A rare bright spot during the eye of the pandemic came in early September 2020, when the United States Golf Association named Pinehurst Resort and Country Club’s legendary No. 2 course as its first “anchor site” for U.S. Open Championships.
Final groups of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, a quarter-century apart.
Payne Stewart in 1999 needs a par to hold off playing partner Phil Mickelson, but his tee shot on the uphill, par-4 finishing hole misses the fairway to the right. He’s in five inches of suffocating rough, the grass wet on a cool, misty day. He punches out, has 78 yards to the hole, hits a three-quarter sand wedge to 18 feet short of the back-right hole location.
The eyes of the sports and golf worlds will be upon Pinehurst the third week in June. The largesse of the Sandhills golf community will evoke awe and interest from across the nation and the world.
It’s always fascinated and amused me to ponder the series of dominoes that fell over five years from 1895 to 1900 that allowed this “Coincidental Resort” to sprout into reality. There was no big city next door to give birth to Pinehurst. There was no ocean or mountain range to make it an aesthetic or seasonable destination, no river to provide convenient access.
It’s been 10 years since the last U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. What’s different about the golf course and infrastructure in one decade? So much. But then again, so little.
Pinehurst No. 2 has once again secured the top spot as the best golf course in the state as determined by the North Carolina Golf Panel. Pinehurst Resort will host the 2024 U.S. Open at the venerable Donald Ross course for the fourth time, June 13-16.
This area of south-central North Carolina has deep Scottish roots dating to the 1700s, when droves of Scottish emigrants fled the Highlands to the shores of North Carolina and moved up the Cape Fear River and its tributaries inland to the pine forests of Moore County. They found land for the taking and plentiful game for hunting.
“It was sleepy during the summer for sure,” says Peggy Bell Miller, daughter of Warren and Peggy Kirk Bell. “All the staff went to Myrtle Beach. There was no business during the summer.” But, that has all changed…
A U.S. Open at Pinehurst seems old hat now. In about a year, the esteemed No. 2 course will be the venue for its fourth rendition of America’s national championship, following 1999 (won by Payne Stewart), 2005 (Michael Campbell) and 2014 (Martin Kaymer). And after the 2024 competition, there are four more on the docket through 2047 as the USGA has tabbed Pinehurst No. 2 as an “anchor site” for the Open.
The Pinehurst area is home to some surprising destinations that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. From quirky attractions to one-of-a-kind historical collections, make sure you see all of the places that make Moore County in the North Carolina Sandhills so unique.
