16 CALIFORNIA GOLF NEWS • JUNE 2010 By Jim Dover T he player that hoists the tro- phy at this year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach will join an elite group of past champions that include Jack Nicklaus (1972), Tom Watson (1982), Tom Kite (1992) and Tiger Woods (2000). Hosting the 110th U.S. Open Championship for the fifth time, the Pebble Beach Golf Links has seen some remarkable finishes, most nota- bly Tom Watson’s birdie chip on the 17th hole to beat Jack Nicklaus, as well as the record setting 15-shot victory in 2000 by a then 24 year-old Tiger Woods. While we wait for the 2010 story to unfold, one thing is for certain: the game’s greatest players will forever link the fifth champion at Pebble Beach to four remarkable performances. 1972: The First U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Ask any golf fan what course epito mizes Jack Nicklaus and you’ll prob- ably get Augusta National or per- haps the Old Course at St. Andrews. However, if anyone was speculating what course was Jack’s favorite in 1972, Pebble Beach golf links was surely on the short list. Already a winner at the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach earlier in that same year, Nicklaus entered the U.S. Open, as he did most championships, as the man to beat. Combine that dominant play with a history at Pebble Beach that also included a 1961 U.S. Amateur title, courtesy of an 8 and 6 thrashing of Dudley Wysong, and a pre-tournament practice schedule that landed the Golden Bear eight days of practice at Pebble Beach, and you had the makings of a man who couldn’t lose. But Pebble Beach has a way of eve- ning the playing field with the winds sweeping off the rocky coastline and a USGA-prepared course for the Open that tested even the great Nicklaus. Entering the final round, everything seemed to be going right for Nicklaus. Playing in the final group with the defending U.S. Open Champion Lee Trevino, who bested Nicklaus in a playoff at Merion Golf Club, Nicklaus was leading by one stroke. One of the more entertaining side stories was PHOTO BY JOHN KELLY/GETTY IMAGES Jack Nicklaus, shown here with his son Jack Jr. during the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, won the first U.S. Open at Pebble in 1972.
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