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If you had one of the best golf course maintenance crews in the world, how quickly could you conduct a complete greens renovation?

Thanks to Pinehurst No. 4, we no longer have to wonder. The answer, it turns out, is just 11 weeks.

It was mid-May when Pinehurst No. 4 announced it would be closing for the foreseeable future in order to complete a “full greens restoration” — the product of substandard playing conditions “well below” the Pinehurst standard.

But according to the resort, the course is now open again, with brand-new greens to boot, ready for the last days of summer and the beginning of the fall high season.

In a new video released to Pinehurst social media feeds, members of the resort’s prodigious agronomy team talked through the blazing-fast process of renewing the greens — and the underlying problems the resort says it has now fixed that should prevent the course from issues in the future.

“Prior to closing the golf course, some of the greens really [struggled]. It started out with about 12 of the greens had bare spots on them,” said Matt Barksdale, Pinehurst’s VP of golf. “Looked like they were almost cut lower in certain areas than they really were, and some of that was due to the thinning of the grass and then ultimately ended up spreading to close to all 18 greens.”

The closure arrived as a disappointment both for the resort, which also closed No. 4 last year for a chunk of the summer to host the U.S. Open, and guests, who have grown increasingly fond of No. 4 as a whimsical counterpart to the championship test at No. 2. But there was at least one group excited by the challenge: the agronomy team, which took advantage of the restoration effort to do a complete teardown, installing new irrigation systems underneath the sod that would prolong the life of the new putting surfaces once installed.

The first step in that process, Bob Farren, the director of golf course maintenance said, was a laser-map of the existing green contours to ensure that Pinehurst No. 4 would lose none of the most recent redesign from Gil Hanse. After the lasering was complete, Pinehurst maintenance crews worked with Hanse to ensure he signed off on all of the club’s updated green maps.

Then came time to get to work. Pinehurst crews wound up ripping up not just the existing sod, but also the sand and gravel beneath — going “all the way down to the base layer,” in Farren’s terminology — to ensure that the renovation project fixed the underlying issue. After installing new drainage systems, maintenance crews covered the surfaces with gravel, then sand, then sod in Hanse’s image.

“You build it up in layers, just like building a cake,” Farren said. “Build it up in layers, [then] replicate the final surface of it with the laser scan as well. Then you scan it again and grade it back to those exact elevations.”

Once the grass was down, the hard work began for the Pinehurst crews. The resort took sod from a field — as opposed to growing in grass on the putting surface — to speed the renovation and reduce some of the firmness of a grow-in. Still, maintenance crews had to get the putting surfaces from sod to playing shape in the span of just a few weeks.

“Even though you can check the box, okay, we’ve built this green well, now we’ve got to start maintaining it,” Farren said. “Water, nutrition, feeding properly, disease control, top dressing to cultivate the surface, just as you would maintain a putting green on a course that’s open.”

In the end, the course was in pristine condition for its Aug. 7 reopening, just 11 weeks after the difficult decision to close — a miraculous feat of knowhow and commitment from the “home of American golf.”

To watch the full video detailing the restoration process at No. 4, check out the video below.

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Pinehurst Resort has 10 regulation golf courses. But for at least a couple of months only nine will playable.

On Tuesday, Pinehurst announced that its highly ranked and popular No. 4 course will be closed in the late spring and for much of the summer so the resort can complete an unplanned “full greens restoration.”

“This season, the condition of Pinehurst No. 4’s greens did not respond as we anticipated and unfortunately fell short of our standards,” the resort said in a statement. “As a result, we have made the difficult decision to close Pinehurst No. 4 beginning May 19 to complete a full greens restoration.”

Pinehurst said the greens did not grow in as planned after a colder-than-normal winter, leading the resort to reinvest in the putting surfaces rather than welcome visitors at substandard conditions.

“Earlier this spring, we were optimistic that the course would recover as temperatures warmed, based on input from agronomy experts,” the resort said. “However, despite those expectations, conditions have not improved. A recent follow-up report confirmed what we have seen: No. 4’s greens have continued to deteriorate.”

Pinehurst said it expects the restoration to be completed by Aug. 7, meaning the course will be closed for fewer than three months in total, assuming the restoration grows in at the expected rate.

“We deeply regret the impact this will have on our guests’ and members’ golf experience, and we have been in communication with them,” the resort said. “But we believe this is the right step forward and gives us the best opportunity to return No. 4 to our high standards by later this summer.”

