Share
Pinehurst officials are moving closer to hiring Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore to handle a restoration of Course No.2 before the 2014 men's and women's U.S. Opens are played there.
Tinkering with what is considered Donald Ross' masterpiece is a delicate matter, and Pinehurst president Don Padgett III is taking a careful approach.
He has consulted with Coore and Crenshaw as well as Mike Davis, senior director of rules and competitions for the USGA, who will oversee the set-up for the U.S. Opens.
"They are trying to develop a concept to restore the course to a lot of the original design criteria while, at the same time, have it be a championship venue for the Opens," Padgett said this week.
Padgett said it is important for everyone - Pinehurst officials, Crenshaw, Coore and the USGA - to agree on any potential alterations to No.2, which has hosted the 1999 and 2005 men's U.S. Opens.
Any alterations would focus on restoring many of the strategic aspects to the layout and less on adding length.
The only significant lengthening would likely occur at the dogleg par-4 seventh hole where the tee could be moved back across a road, preventing players for trying to cut the corner as some did in the 2008 U.S. Amateur.
The main alterations would involve bringing back more of the sandy areas dotted with wire grass off the fairways, places where there is now rough. It would be similar, Padgett said, to how the course was in the 1930s and 1940s when Ross lived in the area and worked on it.
"What people expect of No.2 has gone away," Padgett said. "I think they (Coore and Crenshaw) plan to bring that back."
Padgett said if the plan moves forward, it will be at least a year, maybe longer, before work begins.
"I'm just glad to be headed in the right direction," Padgett said.
Moving on
Seventy players with ties to the Charlotte-based eGolf Tour have advanced through the first stage of PGA Tour qualifying school.
Among those advancing include Charlotte residents Chris Gallagher and Trae Ely, Pinehurst's David Sanchez and Jay Haas Jr., of Greenville, S.C.
Three players with local ties moved up to the PGA Tour by virtue of finishing among the top 25 money winners on the Nationwide Tour.
Former N.C. State golfer Garth Mulroy, former Clemson golfer Kevin Johnson and Charlotte native Garrett Willis will be on the big tour in 2010.
Chip shots
Concord's Cydney Clanton picked up an impressive victory on Sunday when she won the individual title in the 2009 NCAA Preview played at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington.
Clanton, a junior at third-ranked Auburn, shot three consecutive 70s for a five-stroke victory in the event that brings together many of the top teams at the site of the 2010 national championship.
The inaugural Asian Amateur begins Thursday in China and the winner will receive an exemption into the 2010 Masters. The 117-player tournament is being played at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China.
It's a special project championed by Augusta National chairman Billy Payne, who sees it as an opportunity to increase the game's global popularity. Augusta National joined with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation to create the event.
Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman recently had surgery on his left wrist to correct a problem that kept him out of three of four major championships in 2009. Immelman is expected to be ready when the 2010 season begins.
Charlotte's Joe Jaspers won the overall championship at the third annual eGolf Amateur national championship played at Hilton Head Island. The event featured 540 players from 30 tours in 15 states.
The Fort Mill Junior Golf Program, under the direction of Brent Reneau, is up and running and accepting new members. The program features instruction, competition and guest speakers. For more information, contact Reneau at aga-fmgc.com or call 803-230-2853.
