Southern Hills will have to wait until at least 2021 for U.S. Open
BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Monday, January 28, 2013
1/28/13 at 11:31 AM
Southern Hills Country Club will have to wait until at least 2021 before getting another U.S. Open.
The USGA announced Monday that the 2020 U.S. Open will be staged at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. The next available vacancy for a U.S. Open is 2021.
Southern Hills hosted U.S. Opens in 1958, 1977 and 2001. Southern Hills general manager Nick Sidorakis has acknowledged in interviews that Southern Hills wants a fourth U.S. Open.
The west course at Winged Foot will host a U.S. Open for the sixth time and for the first time since 2006, when Geoff Ogilvy outlasted Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie and Jim Furyk for a one-stroke victory.
In 2008, Winged Foot’s membership voted against the prospect of bringing back another U.S. Open.
“We just thought it was too soon,” Winged Foot president John Schneider said before providing specifics. “The sacrifice the membership has to make, we restrict guest play, everybody is delegated to the West Course, we give up the East Course in November, and by the time we do the restoration, it’s a good full year before we get that course back again. So it is an inconvenience to the membership, and it’s something that we’ve addressed, and we’re going to try to modify that this year, or 2020.”
USGA vice president and championship committee chairman Thomas J. O’Toole, Jr., said in a press release that the USGA is thrilled to bring the U.S. Open back to an outstanding club.
“Winged Foot offers a spectacular setting in a dynamic market, and has justifiably earned its reputation as one of the premier U.S. Open venues in the nation,” he said. “And it joins an impressive lineup of future U.S. Open Championship locations that players and fans alike can eagerly anticipate.”
Other future U.S. Open sites: Merion Golf Club (East Course), Ardmore, Pa. (2013); Pinehurst Resort (Course No. 2), Village of Pinehurst, N.C. (2014); Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash. (2015); Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club (2016); Erin Hills, Erin, Wis. (2017); Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, N.Y. (2018); and Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links (2019).
Southern Hills last hosted a professional golf major in 2007, when Tiger Woods won a PGA Championship. It was the fourth PGA Championship staged at the tradition-rich course.
Southern Hills partnered with the USGA in 2009 to host a U.S. Amateur.
Associated Images:
In this August 2007 file photo, Tiger Woods raises his arms in triumph after putting out to claim the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. Tulsa World File
|