No. 4 quickly has become a guest favorite at Pinehurst since a 2018 Gil Hanse restoration. The course, originally designed by Donald Ross but dramatically reoriented by Hanse, has earned plaudits for serving as a more playable, fun counterpart to the resort’s crown jewel, No. 2.

Seven years ago, the opening of No. 4 — and its short-course sibling, The Cradle — triggered a surge of activity at Pinehurst. Last spring, Pinehurst opened No. 10, a rollicking Tom Doak-designed course on a plot a few miles from the main resort property. Last summer, the resort hosted a thrilling U.S. Open on No. 2. And just last week, Pinehurst announced the creation of No. 11, a Coore-Crenshaw design near the No. 10 site.

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Pinehurst Resort is growing.

Again.

On Monday, the resort announced the plans for Pinehurst No. 11, designed by the acclaimed duo Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The new course will be built alongside Tom Doak’s Pinehurst No. 10, which opened a year ago on a 900-acre site that was formerly mined for sand.

Coore and Crenshaw previously worked at Pinehurst Resort during their restoration of the No. 2 course ahead of the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. Construction of No. 11 is set to begin at Pinehurst Sandmines later this year, with a target opening date slated for fall 2027.

“It’s such a wonderful site, just because of its inherent character,” Coore said in a statement. “That character was essentially created, not all of it is natural, but it has all been reclaimed by nature. This land is left over from all that mining from the 1930s. The spoil piles are here, and Mother Nature provided the trees, and it’s all incredible. It’s not too often you get that kind of combination, and it creates a site that is extraordinarily interesting for golf.”

While No. 10 is known for its wide fairways and stunning vistas, No, 11 will offer a more intimate experience, with unique shape and style.

“The two courses really couldn’t be more different, and we love that,” said Tom Pashley, president of Pinehurst Resort. “The designs of No. 10 and No. 11 complement each other so well by contrasting so much. Golf in the North Carolina Sandhills can be an experience unlike any other, and we believe the golf at Pinehurst Sandmines will be a great representation of that.”

This new course continues the transformation of the Pinehurst Sandmines property. Alongside No. 11, a new pro shop, restaurant and bar are set to open in 2025, with lodging to follow by 2027.

“We want Pinehurst Sandmines to be a special place not just in Pinehurst, but in the game of golf that will stand the test of time and enhance the soul of American golf,” says Bob Dedman Jr., owner and CEO of Pinehurst Resort. “The vision Coore & Crenshaw have for No. 11 coupled with what Tom Doak has already done at No. 10 makes that hope more of a possibility, and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future has in store.”

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The Cradle Solstice is an annual charity golf event making a meaningful impact on the Pinehurst community, but I bet you didn’t know it all stemmed from an idea conceived by Kelly Mitchum.

Back in 2017, Mitchum, Lead Instructor at Pinehurst Golf Academy and Southern Pines native, had an idea. On the shortest day of the year, he was going to see how many holes he could play at Pinehurst’s shortest course, The Cradle.

Mitchum teed off at sunrise, playing the par-3 course until the sunset, and by the time the last putt dropped, he had played over 410 holes of golf. 

While he could have let the story end there, Mitchum saw the opportunity for a charitable component to give back to the local community and worked with his team at Pinehurst to make it happen.

The next year, The Cradle Solstice was opened to the public, drawing 10 participants, including country music artist Scotty McCreery. Each player gathered pledges from donors based on the number of holes played, birdies made, and even holes-in-one carded. When all was said and done, the event raised an impressive $18,000 for the North Carolina Food Bank and Young Life of the Sandhills. 

Every year that followed, the Cradle Solstice continued to grow and so did their charitable contributions.

“A couple of years ago, I think we raised 46,000 dollars,” Mitchum said. 

This increase in donations allowed Mitchum and his team to donate to more charitable organizations in the area, like PGA Reach, which gives back to local youth, military, and diverse populations through the game of golf. 

Recognizing the full potential of The Cradle Solstice, Mitchum and his team revamped the event last year, transitioning from an individual to a team format in hopes of increasing charitable donations for the local community. Which was a resounding success.

“I think we raised $78-79,000 last year,” Mitchum said.

With donations almost doubling, they were able to support additional organizations, including a local medical care clinic that Mitchum and his team personally visited to deliver the donation.

“Just seeing their reaction, that was everything,” Mitchum said, “There’s a lot of joy in giving, especially around this time of year.”

This year’s Cradle Solstice Event took place Saturday, Dec. 21, with the benefits going to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, Young Life of the Sandhills, PGA Reach Foundation, Folds of Honor, and Western North Carolina Hurricane Helene Relief. 

