There are a multitude of questions heading into the 124th U.S. Open that will be held on famed Pinehurst No. 2 later this month.
-Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele captured the first two major titles of 2024, but will they add a U.S. Open Trophy to their collections?
-Tiger Woods will give it one more go at famed No. 2. Will his injury ravaged body let him rise to the occasion one more time, or will this just be another fruitless trip to capture major title number 16?
-Will LIV players, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm or Cam Smith be in the mix to win a U.S. Open Trophy?
-Will famed Pinehurst No. 2 remain a relevant test for today’s golfers and be able to weather the onslaught of technological advancements to clubs and balls?
These are just a few of the questions that golf fans ponder as the time for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst nears.
Past U.S. Open Champions at Pinehurst
Payne Stewart famously won the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, but was killed just a few months later, when the private jet he was riding in, crashed killing Stewart and four other people. Golf fans remember his final round duel with a young Phil Mickelson and Stewart hugging Phil on the 72nd green, telling him he would have many more chances to grab a U.S. Open trophy.
Sadly, we lost the colorful Stewart just a short time later. Mickelson, now 53 years old, has six major titles, plus six runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open, but it appears his time may have passed to grab a U.S. Open Trophy and complete his career Grand Slam.
Michael Campbell, from New Zealand had 20 career world-wide wins, but only one came in the United States, the 2005 U.S. Open held at Pinehurst.
The Kiwi was a consistent contender on the PGA Tour and qualified for the 2005 U.S. Open at a sectional event held at Walton Heath Golf Club in London by sinking a six-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
Campbell found himself four shots behind the leader Retief Goosen after 54 holes, but a final round 69 gave the Kiwi the title. He was the only golfer in the final two groups to break 80 among the four contenders.
Campbell became only the second New Zealander ever to win a major championship. Fellow countryman, Bob Charles won the 1963 OPEN Championship.
Campbell was also the second winner to ever win the U.S. Open via qualifying in a sectional event.
In 2014, Martin Kaymer fired a final round 69 to win the U.S. Open on Pinehurst No. 2 by eight shots over Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler.
Kaymer fired a 69 in the final round to record the second-lowest score in U.S. Open history. It was his second major title, he also won the 2020 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
A huge part of the mystique surrounding the U.S. Open is the qualifying process that allows any golfer with a handicap of less than .4 a chance qualify via sectional and regional tournaments.
Every young American golfer visualizes sinking a putt to win the U.S. Open.
Scottie Scheffler’s brother-in-law, Andrew Paysse, who is married to Scheffler’s older sister, Callie, made it through a sectional qualifier in Texas and will compete in the U.S. Open Qualifier held in Springfield, Ohio.
LPGA legend, Peggy Kirk Bell’s grandson, Michael McGowan carded a 3-under 68 in a U.S. Open local qualifier at Hillendale Country Club in Phoenix, Maryland last month. The former University of North Carolina golfer and now 33-year-old professional has chosen to play his 36-hole final qualifier in Dallas, Texas.
Francis Ouimet made golf history, when he defeated Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, the two most prominent British golfers of the era, in the 1913 U.S. Open at Brookline Golf Club. Another Ouimet, Arthur, a distant descendant of Francis, made it through a local qualifier in Darien, Connecticut and will attempt to make it to the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst via a qualifier at Canoe Brook Country Club on June 3.
What better setting than Pinehurst No. 2 once again hosting our national championship. Donald Ross lived on the course and spent his life tweaking and perfecting his masterpiece.
No. 2 has been the site of phenomenal golf. The USGA always sets up the U.S. Open course to demand the very best from competitors and it will once again provide a stern test for today’s golfers.
