
US Open venue to get $800 mln facelift: officials
United States Tennis Association chairman Brian Vahaly said the renovations planned for the site marked part of "the largest single investment in the history of this event."
The multi-million dollar project will include a transformation of the 24,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, the US Open's main court, a new player performance center and upgrades throughout the complex aimed at improving facilities for fans.
"This is an incredibly exciting moment for our sport and for the US Open," Vahaly said.
"We're proud to unveil the largest single investment in the history of this event, a multi-year transformation that will elevate the experience for every fan, player and partner who enters the grounds at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
"The upgrades to Arthur Ashe stadium, alongside a new state of the art player Performance Center, will ensure that the world's premier tennis venue will excel for generations to come."
The upgrades to the facility, which are being financed without any public money, are due to be complete by 2027.
Preliminary work on the project has already begun. The renovations will not affect the location of any upcoming US Opens.

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France 24
13 hours ago
- France 24
Scheffler seeks back-to-back major wins at formidable Oakmont
Not since Jordan Spieth captured the 2015 Masters and US Open has anyone swept consecutive major crowns, but two-time Masters champion Scheffler is on a hot streak. The 28-year-old American has won three of his past four starts, including a third major title at May's PGA Championship and defending his Memorial title two weeks ago. This week, however, offers a severe test with thick high rough, tricky bunkers and sloped greens known for lightning-fast speed. "This is probably the hardest golf course that we'll play, maybe ever, and that's pretty much all it is," Scheffler said. "It's just a different type of test." Scheffler arrives after a rest week as the oddsmakers' favorite over world number two Rory McIlroy and defending champion Bryson DeChambeau. "I don't pay attention to the favorite stuff or anything like that," Scheffler said. "Starting Thursday morning we're at even par and it's up to me to go out there and play against the golf course and see what I can do." Fourth-ranked Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner, expects brutal rough off most every missed fairway. "Overall you have to hit the ball really well. You know you're going to get penalized even on good shots," Morikawa said. "Step number one is to hit it in the fairways. I don't think people understand how thick the rough is. It's not wispy like the club is going to go through. This is just thick. Clubs will turn over. "You're going to see guys trying to hit pitching wedge out and it's going to go 45 degrees left because that's how thick the rough is." The 7,372-yard, par-70 layout offers a vast array of bunkers and a course where many trees were removed to produce an expansive feel. "Extreme challenge," two-time major winner Jon Rahm said. "Even when you just stand on the putting green, seeing the whole property, you know you're somewhere special. It's quite iconic." McIlroy, who won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, has top-10 US Open finishes each of the past six years. He declared Oakmont "a big brute of a golf course." "You're going to have to have your wits about you this week all the way throughout the bag, off the tee, into the greens, around the greens. It's going to be a great test." Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, a winner last month at LIV Golf Korea, seeks his third US Open after wins in 2020 and 2024. The 31-year-old American is trying to become only the eighth back-to-back US Open winner, the first since compatriot Brooks Koepka in 2017 and 2018. "Everybody knows this is probably the toughest golf course in the world right now, and you have to hit the fairways, you have to hit greens, and you have to two-putt, worst-case scenario," DeChambeau said. "When you've got those putts inside 10 feet, you've got to make them. It's a great test of golf." 'All-around challenge' Phil Mickelson, a six-time major winner who turns 55 on Monday, seeks an elusive title to complete a career Grand Slam after six runner-up US Open finishes, most recently in 2013. "It's pretty much an all-around challenge," said 2013 US Open winner Justin Rose. "You have to put the ball in play off the tee. That's not the biggest challenge. Fairways are somewhat generous, 30-odd yards wide. "That's because it's all about the greens. The real skilled hitters can get it into those greens, not get on the wrong side of those contours."


