The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States.

It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tourand the European Tour. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday, which is Father’s Day.

The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, set up in such a way that scoring is very difficult with a premium placed on accurate driving. U.S. Open play is characterized by tight scoring at or around par by the leaders, with the winner usually emerging at around even par. A U.S. Open course is seldom beaten severely, and there have been many over-par wins (in part because par is usually set at 70, except for the very longest courses). Normally, an Open course is quite long and will have a high cut of primary rough (termed “Open rough” by the American press and fans), undulating greens (such as at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2005, which was described by Johnny Miller of NBC as “like trying to hit a ball on top of a VW Beetle“), and pinched fairways (especially on what are expected to be less difficult holes). Some courses that are attempting to get into the rotation for the U.S. Open will undergo renovations to develop these features. Rees Jones is the most notable of the “Open Doctors” who take on these projects; his father Robert Trent Jones had filled that role earlier. As with any professional golf tournament, the available space surrounding the course (for spectators, among other considerations) and local infrastructure also factor into deciding which courses will host the event.