It now is up to Olympia Fields Country Club to determine whether Chicago remains a U.S. Open town.
If the club doesn’t measure up, enjoy this week’s U.S. Open, Chicago golf fans. It could be the last one coming to the area for a long, long time.
Olympia Fields is set to host the first U.S. Open in the Chicago area since Hale Irwin won at Medinah Country Club in 1990. Besides crowning a champion Sunday, the biggest question will be whether the facility and the course are up to the test.
If Olympia Fields falls short, the U.S. Open might not make another appearance in Chicago for two decades, maybe more. With Medinah committed to the 2006 PGA Championship and the 2012 Ryder Cup, and Cog Hill seemingly out of favor with the U.S. Golf Association, Olympia Fields is the area’s best and probably only shot to get into the informal Open rotation of courses.
“It’s very important for us to get the Open to Chicago every now and then,” said Tom Meeks, an Illinois native and the USGA’s director of championships.
Olympia Fields, though, will have to prove that it belongs as it hosts its first Open since 1928.
Unlike other Open venues such as Pebble Beach and Shinnecock Hills, Olympia Fields isn’t a “wow” course. The club has signature holes, such as the par-4 third and 14th, which will be played as Nos. 12 and 5 for the Open. But it isn’t like Bethpage Black, which seemed to have one stunning hole after another for last year’s Open.
The straightforward nature of the layout probably accounts for Olympia Fields ranking only 75th in Golf magazine’s list of top 100 courses. Only Congressional at 77 and Hazeltine at 90 had lower ratings among Open venues since 1990.
Olympia Fields was 27th in Golf Digest’s rankings. Yet the course clearly has critics wondering why the USGA awarded its biggest event to the south suburban club.
Alan Shipnuck wrote in Sports Illustrated’s preview edition for the Open:
“It will be another 75 years before the U.S. Open returns to Olympia Fields. It’s the least imaginative kind of national championship venue–tough, oppressive, yet utterly unmemorable.”
Meeks contends that perspective is shortsighted.
“Whoever said that doesn’t know Olympia Fields or has underestimated the potential of Olympia Fields,” Meeks said. “It’s a sleeping giant. It’s so far away from [downtown], it gets lost in the shuffle.”
The early reviews from the players side with Meeks. A handful of the contestants gave the course a spin Sunday before the rain hit in the afternoon.
“It’s very nice,” Nick Faldo said. “It’s all there, right in front of you. It’s not overly long. That definitely opens it up for the rest of the field. It won’t be a case of having a half dozen [long-ball hitters] only having a chance.”
Billy Mayfair liked that prospect. Even though he tied for fifth last year at Bethpage, he thinks the layout at Olympia Fields is more favorable to his game and others.
“Last year you had to stand up and hit it as far as you can,” Mayfair said. “This year you’ve got to work the ball. Not all the holes are 480. You’ve got some 300-yard holes. You’ve some nice blind shots on the back nine. It’s neat.”
Plenty tough
Rocco Mediate called the greens “sneaky tough.” Strong breezes made long shots plenty tough Sunday. Mediate couldn’t reach the 496-yard par-4 ninth and had to hit a driver to get to the front edge of the 247-yard par-3 17th.
Mediate came away impressed. As for any possible critics, he doesn’t think Olympia Fields needs to be defended.
“It’s not anybody’s business how Olympia Fields got [the Open],” Mediate said. “The USGA isn’t holding a lottery. They pick a course because they think it is good. The course may beat me up, but it will be a good test.”
The USGA picked Olympia Fields based mainly on its performance during the 1997 U.S. Senior Open. Throughout the tournament, Vince Greci, this year’s Open chairman, continually asked then-USGA President Buzz Taylor about the possibility of hosting a U.S. Open.
“I said, `If it turns out to your satisfaction, will you give us an Open?'” Greci said. “He said, `You do a good job and we’ll see what we can do.'”
There were no major logistical problems, and the course proved to be plenty tough. Graham Marsh won at even par.
O. Gordon Brewer also played in that tournament. Even though he didn’t make the cut, he was instrumental in Olympia Fields landing a U.S. Open.
Luckily for the club, Brewer was a member of the USGA’s championship committee when the issue came up in 1997.
“An Open course should be one where you need to drive the ball well, and where you have putting surfaces that give you testing putts,” Brewer said. “I thought the course did both of those things well.”
The championship committee agreed, awarding the tournament to Olympia Fields. As part of the deal, the club agreed to $2 million in renovations that included stretching the layout to 7,190 yards and redoing several greens.
A good choice
Analyst Johnny Miller thinks the USGA made a good choice.