While it might be too late to play, it’s not too late to donate and make a meaningful contribution to Pinehurst’s community. Visit their Just Giving page to make a contribution.

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GOLF recently released its latest ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S. (2024-25), a list that includes 11 newcomers. Some of them you might know. Others you might not. Here, in our newcomer spotlights, we’ll introduce you to these rookie Top 100 gems.

Newcomer spotlight: Pinehurst No. 10 / Rank: 88th

Location: Aberdeen, N.C.
Type: Resort
Year opened: 2024
Architect: Tom Doak

What you need to know about Pinehurst No. 10

Give a talented architect a sandy, rolling piece of land and place few restrictions on him or her, and it’s amazing what can be produced. Donald Ross did so with a flourish at this resort, and this time, it was Tom Doak’s turn — and he was bonused with not having to make an allowance for where homes might go or having the nines return. The result is a meandering tour that enjoys its own pacing. The first eight holes feature three par-4s — the drivable 4th, the burly dogleg-right 6th and the intermediate length 8th that plays into old mining spoils — that highlight the property’s diversity. Meanwhile, the run from the bruising uphill 468-yard 9th to the 264-yard 14th is one of Doak’s sternest stretches. Natural wetlands feature at two of the final four holes. This variety of obstacles ultimately makes No. 10 an immediate stalwart among the resort’s offerings.

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What our raters say

“Pinehurst No. 10 highlights the best aspects of what a sand based design should be — thoughtful play and positioning over power. The front-to-back tilting green at the opening hole prepares you for something unique. The drivable 3rd entices bold and often times foolish play. The 8th fairway looks like the ocean during a hurricane with bold features yet a reward for attacking the dune on the right. The back nine is loaded with half-par holes where well-conceived and executed shots will be handsomely rewarded. The design from tee to green is the perfect balance to the design of Pinehurst No. 2.”

“No. 10 is on a very special piece of land and Tom Doak is a master of nature, subtlety and restraint. The par-3 2nd hole is perhaps the most striking and memorable one-shotter in the entire Pinehurst collection. Great variety in length and movement of the holes. Green complexes get and keep your attention and there’s even a rare super deceptive runaway green on the first par-5 after the turn that really gets you talking to yourself (in a good way!). It’s a robust walk but an invigorating one.”

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In the rapidly expanding world of destination golf, one area qualifies as a bonafide American classic: Pinehurst. 

Even as Pinehurst No. 2 basked in Bryson and Rory’s historic spotlight this summer at the U.S. Open, a groundswell of epic golf was bubbling to the surface just outside the resort gates. In August, as Pinehurst’s red-hot summer reached a sweltering point, GOLF editors James Colgan and Josh Sens visited the region to find “everything else” — the great golf that ISN’T No. 2, the cool spots that not enough tourists visit, and yes, even a local-favorite Martini (or three). 

This is the second part in that series, following up conversation on the area’s other legendary major championship host: Pine Needles.

***

I played Pinehurst No. 10 for the first time in April and almost immediately regretted it.

To be fair, the fault was mine alone. Pinehurst’s newest golf course was everything it’d been billed to be: interesting, creative, eye-popping and thought-provoking. I thought its contours were friendlier than anything I’d encountered in the Pinehurst area, and found its variety unusually beguiling. In my mind, it easily achieved the difficult feat of being totally distinct to anything in the (already loaded) North Carolina Sandhills region.

There was just one problem: It was too damn long.

To the naked eye, that seemed impossible. Pinehurst No. 10 was a par-70 golf course with a pair of drivable par-4s and a pair of near-100-yard par-3s. But as I turned to the back-nine with a nifty score, I stumbled upon a concerning development in my scorecard: This par-70 golf course with a pair of drivable par-4s and a pair of near-100-yard par-3s was also somehow more than 7,000 yards long from the tips.

Where was the distance? I was about to find out.

The five holes that followed — holes 10-14 — proceeded to beat me senseless. In order of intrigue: a 265-yard par-3 (almost everyone plays driver), two 500-yard holes, a 600-yard par-5, and a 180-yard par-3 where “anything left is dead,” said course designer Tom Doak.

By the time the stretch was over, it occurred to me that I hadn’t played anything shorter than a 6-iron in more than an hour.

“It’s a par-70,” Doak said with a maniacal grin. “But we’ll get those two shots back one way or another.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t give myself much time to enjoy Doak’s commentary — I was silently stewing over the state of my golf game, and the sheer number of high-leverage, long-distance shots I’d tried and failed over the last 90 minutes.

