Questions: Mike Whan

Mike Whan, the USGA’s new top dog, talks about his plans (listen), his goals (learn the Rules), and his time leading the LPGA (it grew every year) How are you and your family feeling about the move to New Jersey? I’m really excited to live on Hamilton Farm—a course where we played an LPGA event […]
10 Questions with Rocco Mediate

It was arguably Tiger Woods’s most iconic moment. The 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines has long been remembered as the ultimate David vs. Goliath showdown. Woods’s victory on a severely injured leg has left us with lasting images of a warrior fighting through pain. But just as memorable as Tiger’s excruciating performance was the […]
The U.S. Open Returns to Torrey Pines South

It’s Torrey time again for the U.S. Open. Torrey Pines’s South course, the most celebrated municipal layout west of the Mississippi, takes center stage in mid-June for the second time. Thirteen years ago, Tiger Woods cemented forever Torrey’s reputation for tournament drama. His clutch 12-foot birdie putt at the par-five 72nd hole and subsequent 18- […]
12 Questions with “The Open Doctor” Rees Jones

The U.S. Open has returned to the South Course at Torrey Pines; however, the 7,802-yard coastal layout that will challenge the world’s best players bears little resemblance to the course that first opened for play in 1957. Twenty years ago, Rees Jones—affectionately known as “The Open Doctor” for his restorative and redesign efforts that transform […]
10 of the Decade’s Toughest Major Championship Holes

In all, 39 championships were played over the last decade and 29 different major champions crowned—equaling a plethora of moments etched in the history of the game. A total of 29 different golf courses played host to majors over the last 10 years—some much more difficult than others. Which were toughest? And more specifically, which […]
Winged Foot’s Championship Pedigree

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This year’s U.S. Open marks the sixth time the championship has been contested on the West Course at Winged Foot. As players continue to tee off on this A. W. Tillinghast brute (updated in 2017 by Gil Hanse), viewers should expect to see Winged Foot be every bit as difficult as in past championships there. […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Episode 62: A Member’s Guide to Winged Foot

LINKS President and Publisher Jack Purcell joins Digital Editor Al Lunsford on the show to provide an insider’s perspective on Winged Foot, where Jack has been a member for more than 30 years. Jack gives the scoop on the preparation of the West course for this year’s U.S. Open, the things players need to do […]
Winged Foot’s Challenging U.S. Open Setup

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Winged Foot. The name conjures images of sidewalk-thin fairways, ball-devouring rough, and concrete-hard greens that repel approach shots—and make three-putting from five feet all too possible. In other words, it’s the perfect U.S. Open venue. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Open is returning to Winged Foot’s renowned West Course a few months later than […]
The Ultimate U.S. Open Course

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We asked a panel of players, architects, officials, and media to look at the USGA’s five favorite Open venues and rank them, hole by hole. Here are the results. Not long ago, the USGA expressed publicly its devotion to an elite quartet of U.S. Open venues—Oakmont, Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, and Shinnecock Hills—with the […]
Plans Revealed for Tiger Woods’s New Short Course at Pebble Beach
Tiger Woods already had a well-known relationship with Pebble Beach Golf Links after his thrilling 15-shot U.S. Open victory two decades ago. Woods and Pebble Beach have since decided to formalize that relationship with the announcement that the 15-time major champion and his TGR Design team would be overhauling the former site of the Peter […]