Toward the end of his Hall of Fame playing career, Jack Nicklaus was asked by a journalist to identify one golf course he would want to play for his last round of golf. Nicklaus stated if he only had just one more round of golf to play, then he would do so at his all-time favorite course, namely the Pebble Beach Golf Links alongside the shores of Carmel Bay.
If nothing else, Nicklaus admittedly has fond memories of his playing days at Pebble Beach. In the summer of 1961, Jack defeated Dudley Wysong by a conclusive 8-and-6 margin in the final match to win the United States Amateur at Pebble Beach. Nicklaus turned professional later that year and didn’t attend the 1962 Amateur in an attempt to win a third title.
At the 1972 United States Open, played in extremely blustery conditions, Nicklaus laced a 1-iron through gale-like winds and hit the flagstick on the first bounce, leaving him a 4-inch tap-in on Pebble Beach’s 17th green. That shot is one of the game’s more iconic moments and resulted in a three-stroke win over Australian Bruce Crampton. It was the Golden Bear’s 11th major triumph and his third U.S. Open title.
Ten years later Jack was victimized on that very same 17th green during final-round play of the 1982 National Open. In another one of golf’s timeless moments, Tom Watson chipped in for a birdie-two from a close to impossible lie in the greenside left rough. Watson’s chip-in broke him out of a two-way tie with Nicklaus and he birdied the final hole to win his only U.S. Open championship.
Pebble Beach has a pedigree for determining great champions, whether it’s Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, or, for that matter, other Pebble winners, including Tom Kite, Graeme McDowell, and most impressively, Tiger Woods, who won by a most unheard of 15 strokes in the 2000 Open.
Aside from its history and tradition, the Pebble Beach Golf Links is one of the most visually beautiful golf courses in the world. The course starts inland, works its way to the ocean bluffs of Carmel Bay from the six through 10th holes, goes inland for the next six holes, and then returns to the water for the diabolical par-3 17th hole and the majestic par-5 18th.
Because of its unique place in major championship history as well as its familiarity to the golfing public as the annual host site of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the storied links course that first opened in 1919 matches Augusta National in popular appeal. People who have never been there let alone played there can still describe the course in detail. Historically ranked in the top five of America’s greatest golf courses, Pebble Beach truly is an American golfing gem.
The bluebloods who run the United States Golf Association couldn’t agree more with the prevailing assessment regarding the magnificence of Pebble Beach. National championships of note are usually scheduled close to a decade in advance. Earlier this week the USGA announced that the Pebble Beach Golf Links, the host of the 2018 United States Amateur (along with Spyglass Hill) as well as the site of the 2019 United States Open, will play host to the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open as well as the 2027 U.S. Open. The Open rotation is usually 10-15 years for a specific famous site, but since the 2010 National Open at Pebble, the follow-up championships have been scheduled nine and then eight years apart, respectively. Mike Davis, the executive director of the USGA, stated that “the Pebble Beach Golf Links is a national treasure.” He added that “Pebble Beach will constantly challenge the best players in the game. It is the ideal venue to host USGA events for years to come.”
Northern California has been the site for a number of golf championships of note during the last seven years. Our neck of the woods has seen the Presidents Cup contested at Harding Park in 2010, the United States Open returning to the Olympic Club in 2012, the U.S. Senior Open contested in sweltering heat at Sacramento’s Del Paso Country Club in June of 2015, while the U.S. Women’s Open was played at CordeValle, south of San Jose, in 2016.
Adding to all this major golf championship viewing, the PGA Championship will come to Harding Park in San Francisco in May of 2020. It was in May of 2015 when Irishman Rory McIlroy won the World Golf Championship Match Play at Harding Park. Across the waters of Lake Merced from Harding Park sits the Olympic Club, still waiting for a follow-up U.S. Open, most probably in 2029 or 2030. In the meantime, the Olympic Club will be the venue for the 2021 United States Women’s Open.
Whether it’s the very public Harding Park, the very exclusive Olympic Club or the very expensive “stay and play” resort course, the Pebble Beach Golf Links, Northern California features some of the game’s most historic and iconic courses. This is evident by the major golf championships that are coming our way during the next 10 years. It will be most interesting to see the best amateurs, women, and men linksters in their quest to achieve major golf glory at some of our region’s top courses.
On the local level, the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit concludes its 24th season with the playing of the Lake County Tournament of Champions, contested today at Buckingham Golf and Country Club. At the conclusion of play, the standings will be finalized in the quest to become the On the Links golfer of the year, senior golfer of the year, net golfer of the year, and senior net golfer of the year. Currently Billy Witt leads Brad Pendleton by a mere 15 points for golfer of the year honors. Whoever finishes ahead of the other today will be golfer of the year. Rick Easter has a rock-solid lead and will be the 2017 senior golfer of the year. Todd Colbrandt could very well play well enough in the TOC to finish atop both the net golfer of the year standings as well as the senior net golfer of the year.
Finally, congrats to the girls golf team at McKinleyville High School, winner of the 2017 North Coast Section championship at Franklin Canyon Golf Course in Rodeo this past Monday.
