After the immensely successful and historical 2002 U.S. Open, the championship returns for an encore performance to Bethpage State Park´s Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. Previously the site of the 1936 U.S. Amateur Public Links (Blue Course), Bethpage State Park became, in 2002, the first publicly-owned facility to host the Open. This year´s championship marks the third time in nine years that a municipal golf course plays host to the national championship. Regarded as the largest public golf facility in the world, Bethpage features five courses centered around one clubhouse. The challenging Black Course will converge with an energetic New York crowd to once again make the 2009 U.S. Open the “People´s Open.”