My day on the blue-white combo tees — nearly 6,600 yards — had given me a glimpse of all the great things No. 10 had to offer, but it’d also taught me something else: I was glad to be there, but I wasn’t having fun.

It didn’t take long to realize how self-evidently stupid that mindset was. I was playing one of the coolest new golf courses in the world, for my job, and I could grasp conceptually what was cool and enjoyable about it. Why was I letting the pride of playing from the blue-white combo tees bludgeon my enjoyment out of me?

I walked up the 18th fairway, looked back at the wild property around me — its towering pines and imposing dunes, its funky bunkering and subtly dramatic contours — and silently made a pact with myself.

If I ever make it back here, I said, I’m going to play this differently.

Thankfully, it took all of four months before the opportunity arose again. This time, I was back at Pinehurst No. 10 with Josh Sens, GOLF senior writer and maddeningly gifted old-guy golfer, and we were tasked with a mission: See the best that Pinehurst has to offer outside of No. 2.

As we drove up to the course, I explained my plan for the day to Josh. Pinehurst No. 10 is a sprawling piece of property with a half-dozen possible tee options on any hole, I said, so our goal was simple: maximize fun. Play a match against one another with the goal of playing the most enjoyable, exciting hole imaginable — be that from the forward tee box on a short par-4, or the tippy tips on the mammoth 600-yarder.

And so, for the better part of the three hours that followed, that’s exactly what the two of us did — poking through the various contours of the golf course with little thought for anything other than our own entertainment. We played the 14th, the 265-yard par-3, from the tips, blasting drivers down the chute in the hopes of landing one on the green. We played the 4th, a short par-4 with two thimble-like bunkers in the fairway, from the forward tees, turning it into a true risk-reward shot when accounting for a waste area up the left side.

On the 17th hole, a tricky par-3 over some of the only water on the course, we angled our tee box to incentivize a hero-shot to prolong our match. On the 16th, a par-4, we picked our spot based on the shortest walk from the previous green.

It was curious to think of golf in this way; as a pursuit in enjoyment and leisure rather than one based purely in competitive integrity. But it was also oddly comforting. The stakes of our match were no less serious, but our intellectual connection to our round was much greater. (In fact, match play incentivized this structure, since we were both playing from the same tee boxes anyway.)

By the time my second round on No. 10 ended, I was fairly certain I’d had more fun there than any golfer alive. It was a hell of a turnaround from the experience I’d had just four months earlier, but I couldn’t say it was a surprise. As we walked off the course on that August morning, Josh summarized it nicely.

“If you’re in Pinehurst, you’re probably here with friends, and you’re probably here for fun,” he said. “I hope more people do what we did.”

And what did we do?

We did fun.

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In the rapidly expanding world of destination golf, one area qualifies as a bonafide American classic: Pinehurst. 

The “Home of American Golf” has become one of the epicenters of the golf travel world in the years since the pandemic — a fact only aided by an all-time U.S. Open in June to kick off an expanded partnership between the region, the USGA, and the new World Golf Hall of Fame. 

Even as Pinehurst No. 2 basked in Bryson and Rory’s historic spotlight, a groundswell of epic golf was bubbling to the surface just outside the resort gates. In August, as Pinehurst’s red-hot summer reached a sweltering point, GOLF editors James Colgan and Josh Sens visited the region to find “everything else” — the great golf that ISN’T No. 2, the cool spots that not enough tourists visit, and yes, even a local-favorite Martini (or three). They were joined for part of their trip by longtime local resident – and GOLF architecture editor, Ran Morrissett–who doubled as a tour guide.

This is the first part in that series, beginning with a conversation on the area’s other legendary major championship host: Pine Needles.

Josh Sens, GOLF senior writer: On the morning of our first round in the Pinehurst area, we showed up at Pine Needles in pouring rain. It had been dumping for hours. But then the skies cleared, and 20 minutes later, we went out on a course that was amazingly dry, given how much rain had fallen. I guess they don’t call this area the Sandhills for nothing, eh?

James Colgan, GOLF news and features editor: As someone who once worked on golf courses in the northeast, I found it mindblowing to see a golf course go from underwater to fully playable in the time it took to sip a cup of coffee. This is the reason why every golf course designer from here to Australia is chasing that precious sandy soil. We were hoping to see what makes the Sandhills stand out, and we got a glimpse before we hit our opening tee shot.