France 24
16 hours ago
- France 24
DeChambeau eyes new LIV deal ahead of US Open defence
DeChambeau was one of the highest-profile players to join LIV when it was launched in 2022, signing a lucrative contract reportedly worth more than $100 million. While talks are ongoing about a deal which could see LIV and the PGA Tour form a unified circuit, DeChambeau said Tuesday he is planning to ink a new contract with LIV in future. "Next year is when it ends," DeChambeau said. "We're looking to negotiate end of this year and I'm very excited. They see the value in me. I see the value in what they can provide, and I believe we'll come to some sort of resolution on that," he said. DeChambeau sees a long-term future with the Saudi-backed series despite a framework agreement for investment in the PGA Tour by LIV's financiers, the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Two years since that pact, no final deal has emerged. "I think that LIV is not going anywhere... whether everybody believes in it or not, I think it's a viable commercial option," said DeChambeau. "I know my worth. I know what LIV brings to the table and I'm excited for the future of what golf is going to be." DeChambeau hasn't suffered for sponsors since joining LIV, saying, "LIV has been very freeing for me, in a really good way. If anything, it has helped almost reestablish who wants to be a part of this, and I think that's really cool." In the short-term, however, DeChambeau remains focused on defending his US Open crown, revealing on Tuesday that he had recently begun using a new set of irons as he readies for this week's test at Oakmont. The 31-year-old American won his first major at the 2020 US Open and added last year's US Open by getting up and down from 55 yards on the last hole to edge Rory McIlroy by a stroke. DeChambeau's most recent title came at last month's LIV Golf Korea before he was second at the PGA Championship and took a share of fourth at last week's LIV Golf Virginia, where his new irons got their first test. "I put them in play last week and they felt great," DeChambeau said. "Is it going to be the ultimate answer to me winning? I mean, probably not. You've still got to putt well, drive it well and everything. "They seem to have helped this week. Will it help me on certain shots in certain conditions? I think it might. If it doesn't, I'll go back to the drawing board and try to figure out why that occurred and continue to optimize." DeChambeau, who could become only the eighth back-to-back US Open winner this weekend, remains a hugely popular figure online, with more than two million people following golf videos on his Youtube channel. "Part of it is doing it for the fans, patrons and the people that are viewing myself on YouTube," he said. "That's really what gets me up in the morning and gives me a lot of passion for this game."


France 24
17 hours ago
- France 24
McIlroy improves his driver woes as US Open test nears
McIlroy won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, a trek the 36-year-old from Northern Ireland began with his first major triumph at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. The five-time major winner had his driver test non-conforming to golf rules before the PGA Championship and has struggled since to find a comfortable replacement, missing the cut in last week's Canadian Open. "I feel a little better with the driver over the weekend at home and even today playing a practice round, so hopefully I can hit a few more fairways than I have been hitting and give myself some opportunities," McIlroy said Tuesday. McIlroy had been testing several different drivers to find one that matched the feel of the familiar one he had worn down until it was done, and he was fighting swing issues. "Hitting a lot of drivers. Every driver sort of has its own character and you're trying to manage the misses. It's definitely a little bit of both," he said. "I think I learned a lot on Thursday and Friday last week and did a good bit of practice at home and feel like I'm in a better place with everything going into this week." Asked what he learned, McIlroy replied, "I learned that I wasn't using the right driver." McIlroy didn't have a top driver at the PGA Championship but noted that top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, the PGA winner, said after the win his driver had also failed a pre-event test. "It wasn't a big deal for Scottie," McIlroy said. "So it shouldn't have been a big deal for me." The big deal before him this week is one of golf's toughest tests at Oakmont, with dense rough, fast sloping greens and abundant bunkers. McIlroy played a practice round last week at Oakmont and marveled at how tough the course played. "You hit a ball off the fairway and you were looking for a good couple of minutes just to find it," McIlroy said. "It's very penal if you miss. Sometimes it's penal if you don't miss. "The person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that's going to win." As for his round, McIlroy added: "I birdied the last two holes for 81. It didn't feel like I played that bad." McIlroy starts off the 10th tee at 7:40 a.m. (1140 GMT) on Thursday alongside pal Shane Lowry, the 2019 British Open champion, and England's Justin Rose, the 2013 US Open winner. 'Can't relax this week' McIlroy has managed six consecutive top-10 US Open finishes, including a 2023 runner-up effort to winner Wyndham Clark and a second-place showing last year after his bogeys on three of the last four holes left Bryson DeChambeau the winner. His US Open run coincided with a change in approach about the majors. "I made the decision at that back end of 2018 into 2019, I wanted to try to build my game around the toughest tests that we have in the game," McIlroy said. "The US Open went from probably my least favorite major to probably my favorite because of what it asks from you, and I love that challenge." McIlroy won at Pebble Beach and the Players Championship before beating Rose in a playoff to make his green jacket breakthrough at Augusta National, a win he's still trying to get past. "You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don't think about what comes next," McIlroy said. "Chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit. But here at Oakmont, I certainly can't relax this week."