Pinehurst to host 2019 US Amateur

Still basking in the success of hosting the U.S. Open and the Women's Open in consecutive weeks last summer, Pinehurst Resort and Country Club landed another prestigious U.S. Golf Association event Tuesday night.

The USGA and Pinehurst announced that the resort will host the U.S. Amateur in 2019, using the No. 2 and No. 8 courses for stroke-play qualifying and the No. 2 course for match play, the Donald Ross track that was the venue for the U.S. Open in 1999, 2005 and 2014.

Pinehurst hosted the U.S. Amateur in 2008 using the No. 2 and No. 4 courses for stroke play and No. 2 for match play. It also hosted the event in 1962.

“We are pleased to welcome the USGA’s oldest championship to Pinehurst once again in 2019,” Pinehurst owner Robert Dedman said in a statement. “As long as there has been golf at Pinehurst, we have celebrated the contributions amateurs have made to the game. To serve as the site of the U.S. Amateur will be an especially proud moment for Pinehurst, and it reflects the passion for amateur golf we share with the USGA.”

This is the second USGA event on the schedule for Pinehurst, which will host the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in 2017, the third edition of that new tournament.

With the long-rumored U.S. Amateur officially headed to Pinehurst, attention now turns to the return of the U.S. Open. In June, outgoing Pinehurst president Don Padgett II said he expected it wouldn't be long.

“Do we know exactly which year? No," Padgett said. "But they’re coming back, and we’ll probably host an Amateur before we host an Open.”

The USGA has awarded Opens through 2021, with The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., expected to host in 2022 and Los Angeles Country Club in 2023.

Also on the Sandhills golf radar: The Women's Open could return to Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club for a fourth time at some point in that rough time frame, potentially as early as 2020.

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 9:56 PM with the headline "Pinehurst to host 2019 US Amateur."