But once the golf got started — it was really good. Even after the rain, Pine Needles showed us plenty of teeth as, behind Pinehurst No. 2, the area’s preeminent “championship” test. I’ll admit, Josh, that I’m not the best person to articulate the differences in golf course details. Maybe we should call in our pal Ran.

Ran Morrissett, GOLF architecture editor: A fun fact about Pine Needles not every golfer knows is that it used to be part of Pinehurst Resort. It was one of several courses Ross built outside the village of Pinehurst, along with Southern Pines and Mid Pines. Pine Needles opened in late 1928, which was poor timing for sure. The Great Depression took a heavy toll on the area, and one year later, both Pine Needles and its neighbor, Mid-Pines, were sold to take financial strain of Pinehurst Resort. Pine Needles was later purchased by Warren and Peggy Kirk Bell. The latter was one of the founders of the LPGA Tour. She also knew Donald Ross. Pine Needles has been under the care of the Bell family ever since.

Sens: That seems only fitting. It’s also interesting that you bring up the connection with Pinehurst Resort, because I think when most golfers picture a Donald Ross course, they picture Pinehurst No. 2, with its famous turtleback greens. Ross built that course on pretty sedate land, and so it made sense to defend the course with those pushed-up putting surfaces. At Pine Needles, I think it’s fair to say he had more dramatic topography. And so he took a different approach. 

Morrissett: Ross knew how to work on all kinds of terrain, and he made great use of the land’s natural movement at Pine Needles. A peculiarity of the course is how many times the high point of the hole falls in its midsection. Plenty of Ross courses feature an elevated tee, a lower fairway and an uphill approach. Here, the golfer drives uphill at holes 1, 4, 6, 7, and 12, ideally carrying the crest of the hill and enjoying a scoot forward with his/her tee ball. Conversely, if you can’t quite carry the hillcrest, your tee ball deadens into the upslope and the course plays much longer than the scorecard suggests. Complementing those 5 holes, you have holes like the 2^nd and 18^th that play steadily downhill and others like 4 that charge uphill. The hardest of the bunch might be the 17^th, which, surprisingly, is also the course’s flattest hole. Bottom line: It’s the variety of ways that the holes hit the land that make Pine Needles a standout test for both driving and approach shots. No wonder the USGA has deemed it the perfect host site for the US Women’s Open, which has been there four times recently, in 1995, 2001, 2007, and 2022.

Colgan: I’m glad you bring that up, Ran, because I actually came to Pine Needles for the Women’s Open in ‘22, and I was *blown away* by the quality of the golf course during that week. It’s way more psychedelic than the layout at No. 2, and because of that, there’s less sense that EVERYTHING comes down to the crispiness of the greens. 

In a lot of ways, when the tees are set up properly to challenge the length of the course, it’s more diverse than No. 2 as a major test.

Travel

Sens: That’s part of what makes this area so much fun to check out. You get to try out different flavors of Donald Ross. Of course, not all the golf in and around Pinehurst is Ross. But I can’t think of another part of the world that has such a high concentration of works by a single architect. 

Colgan: The different properties also have different feels to them. If you think of Pinehurst as golf Disney World, then Pine Needles is summer camp. The vibe is old, musty and laid back — you can practically hear Centerfield by John Fogerty through the trees. The courses reflect it, too. 

Sens: There’s definitely a throwback air to Pine Needles from the moment you pull up, a rustic time-capsule feel. Like, if Scooby-Doo ever did a golf-themed episode, Pine Needles would be the place where the eccentric innkeeper would greet you at the bag drop.

Colgan: The golf is noticeably distinct, too. As a golf nerd, I view golf trips through the same lens I view food: when I’m in an area, I want to try all the variations of the local cuisine. Under these rules, a good location, then, is something that has more than the same “famous” burger-and-fries at each stop. Each of the Pine Needles courses — Needles, Mid-Pines and Southern Pines — is distinctly (and delectably) its own. (Ironically, though, the burger at the Pine Needles resort might be the best in the entire county.)

Sens: I’m glad we got to do some literal grazing around town during our visit. We’ll get into those stops in the next two videos. Before we wrap up, though, I wanted to pick up on your golf nerd comment, James, because, if you’re a golf nerd, is there a more appropriate place in the U.S.? Everywhere you turn in and around Pinehurst, you bump into some kind of golf-related business. Golf memorabilia shops. Art galleries with golf-y works.. Golf-themed pubs and bars. To punctuate that point, right after our Pine Needles round, we made a quick beeline to GolfPride headquarters and got our putters regripped. After the way I rolled the ball that first round, I know I needed to make a change. I think a lot of visitors must go searching for that kind of curse, because the place was jumping.

