HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (June 20, 2014) – Linda Hartough, world-renowned golf-landscape artist (www.hartough.com), was honored by the United States Golf Association (USGA) on June 13 at the U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. A silver artist’s palette was presented to Hartough as a tribute to her 25 years of painting the U.S. Open venues, as commissioned by the USGA. This year’s painting, 9th Hole, Pinehurst No. 2, represents Hartough’s last in the series.
“I truly enjoyed painting every golf course on which the U.S. Open has been contested these past 25 years,” Hartough said. “It was a privilege to be commissioned by the USGA to do these paintings, and I appreciate the gift of this beautiful silver artist’s palette to commemorate the series.”
Making the presentation to Hartough were Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., president of the USGA; Mike Butz, USGA senior managing director for Open championships & association relations; and Mary Lopuszynski, USGA senior director of merchandising and licensing. Also in attendance was Mary Ann Sarazen, daughter of seven-time major champion Gene Sarazen.
At this year’s U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open, Hartough showed, sold and personalized limited-edition fine art paper prints of 9th Hole, Pinehurst No. 2 in an embossed 25th anniversary edition. The limited-edition canvas giclée edition of the painting also was available, with a commemorative plaque included. In addition, Hartough sold her newest book, GREEN GLORY: A Visual Tribute to the Courses of the Majors – Golf’s Renowned Venues. Hartough was present to personalize the books as well as the prints.
About the Painting: 9th Hole, Pinehurst No. 2
Hartough visited Pinehurst last April to see the restored course for the first time. She had been there many other times to do five paintings over the years, as well as drawings for the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Open Championships. The restoration to architect Donald Ross’ original vision reclaimed the course’s natural look, “…and everywhere the holes came alive,” Hartough said. “By that I mean the holes are now visually interesting with the natural contours of the land coming through and more use of natural vegetation.
“The course now looks as though it has always been there, and I am sure it was intended to look that way…When we came to the ninth hole, I fell in love and chose it immediately for my 2014 U.S. Open painting.”
The 9th Hole, Pinehurst No. 2 is offered in a limited edition of 850 prints and an additional 85 artist proofs. Each piece in the 25th anniversary edition is signed and numbered by Hartough, and each will be embossed with the 25th anniversary edition logo.
“Linda has captured the transformation of Pinehurst No. 2’s recent restoration beautifully,” said Jay Biggs, Pinehurst’s senior vice president, golf and club operations. “She has brought out the textures and ruggedness of the hole.”
About Linda Hartough
Hartough painted the first of her U.S. Open series in 1990, when Hale Irwin won at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill. A confirmed artist since childhood, early in her career Hartough painted landscapes, portraits and horses. In 1984, Augusta National Golf Club commissioned her to paint its famous 13th hole, an opportunity that propelled Hartough toward specialization as a golf-landscape painter. Since then, her work has achieved a distinguished status, displayed in the permanent collections of such legendary clubs as Augusta National, Laurel Valley, Pinehurst and Pine Valley, as well as in the personal collections of golf luminaries such as Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd. Her paintings also hang in the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Ga.
Known for extraordinary attention to detail in her recreation of some of golf’s most beautiful holes, Hartough imbues her paintings with admiration for the scenery’s natural beauty and respect for the game’s history and tradition, elements which seem to emerge from the canvas. Hartough’s paintings and prints grace the collections of golf-art lovers the world over.
Hartough is a founding trustee of the Academy of Golf Art, a professional society of golf artists established in 2004 to create an awareness and appreciation of golf art as a valuable segment of fine art.
For more information, visit www.hartough.com.
About the USGA
The USGA conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open, as well as 10 national amateur championships, two state team championships and international matches, attracting players and fans from more than 160 countries. Together with The R&A, the USGA governs the game worldwide, jointly administering the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, equipment standards and World Amateur Golf Rankings. The USGA’s reach is global with a working jurisdiction in the United States, its territories and Mexico, serving more than 25 million golfers and actively engaging 150 golf associations.
The USGA is one of the world’s foremost authorities on research, development and support of sustainable golf course management practices. It serves as a primary steward for the game’s history and invests in the development of the game through the delivery of its services and its ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program. Additionally, the USGA’s Course Rating and Handicap systems are used on six continents in more than 50 countries.
For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.
About Pinehurst Resort & Country Club
Pinehurst No. 2 once again will be the center of the golf universe in June 2014 when it hosts the world’s top male and female amateur and professional golfers to compete for the U.S. Open Championship titles.
Pinehurst No. 2 has hosted nine USGA championships, including the 2005 U.S. Open when Michael Campbell edged Tiger Woods by two strokes. The 1999 U.S. Open 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 legendary course opened in 1907 and was designed by Donald Ross, who called it “the fairest test of championship golf I have ever designed.” It recently underwent a restoration by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. No 2 is best known for its crowned greens, which are some of the most complex and widely hailed in the world.
For more information, visit www.pinehurst.com.
Contact:
Sally J. Sportsman
407-248-1144
sjsport@earthlink.net