“They lengthened that baby out,” Miller said. “What I remember the most is the gorgeous trees and how mature the course is. It’s a very fair course, the kind of course nobody can complain about.”
Still, Miller admitted to being surprised that a Chicago-area U.S. Open went to a course other than Medinah. That club has hosted three Opens.
However, the last one resulted in strained relations between Medinah and the USGA. The club felt the USGA layout didn’t maximize the course’s difficulty. A record 28 players finished under par.
Meeks didn’t come away enamored of Medinah. Too many trees, he said.
“Golf was made to be played on grass, not in the trees,” Meeks said.
For its part, Medinah is thrilled with its relationship with the PGA of America, which decided to come back for a return trip after a successful 1999 PGA Championship.
“We have no animosity with the USGA,” said club President Don Larson. “It’s just that the PGA approached us. It’s a matter of who’s standing there with a contract. We wouldn’t rule out doing something with the USGA in the future.”
With Medinah out of the picture, the USGA focused its Chicago options on Olympia Fields and Cog Hill. Given the area’s reputation for public golf, Ron Whitten, the architecture critic for Golf Digest, thought Cog Hill would receive the nod.
The No. 4 course might have, but it failed the audition when it hosted the 1997 U.S. Amateur. Meeks said he supported holding the event there, “but it turned out to be a mistake.”
Said Meeks:
“I think the world of [superintendent] Ken Lapp, but they never got the greens as firm as we wanted.”
A 4-inch rainstorm on the Saturday before the tournament didn’t help matters. Still, Cog Hill needed to be perfect, and it wasn’t even close.
“Olympia Fields is one of my favorite courses,” said Cog Hill’s owner, Frank Jemsek. “I would make more of a fuss if they chose another course. When you lose, you have to go out and make your golf course better. We’ll bid again. The only way you lose is if you give up.”
Cog Hill, though, remains a long shot. That leaves Olympia Fields if the USGA wants to come back to Chicago. However, it is not a given that an Open has to be in Chicago.
There is considerable speculation that Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis., could be the Open’s Midwest stop. The dazzling lakeside course already has snared the 2004 PGA Championship and is said to be in line for the 2011 U.S. Open.
Gaining support
Olympia Fields can gain all the support its needs by hosting a successful tournament.
Outside the ropes, the club can’t afford any major snafus, like two-hour traffic jams. People traffic also has to flow nicely on the course.
Inside the ropes, the course has to hold up to the best players in the world.
“If it is a record-shattering Open, it’s gone, it won’t come back,” said Whitten, who thinks the course will play “surprisingly tough.”
Meeks says he is “optimistically curious. There’s not much more we can do to the course, but I think it will hold up.”
However, Meeks won’t give any indication if Olympia Fields will merit a return trip. He says too many questions need to be answered first.
“I can’t see us not coming back to Chicago,” Meeks said. “Whether or not that means Olympia Fields, I can’t say right now.”
The club is pulling out all the stops. Olympia Fields had only one Open in the 20th Century. It doesn’t want only one in the 21st Century. Ideally, it would like to host one every 10 years.
“I’ll be dead and gone, but I know this club wants to host more [Opens] in the future,” Greci said. “I want everyone to say everything worked and that we want to come back.”
Open at a glance
What: 103rd U.S. Open.
When: Practice rounds Monday-Wednesday; tournament Thursday-Sunday. If necessary, playoff Monday, June 16.
Where: Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields.
Course stats: Par 70, 7,190 yards.
Designer: William “Willie” Park Jr. in 1923.
Grass: Fairways are a bentgrass and poa annua mix. Rough is a bluegrass and ryegrass mix.
TV: Thursday and Friday–10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on ESPN; 2 to 4 p.m. on WMAQ-Ch. 5; 4 to 6 p.m. on ESPN. Saturday and Sunday–12:30 to 7 p.m. on WMAQ-Ch. 5.
Playoff: If an 18-hole playoff is necessary, ESPN will begin coverage from its 11 a.m. start, with WMAQ-Ch. 5 picking it up at 1 p.m.
Another sellout: This year is the 17th consecutive year the Open has been a sellout, with 35,000 tickets sold for each day of the championship. Ticket-buyers include residents of 26 countries.
Most appearances: Jack Nicklaus holds the Open record with 44 appearances and 160 total rounds. He’s followed by Hale Irwin (33 and 120), Gene Sarazen (33, 118) and Arnold Palmer (32, 115).