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Golf fans will remember Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open win at Pinehurst for years to come. No. 2 provided a difficult test, the crowds were roaring and the championship closed with a dramatic finish.

And for a group of golf lovers who visited Pinehurst Resort in the weeks leading up to the U.S. Open, it was even more special.

As a part of a one-of-a-kind trip, a group of InsideGOLF members walked the closing stretch of No. 2 on the day the course closed to the public, three weeks ahead of the championship. Surrounded by empty grandstands and perfect conditions, their tour guides were golf broadcasting legends Peter Kostis and Gary McCord. It was a golf experience none of us will soon forget.

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Walking the hallowed grounds of No. 2 wasn’t the only memorable experience on the trip, though. Over the course of three days, the group played The Cradle, Course No. 8, and Pinehurst’s newest track, No. 10, an exciting Tom Doak design.

“No. 10 was a must-play for me,” said InsideGOLF member Matt Parker. “It offered challenging, fun shots and some incredible views. I loved the blind shots over the bones of the old sand mines.”

Off the course, our group got the full Pinehurst experience. We stayed in the newly renovated Carolina Hotel and received special access to Golf Pride’s Global Innovation Center and Retail Lab. At Golf Pride, participants learned about improvements in golf grip technology and got to try out new products for themselves. In the heart of Pinehurst, we also visited the brand new USGA Experience and World Golf Hall of Fame, which features the sport’s history in an interactive setting.

Our final group dinner of the trip was incredibly special. We ate in the backyard of Dornoch Cottage, the home of legendary course architect Donald Ross. During dinner, we were treated to a fireside chat with Kostis and McCord, who answered questions about the future of golf and told some of their favorite stories.

To top it all off, event-goers received some top-notch swag bags. They featured Pinehurst U.S. Open apparel, GolfLogix green books, Fairway Jockey gift cards, a dozen Srixon Z-Star golf balls, a Cleveland wedge, Bask sunscreen, and a free driver fitting at True Spec Golf.

Interested in coming on our next bucket list trip? Become an InsideGOLF member today for only $39.99 a year, and gain access to special trips, content and giveaways.

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Welcome to GOLF.com’s “Seen & Heard” video series, in which we give you an inside look at golf’s biggest events through the eyes and ears of our onsite crew. On deck this week: the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Let’s go!

ICYMI: Tiger’s new coach, ‘borderline’ greens | Seen and Heard at Pinehurst
ICYMI: ‘The world’s hardest patience test’ | Seen and Heard at Pinehurst
ICYMI: Tiger’s last U.S. Open? Diabolical conditions | Seen and Heard at Pinehurst

How does one put into words what it was like to witness the final holes of the 2024 U.S. Open on Sunday? GOLF’s James Colgan had a few.

“I cannot believe what I just saw,” he marveled. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had so much fun at a golf tournament in my entire life. That was legitimately the craziest ending to a golf tournament. I feel a sense of gratitude that I just witnessed that with my own two eyes.”

Golf fans already know the “that” Colgan is referring to: Rory McIlroy’s shocking short misses and Bryson DeChambeau’s heroic 55-yard up-and-down from the bunker to win the U.S. Open by one.

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Anyone who plays golf knows the game delivers agony and ecstasy, oftentimes in unequal measure. For McIlroy, it was a brutal defeat and yet another close call. For DeChambeau, it felt like destiny. On the 25th anniversary of Payne Stewart’s stirring victory at Pinehurst, DeChambeau followed in the footsteps of his boyhood idol, putting on a show for the ages, and the fans embraced him.

“I’m just passionate,” DeChambeau said in the aftermath of his win. “I really care about doing well out here and showing the fans a side of me that was locked up for so long.”

What a week, what a champion. The year’s final major, the Open Championship, can’t come soon enough.

To catch up on all the GOLF team’s activities at Pinehurst, check out the video above, and watch the full Seen & Heard playlist below.

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The post Inside the tense moments after Rory McIlroy’s calamitous U.S. Open defeat appeared first on Golf.

The post Inside the tense moments after Rory McIlroy’s calamitous U.S. Open defeat appeared first on Golf.

