|
U.S.
Open,
U.S.
Women's Open
To Be Played Back To Back
Payne
Stewart celebrates his final-hole putt that secured the
1999 U.S. Open title on Pinehurst No. 2. (USGA Archives)
USGA
national championships to be contested at the same venue
in consecutive weeks
Far
Hills, N.J. - The United States Golf Association has
announced that the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open
will be played in consecutive weeks on the No. 2 course at
Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of
Pinehurst, N.C. The U.S. Open will be conducted June
12-15, and the U.S. Women's Open will be played June
19-22.
It will mark the first time the two national championships
will be contested on the same course in back-to-back
weeks.
"This
is a unique and wonderful opportunity to showcase the
U.S.
Open and U.S. Women's Open," said USGA President Jim
Vernon. "The USGA is constantly striving to improve
its championships, and conducting these championships in
back-to-back weeks allows the Association to provide a new
and exciting experience for the players and fans
alike."
"The
ability to provide women golfers with the opportunity to
compete in a championship setting on the same course,
under similar conditions, as their male counterparts is
certainly unique to the USGA," said Barbara Douglas,
chairman of the USGA Women's Committee. "The staging
of these championships is a significant statement for the
sport of golf."
By
hosting the 2014 U.S. Women's Open, Pinehurst No. 2 will
become the first and only course to host the U.S. Open,
U.S. Women's
Open,
U.S.
Senior
Open
,
U.S.
Amateur and U.S. Women's Amateur. Overall, Pinehurst No. 2
has hosted nine USGA championships since 1962. Most
recently the famed course was the venue for the 2008 U.S.
Amateur, won by Danny Lee. In 2005, Michael Campbell edged
Tiger Woods by two strokes to win the U.S. Open on
Pinehurst No. 2. The 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst provided
one of the most dramatic finishes in history when the late
Payne Stewart sank an 18-foot putt for par on the 72nd
hole to top Phil Mickelson by one stroke.
"This
double-header, staged at one of the sport's most storied
golf courses, promises to provide a promotion of women's
championship golf unlike anything we've ever seen,"
said David Fay, USGA executive director.
"I'm
thrilled to hear the Women's Open will be played
immediately following the U.S. Open on the same golf
course," said three-time U.S. Women's Open champion
Annika Sorenstam. "Playing the same course the week
after the men's Open will help attract new fans to the
Women's Open."
Pinehurst
No. 2 was created by famed golf architect Donald Ross.
Ross completed the course in 1907, but he would continue
to refine the layout until his death in 1948. Pinehurst
No. 2 was the setting for the 1962 U.S. Amateur (won by
Labron Harris Jr.), the 1989 U.S. Women's Amateur (Vicki
Goetze) and the 1994 U.S. Senior Open (Simon Hobday). The
course hosted three USGA international team championships,
including the 1967 World Senior Amateur Team Championship.
In 1980, Pinehurst No.2 was the host course for the
Women's World Amateur Team Championship and the World
Amateur Team Championship.
"We
are thrilled to accept this honor," said Pinehurst
owner and CEO Bob Dedman. "The entire Pinehurst team
is excited by the opportunity to make history, and deeply
committed to the success of these two national
championships. We look forward to challenging the world's
greatest players on Donald Ross' masterpiece, Pinehurst
No. 2, in 2014."
For
more than a century, Pinehurst has identified some of the
world's best players. Winners of the venerable North &
South Amateur, which began in 1901 on Pinehurst No. 1 but
moved to Pinehurst No. 2 when it was completed in 1907,
have included Francis Ouimet, Jack Nicklaus, Davis Love
III, and Curtis Strange. The North & South Women's
Amateur began two years later, and winners include Glenna
Collett Vare, Dorothy Campbell Hurd, Louise Suggs, Babe
Zaharias, Hollis Stacy, and Morgan Pressel.
The
North & South Open began in 1902, and winners included
Ben Hogan (1940, '42, '46), Walter Hagen (1918, '23, '24)
and Sam Snead (1941, '49, '50). In 1936, Pinehurst No. 2
hosted the PGA Championship, won by Denny Shute. The USA
Ryder Cup team scored a runaway victory over
Europe
at Pinehurst in 1951. The course has also hosted numerous
PGA Tour events.
The
USGA has conducted several national championships on the
same course in the same year in the past. In 1895, Newport
(R.I.) G.C. was used for the U.S. Amateur, Oct. 1-3, and
for the U.S. Open, Oct. 4. In 1896, Shinnecock Hills G.C.
in
Southampton,
N.Y.
, was the venue for the U.S. Amateur, July 14-17, and for
the U.S. Open, July 18. Chicago (
Ill.
) G.C. hosted the 1897 U.S. Amateur, Sept. 14-18, and that
year's U.S. Open, Sept. 17.
Wilmington
(
Del.
) C.C. hosted the 1978 U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls'
Junior simultaneously, but the championships were not
conducted on the same course.
In
2000, Pumpkin Ridge G.C. in
North Plains,
Ore.
, hosted the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls' Junior,
using two courses, Witch Hollow and Ghost Creek,
interchangeably. The final three rounds of both
championships were conducted on the Ghost Creek course.
This year, the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Girls'
Junior match-play rounds are being conducted
simultaneously on the New Course at Trump National G.C. in
Bedminster
,
N.J.
, July 20-25.
Prior to 2014, the 2009 U.S. Women's Open will be
contested at Saucon Valley C.C. in Bethlehem, Pa., July
9-12; the 2010 U.S. Women's Open will be at Oakmont (Pa.)
C.C. July 8-11; the 2011 Women's Open at The Broadmoor,
Colorado Springs, Colo., July 7-10; the 2012 Women's Open
at Blackwolf Run G.C., Kohler, Wis., July 5-8; and the
2013 Women's Open at Sebonack G.C., Southampton, N.Y.,
June 27-30.
The
2010 U.S. Open will be conducted at
Pebble
Beach
(
Calif.
) Golf Links, June 17-20. The 2011 U.S. Open will be
conducted at Congressional C.C.,
Bethesda
,
Md.
, June 16-19; the 2012 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club,
San Francisco
,
Calif.
, June 14-17; and the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion G.C.,
Ardmore
,
Pa.
, June 13-16.
In
2015, the U.S. Open will be contested at
Chambers
Bay
in
Tacoma
,
Wash.
, June 18-21, and the U.S. Women's Open will be played
at Lancaster (
Pa.
) Country Club, July 9-12.
|