Tulsa World: Southern Hills wows once again

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Southern Hills wows once again

Golfers and the gallery head down the fairway of the first hole for the last 18 holes of the 36-hole final round of the 109th U.S. Amateur Championship on Sunday. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World

By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Published: 8/31/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 8/31/2009 8:33 AM

Soon after the 2009 U.S. Amateur ended, a USGA official said in interviews with Tulsa media that he wants to bring future championships back to Southern Hills.

"We have got to work out with the club — what works when, etcetera," said Jim Hyler, USGA vice president and chairman of the USGA Championship Committee.

"But we want to bring championships here."

Southern Hills, which has hosted four PGA Championships and three U.S. Opens, wants to next host another U.S. Open.

The U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur are championships that fall under USGA governance. Many courses which agreed to host U.S. Amateurs were later awarded U.S. Opens. Southern Hills apparently did nothing to hurt its chances of landing an Open.

"We have had a terrific week here," Hyler said. "The golf course was the star. We were able to get firm and fast conditions, which we want, and I think the golf course the last three or four days has literally been perfect. We are thrilled with that."

Hyler said Southern Hills has plenty of room for all the "operational things" that go along with hosting a U.S. Open. He also praised community support for the last two Southern Hills majors — the 2007 PGA and the 2001 U.S. Open.

"We think the support of the community would be here if we decide to bring another Open back," Hyler said. "So all of that adds up to a very favorable impression and we will be very seriously considering future USGA championships here, including the U.S. Open."

U.S. Amateur runner-up Ben Martin, who played in the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, told a Tulsa television crew that Southern Hills played more difficult than the U.S. Open course.

When Martin's quote was relayed to Nick Sidorakis, the Southern Hills general manager said, "That just gave me tingles. That's pretty good. I like that. We know what we have here. We have a tremendous test of golf."

Southern Hills and Cedar Ridge hosted U.S. Amateur stroke play rounds. Sidorakis said course superintendents Russ Myers and Mike Wooten did a fabulous job.

"And look at the scoring average," Sidorakis said. "The scoring average was 77 at Southern Hills and 75 at Cedar Ridge. That's impressive with the best amateurs in the world. These greens, I have never seen our greens like this. They are fast. Heck, we put a table down on the 13th (green for a trophy presentation) and we didn't even make an imprint."

Because U.S. Open sites are determined years in advance, U.S. Amateur champ Byeong-Hun An, 17, would be an "old man" in his 20s before he could return to Southern Hills to play in a U.S. Open.

"I think it would be great," An said.

Southern Hills

The course has been home to four PGA Championships and three U.S. Opens. Course officials want to host another U.S. Open.

Jimmie Tramel 581-8389
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer

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