PINEHURST, N.C. — After it was all over — that is, after Bryson DeChambeau had hit the bunker shot of his life and holed a 4-footer to win this 124th U.S. Open — Rory McIlroy exited the scoring room beneath the Pinehurst No. 2 clubhouse where he had been watching the closing moments of the championship on the NBC broadcast. His white Nike cap was pushed back on his head, brim pointing to the ceiling, the international sign for exasperation, frustration and did this really just happen again? A security guard in a black shirt opened a door and McIlroy and his team, tailed by a Netflix crew carrying a camera and boom mic, slipped into the interior of the clubhouse and down another hallway before disappearing into the U.S. Open Champions’ Locker Room.

McIlroy had earned entrée to that coveted sanctuary by way of his win in 2011, back when Barack Obama was still serving his first term in the Oval Office. Thirteen years have passed since then, a period in which McIlroy has soared to incredible highs‚ including three more major titles, but also endured soul-crushing disappointments and what-could-have-beens, including what on Sunday evening became an 0-for-37 run in the majors and a more-bitter-than-sweet nine consecutive top-10 finishes at the U.S. Open without a victory.

Was this Sunday, though, when McIlroy held a two-shot lead with five holes to play his most heartbreaking major defeat yet?

It was reasonable question to ponder when, after not missing a putt of three feet or less in 496 attempts this season, McIlroy missed a par try of a mere 2 feet, 6 inches on the par-4 16th hole to drop back into a tie, at six under, with DeChambeau. When, needing just a par on the par-4 closer to have an excellent chance of forcing a playoff, McIlroy tugged his tee shot into the wiregrass left of the fairway and missed a par attempt of a mere 3 feet, 6 inches. When the swelling, sweating galleries that packed the grandstands and lined the fairways had been chanting McIlroy’s name — ROAR-EE! ROAR-EE! — and all but willing their man to victory. When all week long McIlroy had been saying the right things about how to play U.S. Open setups and, in particular, the maddening test that is Donald Ross’s masterwork. “I think I’m embracing the questions that the golf course asks of you,” he said Saturday night. “It tests your chipping. It tests your putting. It obviously tests your mental fortitude more than any other golf tournament.”

As McIlroy was packing up his belongings, Mike Whan, the USGA’s CEO, came fast-walking down the hallway toward the locker room. He was minutes from delivering a speech and presenting a sterling silver trophy to DeChambeau in front of thousands of fans ringing the 18th green. But in this moment Whan was looking out for the runner-up.

“Do we want them in there?” he said to a couple of his staffers; Whan was referring to the Netflix crew. The question was rhetorical, and the message was clear: Give the man some damn space.

A couple of minutes later, a player came strolling down the hallway, en route to the awards ceremony. It was 22-year-old Neal Shipley, who after finishing as the low amateur at the Masters in April had repeated the feat at Pinehurst, finishing at six over for the week to tie for 26th overall. Shipley was smiling as he passed by — who knows how many Opens this ascendant talent has in front of him? — wholly unaware of the scene that was playing out behind the closed door of the locker room. But that’s Sunday evenings at major championships. So many emotions, so many subplots, bumping up against one another.

After another minute or two, the door opened.

Rory.

Hat still propped back. Black leather duffle bag slung over his right shoulder. Tired, shell-shocked eyes. A forlorn look that said, “Take me home.” In tow: his caddie, Harry Diamond, and agent, Sean O’Flaherty. In the air: an eerie quiet. Consolatory words are futile in such moments, and so there were no words at all.

THE DAY HAD STARTED WITH McIlroy and the 54-hole leader by three, DeChambeau, smashing balls together on the range. As DeChambeau fidgeted with driver heads and wrenches and a launch monitor, McIlroy looked in total control of his long game, ripping one tightly drawn 3-wood after the next down the yellowish-green expanse, followed by a series of smashed drivers. When his range session concluded, McIlroy walked up to the practice green that abuts the first tee. Sunday’s first of many “ROR-EE” chants came from a pack of giddy kids in the autograph pen just beyond the range.

On the green, McIlroy was joined by his playing partner, Patrick Cantlay, who McIlroy would be playing with for the first time since he and Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, clashed at the Ryder Cup last fall. A couple of months later, in an interview with an Irish newspaper, McIlroy further fanned the flames when he described his relationship with Cantlay as “average as best” and also called Cantlay a “d-k.” And now here they were, knotted at four under par, and in the penultimate pairing on U.S. Open Sunday. McIlroy bumped fists with Cantlay on the first tee and shook LaCava’s hand, but that would be the extent of their interaction over the next five-plus hours. This round would be defined by a different brand of drama.

