1999 U.S. Open Championship Recap

Donald’s Ross’s classically designed Pinehurst No. 2 golf course served up some amazing drama in 1999. Walking up the 18 th fairway on the final day of the U.S. OPEN Championship, Payne Stewart held onto a slim, one shot lead over Phil Michelson, marking the closing chapter in what many would call one of most competitive and compelling U.S. Opens ever.

Here in the “Home of American Golf”, the game’s best had found Mr. Ross’s contoured greens (upside down and saucer-shaped) both challenging and beguiling. It is known that Ross had felt No. 2, of all the courses he had designed, best fit the description of “the fairest test of Championship golf”.

The Sandhills of North Carolina proved the ideal setting for one of golf’s most preeminent architects – uniting its mild climate with sandy soil on gently rolling hills lined by majestic 200 year old long leaf pine trees. The No. 2 course was crafted starting in 1903 by Ross using mules and drag pans. And while Ross is credited with hundreds of course designs across the continent, he chose Pinehurst as his home, living many years in a house just off the third green of No. 2.

Stewart and Mickelson most likely didn’t have Ross on their minds during their historic trek up 18, but there couldn’t have been a more appropriate setting for two professionals with strong appreciations for the history and tradition of golf. Nor were they likely contemplating the phenomenal success the event would realize--with record sales, outstanding hospitality, and a sense that every spectator there felt it was “his/her Open” to experience and keep. While Phil would just miss his birdie putt, Payne would face an extremely difficult up and down to win the Championship outright, and forgo a rigorous 18-hole playoff the next day.

When his 12 foot putt curled into the cup, bedlam erupted and Stewart raised his arm in triumph. Victory arrived on the final putt of the final day for one of the great golfers of his era. Pinehurst No. 2 had proven worthy of an amazing finish for an amazing week of golf. The Home of American Golf had again delivered a true Champion for the ages.

› 1999 U.S. Open Scorecard