Last 10 champions
%% YEAR WINNER TOT
2002 Tiger Woods 277
2001 Retief Goosen 276*
2000 Tiger Woods 272
1999 Payne Stewart 279
1998 Lee Janzen 280
1997 Ernie Els 276
1996 Steve Jones 278
1995 Corey Pavin 280
1994 Ernie Els 279*
1993 Lee Janzen 272
%%
Open tee times
Thur.: 1st hole; Friday: 10th hole
7 a.m.; noon
Chad Campbell
a-John Holmes
Brad Elder
7:10; 12:10
Greg Hiller
Sean McCarty
Roy Biancalana
7:20; 12:20
Bob Tway
a-William Haas
Joey Sindelar
7:30; 12:30
Trevor Immelman
Tom Byrum
Larry Mize
7:40; 12:40
Loren Roberts
Stephen Leaney
Steve Flesch
7:50; 12:50
Jesper Parnevik
Billy Mayfair
Rory Sabbatini
8; 1
Justin Leonard
Padraig Harrington
Charles Howell III
8:10; 1:10
Justin Rose
Jonathan Byrd
Adam Scott
8:20; 1:20
Jerry Kelly
Grant Waite
Mark Calcavecchia
8:30; 1:30
Retief Goosen
Chris DiMarco
Fred Couples
8:40; 1:40
Rod Pampling
Brian Gay
Jay Don Blake
8:50; 1:50
Craig Bowden
a-Luke List
Marco Dawson
9; 2
Doug Labelle
Bill Lunde
Steve Gotsche
Noon; 7 a.m.
Brian Davis
a-Chez Reavie
Brett Quigley
12:10; 7:10
Dicky Pride
Warren Schutte
Doug Dunakey
12:20; 7:20
Paul Casey
a-Trip Kuehne
Joe Ogilvie
12:30; 7:30
Thomas Bjorn
a-Hunter Mahan
Rich Beem
12:40; 7:40
Mark O’Meara
David Toms
Mike Weir
12:50; 7:50
Scott Hoch
Peter Lonard
Hale Irwin
1; 8
Nick Faldo
Chris Riley
K.J. Choi
1:10; 8:10
Jay Haas
Sergio Garcia
Davis Love III
1:20; 8:20
Tom Kite
Stuart Appleby
Joe Durant
1:30; 8:30
Toru Taniguchi
Steve Lowery
Kirk Triplett
1:40; 8:40
Woody Austin
Chris Smith
Tim Petrovic
1:50; 8:50
Fredrik Jacobson
John Maginnes
Brian Henninger
2; 9
Geoffrey Sisk
Ryan Dillon
Alan Morin
a-amateur
Thur.: 10th hole;
Friday: 1st hole
7 a.m.; noon
Hidemichi Tanaka
Cliff Kresge
Tom Gillis
7:10; 12:10
Ian Leggatt
Dean Wilson
David Smail
7:20; 12:20
a-Christopher Baryla
Kent Jones
Roland Thatcher
7:30; 12:30
a-Ricky Barnes
Ernie Els
Tiger Woods
7:40; 12:40
Bryce Molder
a-Tom Glissmeyer
Sean Murphy
7:50; 12:50
Vijay Singh
Rocco Mediate
Bernhard Langer
8; 1
Scott McCarron
Colin Montgomerie
Bob Estes
8:10; 1:10
Jeff Maggert
Don Pooley
Craig Parry
8:20; 1:20
Robert Allenby
Kevin Sutherland
Dan Forsman
8:30; 1:30
Brad Faxon
Timothy Clark
David Duval
8:40; 1:40
Tommy Armour III
Olin Browne
Spike McRoy
8:50; 1:50
Maarten Lafeber
a-Rick Reinsberg
Darron Stiles
9; 2
Bret Guetz
Jason Knutzon
Cortney Brisson
Noon; 7 a.m.
Richard Johnson
J.P. Hayes
Robert Damron
12:10; 7:10
Chris Anderson
Mark Wurtz
Rob Bradley
12:20; 7:20
Neal Lancaster
Jonathan Kaye
Geoff Ogilvy
12:30; 7:30
Jim Furyk
Darren Clarke
Phil Mickelson
12:40; 7:40
Kenny Perry
Paul Lawrie
Lee Janzen
12:50; 7:50
Michael Campbell
Corey Pavin
Jose Maria Olazabal
1; 8
Stewart Cink
Nick Price
Jeff Sluman
1:10; 8:10
Shigeki Maruyama
Len Mattiace
Eduardo Romero
1:20; 8:20
John Rollins
Niclas Fasth
Dudley Hart
1:30; 8:30
Angel Cabrera
Scott Verplank
Tom Watson
1:40; 8:40
Billy Andrade
Alex Cejka
Fred Funk
1:50; 8:50
Brandt Jobe
Jay Williamson
Bob Burns
2; 9
Hiroshi Matsuo
Anthony Arvidson
Matt Seppanen
