As US Open returns to Pinehurst’s famed No. 2 course, USGA plans ‘great celebration’

The U.S. Open has been held three times at Pinehurst, each producing memories of a lifetime.

Or in the case of Payne Stewart, memories of his lifetime.

The 1999 U.S Open was the first to be played in the state and the second in the Deep South. It also had the most dramatic, emotional finish on the No. 2 Course, Stewart draining a winning par putt on the 18th green and then his victory pose for the ages — his right arm and right leg extended in victory.

A statue, memorializing the iconic pose, is just behind the 18th green and is a lasting tribute to Stewart, who died in a plane crash just a few months after his Open victory. Stewart was 42.

In 2005, Michael Campbell of New Zealand surprised everyone, including himself, by holding off Tiger Woods to win.

The 2014 U.S. Open had a runaway winner in Germany’s Martin Kaymer. Not to be overlooked: the U.S. Women’s Open was held the following week on No. 2, an unprecedented golf doubleheader, and Michele Wie thrilled everyone with her major championship victory.

And now it’s back. Again.

The 124th U.S. Open championship will be staged this week on No. 2, the Donald Ross masterpiece at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club that remains a challenge for every golfer of every caliber and every skill level.

Wyndham Clark is the defending champion, winning last year at Los Angeles Country Club. Scottie Scheffler is the No. 1 player in the world. Tiger Woods is coming.

Professional golf continues to be in turmoil because of the contentious split between the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour with its Saudi Arabian backers. But the world’s best players, as well as those who earned a spot in Open qualifying, will be together this week to have their go at No. 2 in the U.S. Golf Association’s most prestigious event.

“The best word for a U.S. Open is a ‘grind’ and whoever can grind it out the most usually comes out on top,” Clark said during a recent visit to Pinehurst.

Challenges of No. 2

Pinehurst No. 2 is not the kind of course that beats golfers over the head. There are no water holes, no island greens. The tests are more subtle although conducive to producing big numbers for those, as Clark said, who tend to get too aggressive.

Miss a fairway with a wayward shot and a player could find his ball in sandy waste areas or next to a clump of wiregrass, one of the features of the No. 2 course.

“It’s almost a flip of the coin if you get a good lie or not,” Clark said.

But No. 2’s domed, hump-backed greens create 18 hurdles — in club selection on approaches, chip shots around the greens and then judging speeds once on the greens.

Many a player has been “Donald Ross-ed” when poor chips roll back down slopes and heavy-handed putts roll well past the pin or off the greens.

John Daly played a game of golf polo on the eighth green in the final round in 1999. Trying to putt the ball up a slope, he had it roll back down to him a few times, finally walking up and whacking it while it was still rolling for a two-stroke penalty.

Daly took an 11 on the hole, shot 83 and soon was angrily on his way out of town, saying the course was “unfair” and the USGA trying to embarrass the players. Daly promised to never play another U.S. Open. He later apologized, saying he made some “stupid comments.”

But negotiating the greens, which will have a Stimpmeter speed approaching 13, is integral to winning.

“The greens are its defense,” Clark said. “Being smart on and around the greens will be very important.”

Those kinds of comments bring a smile to the face of John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer who oversees the Open.

“Donald Ross built this place with sand greens. It’s always been about the greens,” he said.

A look back

Par again will be 70 and will play to 7,540 yards, and the winning scores from past Opens at Pinehurst are a testament to the durability and greatness of the old course in the Sandhills.

Stewart finished at 1-under-par 279 and needed that last 15-footer to drop to do it. Campbell, who went through qualifying in Europe to get to Pinehurst, closed at even-par 280 to top Woods by two shots.

Kaymer was the outlier. The German, who had won the 2010 PGA Championship, came to Pinehurst in good form a month after a victory in The Players Championship. He led wire-to-wire and streaked to a 9-under 271 finish, eight shots ahead of Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton — the only three players under par that week on No. 2.

Now 39, Kaymer is one of those golfers who joined the LIV Tour. He’s in the final year of his 10-year U.S. Open exemption from his win in 2014.

What’s ahead this week

The week will begin with the World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony Monday night at the Carolina Hotel. To be enshrined: Padraig Harrington, Sandra Palmer; the late Tom Weiskopf, Johnny Ferrell, Beverly Hanson; and the founders of the LPGA.

Tiger Woods will receive the 2024 Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honor, on Tuesday, recognizing Woods’ respect for golf traditions and his impact on the game. Woods has received an exemption from the USGA and plans to play the Open — he missed the 2014 Open following back surgery.

“This championship is simply better when Tiger is in the field,” Bodenhamer said.

There will be a special tribute during Open week for Stewart, said Bodenhamer, who added it will be “very quiet and understated, very classy” without giving out the details.

With the USGA Golf House and the Hall of Fame moving to the Pinehurst resort, the U.S. Open is scheduled to return in 2029, 2035, 2041, 2047. Pinehurst has become a new anchor site for the USGA and the U.S. Open. There will be another U.S. Open/U.S. Women’s Open doubleheader in 2029.

“It’s the culture here in Pinehurst,” Bodenhamer said. “It’s like you’re coming home. The warmth of this community. Good people, welcoming people. Southern hospitality.

“They embrace the U.S. Open. They embrace the game of golf. It’s going to be a great celebration.”

124TH U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

When: June 13-16.

Where: Pinehurst Resort and Country Club, Village of Pinehurst.

Venue: Pinehurst No. 2 Course, Par 70

TV coverage: NBC. USA Network, Peacock.

Information: usopen.com