You’re up, Olympia Fields Country Club.
The end of the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course means Olympia Fields is on the tee. The countdown already is in full swing for the 2003 U.S. Open at the south suburban club.
To be exact, it is 357 days until the first day of practice rounds at Olympia Fields. The on-site United States Golf Association staff has a board keeping track at its office compound within the club.
A year might seem like a long time if you are stuck in jail, but it is starting to seem like tomorrow for the organizers working on next year’s event. The ticket lottery for the 2003 tournament began Monday with entries being taken through July 31.
Things figure to get even crazier now that Tiger Woods will come in as the defending champion. The club is beginning to feel like Sergio Garcia in his nervous regrip mode.
“More and more questions come up that need to be answered,” said David Goich, Olympia Fields’ club president. “Back then, we had the time to answer them. Now we don’t have the time. Our time reserve is done. We’re in it.”
All sorts of logistics have to be worked out and finalized. The details include parking, security, reserving more than 3,000 hotel rooms, tweaking the course, selling corporate tents–and everything else imaginable.
It is a huge undertaking that will feature 4,000 volunteers working the tournament. Vince Greci, the club’s general tournament chairman, already has been planning for the event for more than four years.
“It’s a good thing I’m retired,” Greci said. “If a guy actually had a business he’s working, I don’t know how you’d do it.”
Greci and the club have had help. Tournament manager Robbie Zalzneck moved to Chicago in August 2000 to open the USGA’s office at the club. He previously had made regular advance visits since the fall of 1997, when the club was officially selected to host the Open.
Olympia Fields landed the big event thanks largely to its success in staging the 1997 U.S. Senior Open. That tournament drew around 100,000 spectators for the week.
“The Senior Open is going to be about one-fourth of what we’ll see next year,” Greci said.
The USGA plans on capping crowds at between 30,000-35,000 fans per day, including practice rounds. The Open has been a sellout for 16 straight years. Next year’s tournament will be no exception because Zalzneck expects as many as 75,000 applications nationwide for tickets.
“It’s going to be a tough ticket,” Zalzneck said.
This year’s Open had 42,000 spectators per day at Bethpage. However, that facility is much bigger than Olympia Fields. It almost seems as if the entire Olympia Fields course could fit within four holes at the sprawling Bethpage.
Olympia Fields figures to be a bit more intimate. The course doesn’t have the scale of Bethpage, but the USGA will make sure it has plenty of teeth.
Tom Meeks, who sets up the Open venues for the USGA, already has made six visits to Olympia Fields. It seems every time he makes a visit, several trees become firewood.
“He always goes, `I love this tree, but it’s got to go,'” Goich said.
Architect Mark Mungeam did a major redesign in preparation for the Open. Several holes were lengthened and traps and greens were reworked. The USGA also will keep the fairways ridiculously narrow, with the biggest being no wider than 26-28 yards.
One major decision will have the nines reversed for the tournament because the 18th hole didn’t have enough space for a final-hole gallery. That means the Open will finish on No. 9.
As a result, members have to refer to one of its signature holes, the 461-yard par-4 third, as “tournament 12.”
“It can get a bit confusing,” Greci said.
Artist Linda Hartough picked the third–tournament 12–for the 2003 Open’s official portrait. It is a down and up par 4, featuring a dramatic second shot into the green.
“I love the bridges and the water,” Hartough said. “There’s a lot going on out there that gives the course its character.”
Hartough’s visit to the course is a sign that the tournament is around the corner. Goich noticed the buzz started to pick up dramatically in May.
It went up another level last week when a contingent from Olympia Fields observed the operations at Bethpage. The club desperately wants its Open to run smoothly. It is thinking beyond next year.
“We want to get in their 10-year cycle [for playing host to an Open],” said Goich, who added the club also would be willing to stage a U.S. Amateur or Women’s Open in between. “You have to keep yourself in front of the USGA. We want to do a good job for them.”
Olympia Fields has 357 days and counting to make sure it gets everything right.
STATS & STUFF
WONDERFUL WOODS
$30.2
With his $1 million payday for winning the U.S. Open on Sunday, Tiger Woods becomes the first player to top the $30 million mark–$30,246,327–in earnings. The only other player over $20 million is Phil Mickelson ($20,771,424).
32
Woods has 32 victories on the PGA Tour, tying him for 12th place on the all-time list with Horton Smith. When he was 26 1/2, Jack Nicklaus had 18 career titles.
10
Woods’ final round of 2-over-par 72 broke a 10-round streak in majors where he shot even par or better.
CLIMBING THE LIST
Woods’ eighth major as a professional pushed him past an elite group into a tie for fifth place:
GOLFER NO.
1. Jack Nicklaus 18
2. Walter Hagen 11
3. Ben Hogan 9
3. Gary Player 9
5. Tiger Woods 8
5. Tom Watson 8
7. Harry Vardon 7
7. Bobby Jones 7
7. Gene Sarazen 7
7. Sam Snead 7
7. Arnold Palmer 7
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WHO’S HOT
Scott Hoch
Who needs practice or eyesight? Sidelined since April by problems caused by laser surgery , Hoch tied for fifth at the Open. To top things off, he made a hole in one.
WHO’S NOT
Jesper Parnevik
Parnevik was up and down at the Open. After shooting a 69 on Saturday, he tumbled back with an 80 on Sunday, finishing in a tie for 54th. The Open was indicative of Parnevik’s inconsistent year.
TIP FROM THE IPGA
This week’s tip comes from Mark Wesolek, assistant professional at Ruffled Feathers.
A properly struck iron shot will have a divot that starts just in front of where the ball was prior to impact. The next time you are at the range practicing, place a tee flat on the ground, about a finger’s width in front of the ball. Using a 6-, 7- or 8-iron, strike the back of the ball and then hit the tee. This will help you make proper contact and should result in a divot that begins just in front of where the ball was.
For more information, check, www.ipga.com
THIS WEEK
PGA Tour
Canon Greater Hartford Open
Where: TPC at River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
When: Thursday-Sunday
TV: ESPN, Thursday, 2-5 p.m., Friday, 3-5 p.m.; WLS-Ch. 7, Saturday, 3-5 p.m., Sunday, 2-5 p.m.
Purse: $4 million
Defending champion: Phil Mickelson
Tiger Woods playing? No
LPGA Tour
Wegmans Rochester Invitational
Where: Locust Hill Country Club, Pittsford, N.Y.
TV: ESPN2, Friday 4-6 p.m.; ESPN, Saturday, 2-4 p.m., Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
Purse: $1.2 million
Defending champion: Laura Davies
Annika Sorenstam playing? No
Senior PGA Tour
Greater Baltimore Classic
Where: Hayfield Country Club, Hunt Valley, Md.
When: Friday-Sunday
TV: PAX, Friday, noon-2 p.m.; CNBC, Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
Purse: $1.45 million
Defending champion: Allen Doyle
Jack Nicklaus playing? No
Ed Sherman.
