US Open 2017: 5 best moments in history
By John Buhler
The 117th playing of the US Open Championship will take place at Erin Hills in 2017. Let’s take a look back at the five best moments in the tournament’s history.
In the middle of June in the golf world, that means only one thing. It’s about that time for the US Open to get underway. The 117th playing of the tournament will make its first appearance at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin. Expect it to play like a links course often associated with the British Isles.
While the Masters Tournament in Augusta is the most revered of the four major tournaments on the PGA Tour, the US Open usually ends up being one of the most difficult to win. The courses rotate annually and the sometimes just shooting under par for the tournament is good enough to win it.
It will be interesting to see how Erin Hills plays out. We could be looking at No. 1 golfer in the world Dustin Johnson win back-to-back tournaments in this major. Before we get fired up for the tournament to be played out at Erin Hills, let’s take a few moments to look back on some of the best moments in US Open history.
5. Payne Stewart wins 1999 US Open shortly before untimely death
Payne Stewart was a three-time major champion. He was at his peak as a golfer in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Stewart won the 1989 PGA Championship and the 1991 US Open before exiting his prime in the mid-1990s. However, his greatest and most iconic moment came at Pinehurst in 1999.
Stewart was leading at the 1998 US Open in San Francisco heading into the final round. He would blow a four-stroke lead in the final day. Stewart would miss a 25-foot putt that would have forced a playoff with eventual champion Lee Janzen.
In his traditional, throwback golfing attire from another era, his fist pump after sinking a 15-foot putt to beat Phil Mickelson at Pinehurst is the indelible lasting image of Stewart’s golf career. He would also beat out two of the best golfers at the time in Vijay Singh and Tigers Woods in the 1999 US Open.
Stewart would unfortunately not have the opportunity to defend his third major championship in 2000. He would tragically pass away at the age of 42 near Aberdeen, South Dakota are his Learjet depressurized and crashed on October 25, 1999. Every playing of the US Open reminds us that two-time champion Stewart is no longer with us.