U.S. Open 2019: The U.S. Open Champions Dinner draws massive turnout Tuesday at Pebble Beach
The Masters Champions Dinner gets all the press, but at least three of golf’s major championships have an annual dinner honoring the previous year’s winner. The U.S. Open is no different, and on Tuesday night an enormous group of past champs gathered at Pebble Beach to honor Brooks Koepka’s 2018 win.
At this year’s U.S. Open Champions Dinner (or Reunion of Champions, depending on who you ask) an incredible 33 of the 36 living U.S. Open champions showed up for the festivities, including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jack Nicklaus, to name a few. Not even Augusta National gets that kind of turnout (although next April might be different with Woods choosing the menu).
Fortunately, among the 33 U.S. Open winners in attendance, several of them were younger, more recent winners, which means they captured the event on their phones.
Justin Rose, who won the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion, posted this star-studded group photo from the evening, along with the message, “US Open Champions Dinner… 33 of the 36 living @usopengolf Champions in attendance.”
US Open Champions Dinner… 33 of the 36 living @usopengolf Champions in attendance. 🏆🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/NqcmP7yO6P
— Justin ROSE (@JustinRose99) June 12, 2019
2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, who won the last Open held at Pebble Beach, acknowledged that it was “amazing to be part of a golfing fraternity like this one” at the dinner featuring what he described as “pinch yourself type company.”
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McDowell posted a similar photo to Rose’s, this time crediting 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson with snapping it (although he must have set a timer, because Simpson can be seen mugging for the camera just to the left of G-Mac):
Amazing to be part of a golfing fraternity like this one. 33 of the 36 living @usopengolf Champions in attendance. Pinch yourself type company. (Photo cred: from the phone of @webbsimpson1) pic.twitter.com/s5XHtgfGLi
— Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) June 12, 2019
A photo posted on the official U.S. Open Twitter account reveals the location of the photoshoot: Pebble Beach’s iconic par-3 17th hole on Carmel Bay:
So much greatness in one place.
Nearly three dozen #USOpen winners gathered tonight at Pebble Beach for the Reunion of Champions. pic.twitter.com/3umI6zPHY2
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 12, 2019
Angel Cabrera, who includes the 2007 U.S. Open among his two major victories, shared a photo with Tiger at the dinner:
https://twitter.com/cabrera_pato/status/1138626353786499073
There’s no word yet on what the meal was, or if Koepka got to choose it. But it’s safe to say that at a dinner like this one, the food isn’t all that important.
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