tree lines. Martin Kaymer won the US Open on 9-under 271, putting when- ever he missed a green, compared to Campbell’s 280 in 2005. A big saving on irrigation was an additional outcome for a course ranked No 29 in Golf Di- gest’s 100 Greatest American Courses. It is now a favoured venue for the USGA who have confirmed Pinehurst for fu- ture Opens in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. There are no newcomers among the men’s major venues this year, as there was last year with Los Angeles CC hosting the US Open. The PGA Championship returns in May to a Jack Nicklaus design, Valhalla, the aptly named scene in 2014 of Rory McIlroy’s last major title. Astonishing that he hasn’t won a ma- jor in 10 years, although he has had 20 top-10s. Valhalla, ranked No 87 in Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest American Cours- es, is one of two Nicklaus courses to have hosted a major, the other being Shoal Creek in Alabama. VALHALLA RETURN FOR RORY MCILROY The PGA of America purchased the Kentucky course in 2000 (selling it in 2022), which explains why they keep going back there. It has seen thrilling action hosting the 1996 PGA (Mark Brooks), 2000 PGA (Tiger Woods), 2008 Ryder Cup, and 2014 PGA (McIlroy completed the 72nd hole in the dark to win by one from Phil Mickelson).
tionally challenging greens complexes, yet the US Golf Association gave it a wide berth as a championship venue until 1994 when it staged the US Senior Open, won by the late Simon Hobday. That was followed by its first US Open in 1999 (Payne Stewart) and another in 2005 which should have been won by Retief Goosen but fell unexpectedly into the hands of New Zealander Mi- chael Campbell. Goosen, the defending champion, had a 3-shot lead entering the final round, but Pinehurst No 2 punished his unusually loose shots on Sunday. He shot an 11-over 81 and didn’t finish in the top 10. Victory would have given him three US Opens in five years, in other words legendary status. No 2 was upgraded by the design duo of Ben Crenshaw & Bill Coore in 2010, prior to the 2014 US Open. They ripped out all the rough and established sandy wastelands between the fairways and The PGA Championship returns in May to a Jack Nicklaus design, Valhalla, the aptly named scene in 2014 of Rory McIlroy’s last major title.
iterations were in 2007 and 2013), and the championship has the potential to be one of the year’s viewing highlights. The women’s game is currently better suited than the men to an Old Course contest, as Pebble Beach was in 2023 for the Women’s US Open. The time- less attributes and challenges of these classic courses have been diminished by today’s power game, as we witnessed in the 2022 men’s Open at St Andrews when the Old Course’s firm fairways allowed for 300-metre plus drives and eliminated many of its quirky challeng- es. A winning score of 20-under 268 by Cameron Smith says it all. When the Old Course was first used for the Women’s Open in 2007, competitors played from the original championship tees laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1873. The course measured 6 070 metres and the Road Hole 17th was played as a par 5. Every hazard was in play for the women, and the winning total by Lorena Ochoa was five-under 287, which was two shots more than Bobby Jones scored in the 1927 Open. WOMEN USED OLD TOM MORRIS TEES In 2013, it was just 30 metres longer and American Stacy Lewis triumphed on 280, the Road Hole reverting to a 4. Significantly she finished her final round with a birdie 3 at the Road Hole and 3 at 18. Today’s women golfers are consid- erably longer off the tee than their predecessors from a decade earlier, and hopefully the R&A will test them accordingly by setting up the Old Course at around 6 300, which would be the same distance it played for the men’s Opens in 1990 and 1995, won by Nick Faldo and John Daly respectively. Pinehurst in North Carolina is regarded as the leading golf resort in the United States, having nine courses (No 10 by Tom Doak is due to open this year), and in June will be hosting its fourth US Open at the Donald Ross-designed No 2, an historical masterpiece. It was opened in 1907, and Ross tinkered with its design until his death in 1948. Its reputation is built on excep- RETIEF GOOSEN’S FINAL ROUND 81
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Valhalla is a Nicklaus design.
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MARCH/APRIL 2024
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