WORLDWIDE GOLF INSIDER

Summer 2022

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TOUR REPORT ver.indd 1 12/1/1 ver.indd 1 12/1/1 ver.indd 1 12/1/1 ver.indd 1 12/1/1 the 1957 U.S. Amateur, the club hatched a plan to deliver a more challenging test than it did for the 1913 U.S. Open. What emerged was a composite course that in- cluded a handful of holes from the Prim- rose nine, a 1927 addition to the club. The Old Course at St. Andrews, mean- while, was golf's very first design. Nature carved many of these breeze-fueled, sea- side links holes as far back as the 1400s. Today, man and nature have conspired to craft the most unique championship course of all, with 14 of the holes sharing gigantic double greens, bunkers so infa- mous they have their own names, and a public thoroughfare ("Granny Clark's Wynd") crossing the 18th from which you cannot take relief. Still, the most head-scratching test is the par-4 Road Hole (the 17th), a scorecard- wrecker of 495 yards that demands a drive over the Old Course Hotel – watch out, second-floor suites! – followed by a de- monic approach. If played short, it runs into a frighteningly deep bunker. Hit it long and right and you'll find a pebbled path, a paved road and a stone wall, all of which are in play. u u u Lore Galore For sheer American golf history, The Country Club stands alone. It was one of the five charter clubs that founded the United States Golf Association in 1894. Local amateur Francis Ouimet's shocking playoff upset of top British professionals Harry Vardon and Ted Ray to win the 1913 U.S. Open put golf on the map in the U.S., and eventually spawned the book and movie, "The Greatest Game Ever Played." The 1963 U.S. Open witnessed the high- est winning score in modern history, when three players finished 72 holes at nine- over-par 293. Julius Boros beat Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit in the playoff. Rees Jones ignited the classic restoration craze with his inspired reworking of The Country Club ahead of the 1988 U.S. Open, when Curtis Strange clipped Nick Faldo in yet another playoff. And unforgettable is Justin Leonard's 45-foot, 17th hole bomb that sealed the 1999 Ryder Cup for the United States. As for the Old Course at St. Andrews, where do you even begin? Perhaps with Jack Nicklaus, who once stated, "If you're going to be a player people will remember, you have to win the Open at St. Andrews." The Golden Bear is well remembered, as he did it twice, most famously in 1970. After Doug Sanders missed a three-foot putt to win on the final hole of regulation, the two played off the next day. Leading by one on the 18th hole, Nicklaus dramati- cally removed his sweater and blasted a drive that actually ran through the green on the par 4, almost out of bounds. He chipped down close, drained his clinching birdie putt and flung his putter skyward, nearly bonking Sanders on the head. The other golfer who garners votes as the GOAT, Tiger Woods, calls the Old Course at St. Andrews his favorite course in the world. He, too, has captured two Open Championships here, most memo- rably in 2000, when he won by eight. Others who have won at St. Andrews in- clude Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Tony Lema, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, John Daly, Louis Oosthuizen and Zach Johnson. With so much more history to emerge this June and July from The Country Club and the Old Course at St. Andrews, it's hardly hyperbole to say, "We can't wait!" << WATCH! An inside look at The Country Club, site of the 2022 U.S. Open.

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