英文简介：

　　The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held in the last week of August each year, over a 7 day period.

　　In 1894 there were two tournaments called the "National Amateur Championship". One of them was played at Newport Country Club and was won by William G. Lawrence, and the other took place at St Andrew's Golf Club and was won by Laurence B. Stottard. This state of affairs prompted Charles B. Macdonald of the Chicago Golf Club to call for the creation of a national governing body to authorize an official national championship, and the Amateur Golf Association of the United States, which was soon to be renamed the United States Golf Association, was formed on 22 December of that year. In 1895 it organized both the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S. Open, both of which were played at Newport Country Club.

　　There are no age or gender restrictions on entry, but players must have a handicap index of 2.4 or less. The tournament consists of two days of stroke play, with the leading 64 competitors then playing a knockout competition held at match play to decide the champion. All knockout matches are over 18 holes except for the final, which consists of 36 holes, separated into morning and afternoon 18-hole rounds. Nowadays it is usually won by players in their late teens or early twenties who are working towards a career as a tournament professional. Before World War II more top-level golfers chose to remain amateur, and the average age of U.S. Amateur champions was higher.

　　Many of the leading figures in the history of golf have been U.S. Amateur Champion, including Bobby Jones five times, Jack Nicklaus twice and Tiger Woods three times (all consecutive; the only player to win three in a row). In 1993, Woods got knocked out to Kingshill Golf Club's Paul Page 2&1 in the last 16, but Woods' first win, as an 18-year-old in 1994, made him the youngest winner of the event, breaking the previous record of 19 years 5 months set by Robert A. Gardner in 1909. In 2008, New Zealander Danny Lee became the youngest ever winner, only to be eclipsed by 17-year-old An Byeong-hun the following year. Before the professional game became dominant, the event was regarded as one of the majors. This is no longer the case, but the champion still receives an automatic invitation to play in all of the majors except the PGA Championship. In addition, the runner-up also receives an invitation to play in the Masters and the U.S. Open. However, the golfers must maintain their amateur status at the time the events are held (unless they qualify for the tournaments by other means).

　　As the Amateur Championship is dominated by future professionals, in 1981 a separate championship called the U.S. Mid-Amateur was established for "career amateurs" at least 25 years old. This gives the best players who never turn pro a chance to play against each other for a national title.

　　美国业余公开赛 (US Amateur Open) 在世界高尔夫历史上的地位十分尊贵，它于 1895 年举行首届比赛，恰恰与首届美国职业公开赛同年。美国高球手几乎百分之百地首先打业余赛，小有名气或被认为较具发展潜质后，一般在 21 至 25 岁转为职业选手。因此，美国业余赛是美国职业巡回赛的基础和摇篮。

　　美国业余赛由美国高尔夫协会 (USGA)主办，该组织成立于1894年。美国业余赛每年一届，仅在两次世界大战期间有所间断。

　　第一位美国业余赛冠军是查尔斯 ·贝理雅·麦当劳(Charles Blair Mac Donald)，他也是美国高尔夫运动的先驱者。1895—1964年，美国业余赛采取比洞的比赛方法。1965—72年8届改为打72洞总杆赛。1973年至今又改回比洞赛。

　　美国业余赛百年史上最伟大的人物是鲍比 ·琼斯(BobbyJones)，他于1924、1925、1927、1928和1930年均获胜，成为这项大赛唯一五次夺得冠军的球手。1930年，鲍比·琼斯由于赢得美国业余赛、英国业余赛、美国公开赛和英国公开赛四项比赛，即赢得当时称之为“四大赛”的全部赛事，取得大满贯。琼斯在世界高坛成为丰碑式的人物，还在于他共13次夺得包括美、英业余赛在内的大满贯赛事(美国业余赛5次，英国业余赛1次，美国公开赛4次，英国公开赛3次)。本世纪只有杰克·尼克劳斯以20次夺得大满贯赛事而超过他，其中美国业余赛2次，职业四大赛赛事18次。遗憾的是，杰克·尼克劳斯未曾达成一次大满贯。当年，琼斯获得大满贯被誉为“无法超越的四连贯”(ImpregnableQuadrilateral)，已为本世纪的历史所证明。

　　美国以外的国家的选手仅在 1911、1932、1966、1971年得过美国业余赛冠军，这些“喧宾夺主”的选手分别是英国人H·希尔顿和加拿大人R·索默维尔，而后两次竟全出自加拿大人G·科万一人的手笔。