Bayonet Black Horse, the 36-hole, full-bentgrass facility in Seaside on the Monterey Peninsula has been selected by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) to host a U.S. Open qualifier May 10.

In selecting Bayonet for the qualifier, the USGA and NCGA cited the course's championship caliber layout and commitment to maintaining "tour level" conditions.

The 2010 U.S. Open will be contested at Pebble Beach Golf Links, June 14-20. Pebble Beach, which will host the national championship for the fifth time, is a 15-minute drive from Bayonet Black Horse.

Bayonet and Black Horse re-opened in December, 2008 after a $13 million renovation by Bates Golf Design Group (Gene Bates). Both courses underwent dramatic view-shed alterations and hole re-routings to reveal ocean vistas and improved playing options (including bentgrass greens).

The U.S. Open, the second-oldest USGA championship, is open to professionals and amateurs with a handicap index of 1.4 or lower. The Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA.

Bayonet, with its narrow playing corridors and steep, penal bunkering, is considered the most difficult test of golf on the Monterey Peninsula. The par-72, 7,104-yard course has retained its famous bite after the recent renovation by award-winning architect Gene Bates, but playability and strategic options have been greatly improved. The uphill, dogleg right, 476-yard, par-4 ninth hole exemplifies the course's significant challenge.

Black Horse, a 7,024-yard, par-72 layout, features sweeping vistas of the Pacific and is highlighted by fescue-framed fairways, bunkers with distinctive, serrated edges and slickly-contoured greens. The par-3 15th, created during the renovation, faces the bay.

-Examiner