2024 US Open At Pinehurst #2:

As US Open Visits Pinehurst For Fourth Time,
It Welcomes Back Many Famous, Familiar Faces

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

Among the 10,052 golfers who attempted to qualify for the 2024 US Open, which is scheduled to begin Thursday at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in Pinehurst, only 156 made the field.

Among those 156, only three also played in the US Open contested at the world-renowned Pinehurst #2 course 25 years ago, in 1999: Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Kuchar, then a 20-year-old college star at Georgia Tech, missed the cut. Mickelson, then a 28-year-old still seeking his first major championship, finished second, behind only legendary winner Payne Stewart. Woods, a 23-year-old rising star who had won the 1997 Masters but was still searching for his second major title, tied for third in 1999.

Here in 2024, of course, Woods is considered one of the greatest golfers ever. His 15 major championships (including US Open titles in 2000, 2002 and 2008) rank second in history, behind only Jack Nicklaus (18).

However, thanks to five back surgeries, four knee surgeries and a 2021 car crash that shattered his right leg and ankle, Woods is not considered among the favorites in Pinehurst this year.

Woods has played only 10 PGA Tour events since his car accident, and this is his first US Open since 2020.

To prepare for Pinehurst #2 this year, Woods arrived in North Carolina more than a week ago.

“This golf course is going to test every single aspect of your game, especially mentally, and just the mental discipline that it takes to play this particular golf course,” Woods said Tuesday. “It’s going to take a lot.

“Nothing can simulate what we have here this particular week, the amount of little shots and the knobs and runoffs, and either using wedges or long irons or woods around the greens or even putter.

“There’s so many different shots that you really can’t simulate unless you get on the property. That’s one of the reasons I came up here last Tuesday, to be able to try and do that. Quite a bit of work. The golf course has firmed up and gotten faster since then.”

Mickelson is tied for 12th in major titles, with six, but remains a US Open victory short of the Career Slam; infamously, he has been the event’s runner-up six times, first in 1999 and most recently in 2013. Kuchar is a nine-time PGA Tour winner but has never won a major championship.

Mickelson, who will turn 54 on Sunday, is the oldest player in this year’s field. Woods (48) and Kuchar (almost 46) also are already older than the US Open’s oldest all-time champion. That was Hale Irwin, a three-time US Open winner who had recently turned 45 years old when he captured the event in 1990.

The 1999 US Open marked the first time the state of North Carolina had ever hosted the US Open and just the third time it had hosted a major golf championship. This year’s event (click HERE for TV/streaming options) is just the fourth US Open held in North Carolina — with all four at Pinehurst #2 — and only the seventh major golf championship overall.

Major Golf Championships In North Carolina
Year—Event, Venue, City (Winner)

1936—PGA Championship, Pinehurst #2, Pinehurst (Denny Shute)
1974—PGA Championship, Tanglewood Park, Clemmons (Lee Trevino)
1999—US Open, Pinehurst #2, Pinehurst (Payne Stewart)
2005—US Open, Pinehurst #2, Pinehurst (Michael Campbell)
2014—US Open, Pinehurst #2, Pinehurst (Martin Kaymer)
2017—PGA Championship, Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte (Justin Thomas)
2024—US Open, Pinehurst #2, Pinehurst (TBD)
(2025—PGA Championship, Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte)

2024 US Open Players Who Competed in 1999 US Open at Pinehurst #2 (3): Matt Kuchar (MC), Phil Mickelson (2), Tiger Woods (T3)

2024 US Open Players Who Competed in 2005 US Open at Pinehurst #2 (5): Sergio Garcia (T3), Matt Kuchar (MC), Phil Mickelson (T33), Adam Scott (T28), Tiger Woods (2)

2024 US Open Players Who Competed in 2014 US Open at Pinehurst #2 (29): Daniel Berger (T28), Zac Blair (T40), Keegan Bradley (T4), Brian Campbell (MC), Jason Day (T4), Harris English (T48), Matt Fitzpatrick (T48), Rickie Fowler (T2), Sergio Garcia (T35), Lucas Glover (MC), Russell Henley (T60), Billy Horschel (T23), Dustin Johnson (T4), Martin Kaymer (won), Chris Kirk (T28), Brooks Koepka (T4), Matt Kuchar (T12), Shane Lowry (MC), Hideki Matsuyama (T35), Rory McIlroy (T23), Phil Mickelson (T28), Francesco Molinari (T23), Justin Rose (T12), Adam Scott (T9), Webb Simpson (T45), Jordan Spieth (T17), Justin Thomas (MC), Brendon Todd (T17), Gary Woodland (T52)