No seventh heaven for last Open at Shinnecock Hills

It has been 14 years between stops for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

That's a longer gap than usual for a regular Open venue, but you can't help recall the disaster of 2004.

In its effort to identify (not humiliate) the world's best golfers, the U.S. Golf Association goes to the extreme to make its championship courses difficult. Twenty-eight of the 66 golfers in the final round shot in the 80s, and no hole epitomized the blood-letting more than No. 7, a 189-yard par 3.

The greens dried out in the wind and heat of a mid-June day in the Hamptons, making the hole more of a torture test than a golf challenge.

"We learned from it," USGA executive director Mike Davis said at last month's U.S. Open media day. "When you set up a U.S. Open it is golf's ultimate test, it's probably set up closer to the edge than any other event in golf, and the difference then versus now is we have a lot more technology, a lot more data in our hands."

Davis said the issue on 7 "was just a lack of water. There just wasn't enough water put in, and the plant, essentially the grass itself, went dormant. There wasn't enough friction on the greens.

"Nowadays we have got everything from firmness meters, we have got moisture meters in the greens, we can tell how fast a green is running. The meteorology is better, so we not only know where the winds are coming from but the velocities. And, frankly, there's better communication between the USGA and the grounds staff."

Shinnecock Hills can be a wonderful test of golf, and many from this area are heading down to watch.

When the Open played there in 1995, my first exposure to a major championship, the lasting memory was Corey Pavin's winning 4-wood to within 5 feet on the 18th hole.

The 2004 Open should be remembered for a final-round duel between eventual winner Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson. Instead, all we think about is how the USGA lost the course.

Let's hope the 2018 focus is back on the players and not the USGA.

Area roundup

Hiland assistant pro Scott Berliner and Pittsfield head pro Eric Mabee will begin play Sunday in the PGA Professional Championship at Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Courses in Seaside, Calif. Hiland head pro Jim Jeffers, who won last fall's local qualifier, elected not to go, opening a spot for Mabee. The top 20 in the 72-hole event earn berths into the PGA Championship in August. ... UAlbany women's golf coach Colleen Cashman-McSween and Rochester native Tessa Teachman, a former Golf Channel "Big Break" competitor, have been granted sponsor's exemptions for next month's Symetra Tour Fuccillo Kia Classic at Capital Hills.

Laura Rentz of East Greenbush and Isabella Diaz of Ballston Spa earned berths in the Girls Junior PGA Championship, to be held July 9-12 at Kearney Hill in Lexington, Ky. Rentz and Diaz finished first and second, respectively, in the local qualifier at Town of Colonie. ... A "super senior" two-man tournament, for players age 75 and older, will be held Thursday, June 28 at Lake St. Catherine in Poultney, Vt. For information, call 802-287-9341.

Club roundup

Columbia: The recent President's Tournament raised $1,400 for Habitat for Humanity.

Holland Meadows: An eight-week junior program begins Friday, June 29. Contact the pro shop (518-883-3318) for details

Saratoga Lake: The club will hold its first Par 3 Tournament on July 9. The front nine will be converted into all par 3s. C.J. Callen (518-581-6616) can provide more details.

Elsewhere

Interestingly, Scotia native Laura Diaz dropped eight spots in the Women's World Rankings, to No. 579, after making the cut over the weekend at the ShopRite Classic. It was her first LPGA Tour appearance of the year. ... Bryan Bigley of Rotterdam is 71st on the current Web.com Tour money list.

pdougherty@timesunion.com • 518-454-5416 • @Pete_Dougherty