U.S. OPEN FACTS, FIGURES

Event: 87th Open championship of the United States Golf Assn., today through Sunday.

Site: Olympic Club in San Francisco, site of the 1955 and 1966 Open championships.

Conditions of play: 18 holes today and Friday with the field cut to the low 60 players and ties, plus any players within 10 shots of the lead, for the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday.

Television: ESPN will televise today and Friday from noon-2 p.m. and 4-7 p.m. PDT. Channel 7 will provide live coverage on Saturday from 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. PDT and Sunday from 12:30-5 p.m. PDT.

Qualifications for play: Those automatically eligible to play in the U.S. Open include Open champions from the past 10 years; Masters, PGA and British Open champions from the past 5 years; defending U.S. Amateur, Tournament Players, USGA Senior and PGA Club Professional champions; top 15 and ties from last year’s Open; top 30 on last year’s PGA money list; top 10 on this year’s money list and leaders in the European, Japanese, Australian, Asian and South African orders of merit. The remainder of the 150-man field qualifies through sectional and regional tournaments held around the country with a record 5,696 entries originally accepted by the USGA.

Defending champion: Ray Floyd shot a final-round 68 to emerge from a crowded field of contenders at Shinnecock Hills, N.Y., and win his first Open by two shots over fast-finishing Chip Beck and Lanny Wadkins.

Longevity: Jack Nicklaus played in his first U.S. Open as an amateur at the Inverness Club in 1957. He has started every Open since. When he tees off at the Olympic Club, he will tie the record held by Gene Sarazen and Arnold Palmer for most consecutive Open appearances. Nicklaus’ eighth-place finish at Shinnecock Hills last year (after an opening-round 77) was his 18th top-10 Open finish--a tournament record.

Scoring records: The lowest 72-hole total in Open history has been 272, which Jack Nicklaus shot at Baltusrol, N.J., in 1980. David Graham shot a 273 the next year to win at Merion. The single-round record is 63, first shot in 1973 by Johnny Miller in the final round of his victory at Oakmont. Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf both shot 63s in the opening round at Baltusrol in 1980.