US Open 2024: Payne Stewart Indelibly Linked to Pinehurst

US Open 2024: Payne Stewart Indelibly Linked to Pinehurst
Payne Stewart of the United States hits out of a sand trap on to the fourth green at Pinehurst No. 2 during the final round of the U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst, N.C., on June 20, 1999. Stephen Jaffe/AFP via Getty Images
The Associated Press
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Pinehurst No. 2 in the Sandhills region of North Carolina has 117 years of golf history behind it. That includes a PGA Championship not many remember, a Ryder Cup before anyone cared, and one U.S. Open champion no one can forget.

No trip to Pinehurst No. 2 is complete without posing with the statue of Payne Stewart striking as famous a pose as any in U.S. Open history—left leg planted, right arm thrust forward after he holed a 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a one-shot victory over Phil Mickelson.