US OPEN '24: A capsule look at major golf events at Pinehurst No. 2

A capsule look at the six major tournaments held at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, site of the 124th U.S. Open to be played June 13-16:

1936 PGA Championship

Winner: Denny Shute

Margin: 3 and 2

Runner-up: Jimmy Thomson

First prize: $1,000

Recap: Denny Shute won the first of back-to-back titles in the PGA Championship by beating Jimmy Thomson, 3 and 2, in the 36-hole championship match. Shute had to get past Masters champion Horton Smith in the quarterfinals and Bill Mehlhorn in the semifinals. He never trailed against Thomson, even though he was some 60 yards shorter off the tee. Shute was 1 up after the morning 18 holes and the match was all square through 26 holes until Shute won the 27th and 29th holes with birdies. They halved the next four holes, and Shute closed him out with an eagle on the par-5 16th.

Notable: Shute’s wife found an old horseshoe on the third hole and carried it with her the rest of the match thinking it would bring good luck.

Quotable: “He played golf like he was taught by our dad — knock it down the middle, knock it on the green and something good will happen.” — Larry Shute, his younger brother.

1951 Ryder Cup

Winner: United States

Score: United States 9½, Great Britain 2½

Recap: Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jimmy Demaret, Lloyd Mangrum and Jack Burke Jr. won both their matches as the Americans overwhelmed Great Britain for their fifth straight victory. PGA champion Snead beat British Open champion Max Faulkner in singles. The format was four foursomes matches on Friday and eight singles matches on Sunday. Arthur Lees won both his matches for Great Britain. It was the last time Hogan competed in the Ryder Cup.

Notable: No golf was played on Saturday so both teams and spectators could travel to Chapel Hill for a college football game. Tennessee beat North Carolina 27-0.

Quotable: “Don’t tell me that bloody chap can’t knock the bloody ball into the bloody hole.” — Faulkner on criticism of Snead’s putting.

1999 U.S. Open

Winner: Payne Stewart

Score: 279

Runner-up: Phil Mickelson

Margin: 1 shot

First prize: $625,000

Recap: Payne Stewart won his third major in a riveting back nine that featured Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, whose charge was stopped by a bogey on the 17th hole that left him tied for third with Vijay Singh. Mickelson was going for his first major while carrying a pager, vowing to leave if he got word that his wife was going into labor. Stewart was one shot behind when he made a 25-foot par putt on the 16th to tie Mickelson. Stewart hit his tee shot to 3 feet for birdie on the par-3 17th to take the lead. On the final hole, he drove into the rough, wedged back to the fairway and hit his third to 15 feet. Mickelson narrowly missed a 25-foot birdie, and Stewart won it with a 15-foot par.

Notable: Mickelson’s first child was born the next day. Stewart died in a plane crash four months later.

Quotable: “All I wanted to do was give myself a chance. I kept playing. I kept plugging. I never gave up.” — Payne Stewart.

2005 U.S. Open

Winner: Michael Campbell

Score: 280

Runner-up: Tiger Woods

Margin: 2 shots

Earnings: $1,170,000

Recap: Michael Campbell became the first player from New Zealand to win a major since Bob Charles in the 1963 British Open. Campbell holed clutch par putts and finally pulled away when Tiger Woods three-putted the par-3 17th, the same hole that ended his charge in 1999. Campbell closed with a 69 and was the only player who did not finish over par. Retief Goosen started the final round with a three-shot lead in his bid to win back-to-back. The lead was gone in three holes and Goosen shot 81.

Notable: The six years between U.S. Opens at Pinehurst No. 2 was the shortest gap between U.S. Opens at the same site since 1946.

Quotable: “I worked hard for it. I deserve it. And I have it. It’s all mine.” — Michael Campbell.

2014 U.S. Open

Winner: Martin Kaymer

Score: 271

Runner-up: Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler

Margin: 8 shots

Earnings: $1,620,000

Recap: Kaymer won his second major by closing with a 1-under 69, the only player from the last eight groups on Sunday to break par. Kaymer took advantage of rain-softened conditions for a 65-65 start to set the 36-hole U.S. Open record at 130 and build a six-shot lead. He was so dominant that no one got closer than four shots of his lead over the final 48 holes. Kaymer became the fourth European in the last five years to win the U.S. Open after a 40-year drought.

Notable: Kaymer became only the seventh wire-to-wire winner in U.S. Open history. There hasn’t been another since then.

Quotable: “Martin was playing his own tournament.” — Rickie Fowler.

2014 U.S. Women’s Open

Winner: Michelle Wie

Score: 278

Runner-up: Stacy Lewis

Margin: 2 shots

Earnings: $720,000

Recap: The first “doubleheader” in U.S. Open history had the men and women playing consecutive weeks at Pinehurst No. 2. Michelle Wie finally delivered on her enormous talent with her only major championship. Wie led by as many as four shots early on the back nine, but she took double bogey on the 16th and her lead was down to one. She responded with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th and finished with a par for an even-par 70 to hold off Stacy Lewis, the No. 1 player in women’s golf.

Notable: The field included 10-year-old Lucy Li, the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open.

Quotable: “The fact that I struggled so much, the fact that I kind of went through a hard period of my life, the fact that this trophy is right next to me, it means so much more to me than it ever would have when I was 15.” — Michelle Wie.

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