FAR HILLS, N.J. (June 15) – 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 revise 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 4-11; 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.
About the USGA
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in the USA and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the world’s golfers and golf courses. The Association’s most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open. Ten USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs, and include the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur. The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, provides expert course maintenance consultations, funds research for better turf and a better environment, maintains a Handicap System, celebrates the history of the game, and administers an ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program, which has allocated more than $63 million over 12 years to successful programs that bring the game’s values to youths from disadvantaged backgrounds and people with disabilities.
Contact:
Pete Kowalski (pkowalski@usga.org)
Web Address: www.usga.org
USGA Phone: 908-234-2300 ext.1322 (office) 908-216-8435 (cell)
