles in the same year — Craig Wood (1941), Ben Hogan (1951 and 1953), Arnold Palmer (1960) and Jack Nicklaus (1972). Thirteen players have won both events in their professional careers.

Course Set-Up — Pinehurst (No. 2) will feature two par-3s and one par-5 on each nine. The layout features the famed hump-backed greens a Donald Ross design. There are no water hazards. The fairway width will be between 24 (No. 3) and 30 yards (several). The primary rough will measure 4 inches high, and the intermediate rough will be grown to 1 1/2 inches. The greens will be set to run at 10 feet 6 inches on the Stimpmeter.

Who Can Enter — The Championship is open to any professional or amateur golfer with a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 1.4. The deadline for entries was April 23.

Local Qualifying — Local qualifying over 18 holes will be held at more than 80 sites in mid-May. From the nearly 7,000 golfers making the attempt to qualify, only about 750 advance to sectional qualifying.

Sectional Qualifying — Sectional qualifying over 36 holes will be held at 12 sites on June 7-8. Ninety-two golfers from sectional qualifying will join the 64 players who are fully exempt into the Open field.

In 1996, Steve Jones was the first non-exempt winner since 1976. He qualified at the Columbus, Ohio, sectional qualifier. In fact, he survived an 11-for-10 playoff at 141 (-3) to earn his place in the field.

Stories From Sectional Qualifying — To come.

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.

Schedule Of Play — Eighteen holes of stroke play is scheduled each day from June 17 (Thursday) through June 20 (Sunday). In the case of a tie after 72 holes, an 18-hole playoff will be held on June 21 (Monday), beginning at noon (EDT). The last playoff was in 1994, a three-way playoff which was won by Ernie Els. The other two players in the playoff were Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie.

On The Range — More than 12,000 golf balls are used on the practice range at an Open.

Par And Yardage For 1999 — 7,175 yards and par 70. Holes one through nine: No. 1, 404-yard, par-4; No. 2, 447-yard, par-4; No. 3, 335-yard, par-4; No. 4, 566-yard, par-5; No. 5, 482-yard, par-4; No. 6, 222-yard, par-3; No. 7, 398-yard, par-4; No. 8, 485-yard, par-4; No. 9, 179-yard, par-3.

Holes 10 through 18: No. 10, 610-yard, par-5; No. 11, 453-yard, par-4; No. 12, 447-yard, par-4; No. 13, 383-yard, par-4; No. 14, 436-yard, par-4; No. 15, 202-yard, par-3; No. 16, 489-yard, par-4; No. 17, 191-yard, par-3; No. 18, 446-yard, par-4.