US Open 2014: A Brief History of Pinehurst

Pinehurst Golf Club will host its third US Open on June 12 playing host to both the prestigious US Open and the US Women’s Open.

North Carolina’s Pinehurst Golf Club will this year host the US Open for the third time.

However this year will also see Pinehurst playing host to the US Women’s Open Championship, marking the first time in history that both tournaments will be played on the same course in consecutive weeks.

Golf Monthly takes a look at a brief history of Pinehurst Golf Club and some of the key events that took place on the famous American course.

1898- A nine-hole course was constructed on the site out after James Walker Tufts, who also founded the village of Pinehurst, bought the land in 1895.

1901- Pinehurst held their first championship, the United North and South Amateur Championship which saw George C. Dutton claim the top spot.

The tournament has been played at Pinehurst annually since its inception.

1907- The No. 2 course was officially opened. Donald Ross famously designed the course for nearly 50 years post its opening, aiming to entrench the course with his philosophy of giving golfers strategic choices in each shot.

Donald Ross described the No. 2 course as “the fairest test of championship golf I have ever designed.”

1936- Pinehurst staged the PGA Championship which saw Denny Shute take the champion title.

1951- Pinehurst No. 2 course hosted the Ryder Cup which saw the US win their fifth consecutive competition.

1999- Pinehurst staged their second Major, but first US Open on the No.2 Course.

The 1999 US Open saw Payne Stewart take home the champion’s title with a memorable 15-foot putt for par on the final hole securing Stewart’s victory.

2005- Pinehurst hosted their second US Open, which saw Michael Campbell win his maiden major title by two shots.

2011- Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw began to restore the strategic characteristics of the No.2 golf course that came to epitomise Ross’s original designs.

The restoration saw the removal of 35 acres of turfs and an increase in the widths of the fairways.

2014- Pinehurst No.2 golf course will serve as the host for the US Open and the US Women’s Open Championships from June 12 through to June 22 making Pinehurst the first in history to stage both events.

Bobby Jones, co-founder of the Masters Tournament, perhaps best describes the uniqueness of Pinehurst, drawing attention not to the distinctive courses but to the individuality and talent of the “people you find there, play golf with, and exchange reminiscences with…who always make you feel happily at home.”