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McIlroy’s start could not have been better. He spilt the 1st fairway with an iron, knocked his approach to 20 feet, pin-high left, and drained the birdie putt to move to five under. After his second round, McIlroy had spoken of the importance of accurate approach shots on this course. Take the calculating way by which he had played the 8th hole on Friday: “I had 151 adjusted to the hole. I’m trying to land it 146. I can’t land it 144 because it’s not going to get up there. I can’t land it 148 because it’s going to go over the back of the green. You just need to have a lot of precision. I feel like for the most part I’ve done that well this week.”  

This is how the New Rory thinks at this most exacting of tournaments, which had helped explain his amazingly consistent play in recent U.S. Opens heading into this week. McIlroy’s results in his last five Open starts, beginning with 2019: T9, T8, T7, T5, T2. He credited his fine play to “embracing what I would have called ‘boring’ back in the day. Explosiveness isn’t going to win a U.S. Open. It’s more methodically building your score over the course of four days and being okay with that. Honestly, it’s just more of a reframing of a mindset than anything else.”

McIlroy’s lone front-nine slip-up Sunday came at the par-5 5th when his second shot was inches from perfect but instead caught the wrong side of a crest and rolled back off the green into perhaps his most horrid hardpan lie of the week. From there, McIlroy could advance the ball only into the front greenside bunker, leading to a bogey 6 that dropped him two back of DeChambeau.

After birdies at 9 and 10, though, McIlroy was back within one of the lead. If you squinted hard enough through the dusty, humid haze hanging over the course, you could see the momentum shifting. At 12 and 13, two more birdies for McIlroy, on holes that DeChambeau would go bogey-birdie. When both players bogeyed 15, McIlroy still had the lead by one heading to 16. Just three holes — barring any McIlroy miscues or DeChambeau heroics — stood between him and Open glory. If he couldn’t taste it, the Pinehurst faithful could.

McIlroy’s first three shots at 16 were textbook: fairway, green, 27 feet for birdie. He missed that putt but left himself just a formality for par: 30 inches. It was a gimme until it wasn’t. The ball never left the left edge and spun out. If you were there, it took the breath out of you. If you were watching from home, it took the breath out of you. McIlroy: six under. DeChambeau: six under.

Suddenly, the game’s two most exciting players facing off in a two-hole playoff was a likely prospect. McIlroy pulled his tee shot on the par-3 17th into the bunker left of the green, but managed a nifty sand save to stay at minus 6. His tee shot at 18 also missed left — his swing was getting quick — and when he arrived at his ball 123 yards from the green, he found it nestled against a tuft of wiregrass.

McIlroy plays quickly and the weight of the moment did nothing to slow his pace. He and Diamond briefly inspected the lie, picked a wedge and McIlroy settled in over his ball. The contact was less than pure and his ball came up short of the green, leaving him 94 feet to the back-right pin. Again, he played with haste, hitting a beautiful chip that bounced four times on the green before rolling just four feet past and left of the hole. McIlroy had proven on 16 there are no sure things in a U.S. Open, but this putt, too, if you subscribe to statistics, was almost certain to drop.

It did not.

The left-to-righter never had a chance, snapping hard right and glancing off the low side of the hole.

“For him to miss that putt,” DeChambeau would say later, “I’d never wish it on anybody.”

MCILROY’S MAJOR HEARTBREAKS are like snowflakes: no two are exactly alike. The back-nine meltdown at the 2011 Masters will be remembered for the snap hook into the cabins on 10. His 2019 Open Championship at Portursh, near his Northern Ireland home, stunned for his opening 80. Three years later, at the Open Championship at the Old Course, McIlroy couldn’t get out of neutral on Sunday. “I felt like I didn’t do much wrong today, but I didn’t do much right, either,” he said. And this major, in the warm, dusty Sandhills of North Carolina? Gosh, this one might sting most of all. Three bogeys in the last four holes. Two missed putts from a combined 6 feet, 5 inches. One shot short.

We don’t know how McIlroy processed it because he didn’t feel much like talking Sunday evening. He declined to speak with reporters. When he and his team exited the front of the clubhouse, they made the short walk to McIlroy’s courtesy SUV in the past champions’ parking lot. A blue placard on a sign in front of McIlroy’s spot served as a reminder of his U.S. Open victory but also the length of his U.S. Open drought:  

Rory McIlroy
2011

McIlroy and Diamond had one last task for the day: loading McIlroy’s green, white and gold TaylorMade bag into the car. When the cargo was aboard, player and caddie clasped hands and leaned into one another. McIlroy closed the trunk, slipped into the driver’s seat and pulled out. Still no words. The only sound was the spinning of tires trying to grab the gravel. And then he was gone.

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