The much anticipated US Open Polo Championship, the most important tournament in the United States and the highlight of the prestigious The Gauntlet of Polo, will kick off Wednesday March 27. Like the CV Whitney Cup and the USPA Gold Cup, the tournament will be played entirely at the USPA-owned National Polo Center Wellington, set in Wellington, Florida, and will see nine teams up to 22 goals.

Reigning champions, Park Place, are among the competitors, and a new team will join, Clearwater. The recent winners of the USPA Gold Cup will play under the name La Dolfina, and hired Spaniard patron, Alejandro Aznar, who is well renowned in Europe with his team, Marqués de Riscal. Aznar will be playint with the three young professionals who claimed the USPA Gold CUp last Sunday – Poroto Cambiaso, Tomás Panelo and Rufino Merlos.

The U.S. Open was originally conceived as a non-handicapped alternative to the Senior Championship tournament. The first U.S. Open, in 1904, had only two teams, the Wanderers and the Freebooters, and was held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx borough of New York City. Four 15-minute chukkers were played, with a seven-minute break between each chukker. After the inaugural U.S. Open in 1904, the tournament was not played again until 1910. It resumed at Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, where it was played for several years before relocating to what became its longtime home, Meadowbrook Polo Club in Old Westbury, New York. In 1954, the U.S. Open moved to Oak Brook, where it remained for 22 years, followed by an eight year stint at Retama in San Antonio, Texas. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the tournament circulated among several clubs throughout the United States, including Eldorado, Lexington, Palm Beach and Royal Palm. In 2004, marking one hundred years since the tournament’s inception, the U.S. Open relocated to Wellington, Florida where it has been held ever since. The U.S. Open Polo Championship trophy was first presented in 1910

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

All teams will play four preliminary matches each. Following the conclusion of preliminary play, all teams will be ranked 1-9. The top four ranked teams will draw for semifinal pairings with the winners of the semifinals advancing to the U.S. Open Polo Championship final.

Any ties between teams that played each other will be broken by who-beat-who. All other ties will be broken by a one-player shootout.

The championship match of the US Open Polo Championship is set to be played on Sunday April 21, at the National Polo Center.

The opening day of the US Open Polo Championship, due on Wednesday March 27, will have the following order of play (US local time):

12pm: Park Place vs. Dutta Corp

5pm: Coca Cola vs. Pilot.

US Open Polo Championship – Teams & Fixture

Cover photo, by Agustina Fonda.

2024 THE GAUNTLET OF POLO  CALENDAR

CV Whitney Cup: February 9 – 25 (Winner: Valiente)

USPA Gold Cup: February 28 – March 24 (Winner: La Dolfina/Tonkawa)

U.S. Open Polo Championship: March 27  – April 21.

Utilizing the same prize money distribution for the 2023 Gauntlet of Polo, the format guarantees a total of $200,000 in prize money. $50,000 will be awarded to each of the winning teams of the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Gold Cup. Similarly, $100,000 in prize money will be presented to the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship and any team that wins all three tournaments will be crowned the Gauntlet Champion. In keeping with the spirit of philanthropy, U.S. Polo Assn. will provide a $2,500 donation to the winner and runner-up teams of all three finals to be donated to a polo charity of their choice.

All Sunday games are due on the National Polo Center main ground.