The USGA has announced that the 70th U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, originally slated to be contested at Biltmore Forest Country Club, in Asheville, N.C., has been relocated to Oak Hills Country Club, in San Antonio, Texas. The championship will still be conducted from Aug. 23-28, 2025.
The U.S. Senior Amateur site is being moved due to the impact of Hurricane Helene, which caused extensive flooding and damage to the Asheville area. In 2017, a Florida hurricane forced the relocation of the scheduled U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Quail Creek Country Club, in Naples, and the championship was shifted to Champions Golf Club, in Houston, Texas.
“Our thoughts are with Biltmore Forest and the entire Asheville community as it continues to deal with the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene,” said Mark Hill, USGA managing director, Championships. “While they focus on important recovery, we really appreciate Oak Hills stepping in to host next year’s U.S. Senior Amateur.”
Oak Hills, one of the oldest private member-owned country clubs in the country, was originally scheduled to serve as the host site of the 2028 U.S. Senior Amateur but agreed to move up in the championship order. Biltmore Forest will now host the 73rd U.S. Senior Amateur in 2028.
Originally founded in 1922 as the Alamo Country Club, Oak Hills was designed by A.W. Tillinghast. The club hosted its second USGA championship earlier this year when Asterisk Talley and Sarah Lim won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball on May 15. It also was the venue for the 2001 U.S. Junior Amateur when Henry Liaw posted a 2-and-1 victory over Richard Scott. The PGA Tour’s Texas Open was played at the club from 1961-66 and 1977-94 and lists U.S. Open champions Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Hale Irwin among its winners. The 1987 Tour Championship, won by 1982 U.S. Open champion Tom Watson, and the PGA Tour Champions’ AT&T Championship (2002-10) has also been staged at the club.
“We are honored to welcome the 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur to Oak Hills,” said Scott O’Brien, Oak Hills Country Club president. “Our members and staff are dedicated to providing an exceptional experience for competitors, and we’re proud to support the USGA in ensuring this prestigious championship has a fitting stage, even in the face of unforeseen challenges. We are thinking of all those impacted by Hurricane Helene and look forward to celebrating the game’s finest senior amateur players here in San Antonio.”
“We are grateful to Oak Hills and the USGA for working with us through this difficult time,” said Ken Hughes, president of Biltmore Forest. “Our priorities are with our community here in Asheville as we look to rebuild and restore. We know Oak Hills will be a tremendous venue for the world’s best senior amateurs, and we look forward to hosting that group in just a few years.”
With Oak Hills Country Club now scheduled to welcome next year’s U.S. Senior Amateur, the Lone Star State will be the backdrop for two USGA national championships in 2025. Trintiy Forest Golf Club in Dallas, site of this year’s 115th Texas Amateur won by Reese Roberts, will be the host venue for the 77th U.S. Junior Amateur, to be played July 21-26, 2025.
Shiv Parmar, of Selma, located about 20 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio, earned an exemption into the 77th U.S. Junior by winning the 98th Texas Junior Amateur Boys 15-18 Division in mid-September at White Bluff Resort in Whitney.
The Texas Junior Amateur Boys 15-18 Division was one of the four TGA and LJT championships, along with the Texas Amateur, Women’s Texas Amateur, and Texas Junior Amateur Girls 15-18 Division, to be named an official USGA Exemption Event beginning in 2024. The winners of these designated events earn automatic exemptions into their respective USGA national championships, either in the current year or following year.