News

Keepers Of Our Game

Published

18 years ago

Jan 27, 2008

R Hetzel

Almost everyone knows the USGA. Not everyone knows that they do a whole lot more than maintain the rules of golf, test golf balls and golf equipment. All of the aforementioned is important to our game, but lets not forget where we have been.

After being closed for the previous three years, the USGA is about to open a completely renovated, enlarged golf museum. The former USGA Golf House will be renamed as the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History. A new center that much more clearly delineates the unique eras of golf as they transcend through history. The new museum will begin with golf in its American infancy and travel onwards to our current day, world inspired game. The old golf house will be completely unique and up to date.

Entrance to the soon to be, new and improved Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History.

The last time that I visited the USGA Golf House was back in 1997 and it was strictly as an outsider looking in. This time around, and since everything is off display, I was afforded a behind the scenes look at some golden golf history thanks to Dr. Rand Jerris. Just like us, Rand is an avid golfer, and an art history major a few times over. Rand shagged golf balls for iron byron back in the late 1980’s during a summer internship at the USGA. He is responsible for computerizing the complete USGA collection and has seen the museum staff numbers grow from only 2 people to the 10 that are there now. Rand is the USGA Museum Director, and has probably forgotten more about golf history than I can remember.

Unfortunately, time did not allow me to peruse everything stored away in the USGA’s basement, if so I’d still be there, gawking away. With so much golf history on tap, most of which has never even been on public display, it is very difficult for me to choose a starting (and ending) point for this story. It may be just the first.

Before deciding upon a renovated and expanded golf museum in Far Hills, New Jersey there was much discussion at the USGA about the possible relocation of the golf museum. The USGA toyed with such locations as New York City, Monterrey, California and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ultimately, the USGA stayed true to its roots and stayed in place. The new Golf House will be called the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History. This museum is much different and in my opinion much more important than say, the World Golf Hall of Fame in Florida. They are very different from each other and each serves vastly different purpose. You say that you have already visited the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame so why do you need to pay homage to the Palmer Center? Well, for a lot of reasons. Roots. Yes, learn where golf has been and see where it is now in the present.

The WGC used to be located in Pinehurst. With their move to Florida they became focused on their elected hall of famers, those specific professional players. There are some others, but mainly professionals and their stories and accomplishments.

The USGA is focused upon the history of golf in the United States. It is a museum that tells the great stories of our amateur champions and the USGA championships. It will continue to be a museum depicting the old history of golf from Scotland to the present evolution of golf equipment. It delineates more personal stories, from equipment to the great and storied players of our time and times past.

As you enter the new museum, which will almost double in size to over 30,000 square feet you’ll be torn between the Bobby Jones room and the Arnold Palmer room, but don’t worry you’ll have ample time for both. The giant sketch of Arnie that greets you will come alive in words and be interactive in nature. I don’t want to give it away (yet), but one of Arnie’s fans devoted 14 years of his life into making this “word drawing” come alive for us.

A few Arnold Palmer items for your viewing pleasure.

While sitting down with Rand, I asked him to choose what he believes are the three most intriguing items within the USGA’s golf collection. Although he had a very tough time choosing, his top three were:

His first choice was Francis Quimet’s original set of irons from the 1913 US Open. These were acquired from a family that had purchased them from Eddie Lowery, the young caddy who later became a millionaire. This family had the 4 irons. The USGA already had the putter. The USGA kept tabs on these clubs and when the couple reached their golden years they went to the USGA and really to all of us. There are no woods or golf bag; it is unknown where they are today. The golf clubs were actually authenticated by Eddie Lowery himself. The USGA had to wait patiently for 30 years to take possession of these historic and priceless clubs. If you enjoyed the movie or book, The Greatest Game Ever Played, you’ll surely appreciate this collection at the new museum.

Sample plaque that commemorates past USGA Champions.

The priceless, Bobby Jones’ Calamity Jane 2 putter was his second choice. Bobby Jones won 10 of 13 major events with this putter. The original Calamity Jane putter resides at Augusta National. After developing a crack in the wooden shaft, Bobby had thin black wire wrapped very tightly around the shaft in order to prevent it from cracking more. The original Calamity Jane putter was retired and the back up (#2) was put into play. Bobby soon added the signature black wire because he was so used to seeing it on the shaft as he putted. Obviously it worked, as this putter was used to win more than his fair share of golf tournaments. I was fortunate enough to hold this putter, quite possibly the most famous of all golf clubs. Certainly the most coveted of all putters, at least until Tiger Woods has long since finished playing competitive golf.

Notice the tightly wound wire on Calamity Jane No. 2. It served a purpose for Mr. Jones.

Robert Tyre Jones and Calamity Jane (#2), golf legends. 10 majors, enough said.

Lastly, Rand had a tie for third place. The first, which is quite compelling, is Jim Chase’s unique portrait of Arnold Palmer. Artist Jim Chase spent 14 years drawing microscopic letters, using words to create and shape the final portrait. Jim gave one of just five copies to Arnold and Arnold graciously gave it to the USGA. The drawing, or lettering if you will, carries deep meaning. It contains a total of 22,719 words. Get really close and you’ll see them, from a few feet away it looks like a masterful inked sketch. It will be the centerpiece in the Palmer room and it will become an interactive experience where you can zoom in on a quote or series of words to see why the artist chose them in his design. Of course, you know Tiger Woods made Rand’s picks as well. For historical significance, he choose a Titleist wedge that Tiger Woods used to assist him with decimating the field and setting a US Open scoring record when he won the US Open at Pebble Beach.

The future centerpiece of the Arnold Palmer Room courtesy of artist Jim Chase and Arnie.

It sure doesn’t look like much now, but this room will be the "world golf era " space in the new museum.

All very interesting choices by Mr. Jerris, but I’d have to insert that 6 iron that made it to the moon as well making a three way tie. These are just a very select few golf items of historical significance that live on at the USGA for all of us.

The new and improved USGA Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History will open in late May with an Arnold Palmer attended Grand Opening celebration in early June. I know that if I am in the New Jersey area, I’ll be there.

News

5 Things we Learned: Friday at the U.S. Women’s Open

Published

21 hours ago

Jun 6, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Dumbo flies again! There is certainly a half-generation of golf fans without the slightest idea of how well In-gee Chun, aka Dumbo, can golf her ball. The Korean was the It Girl from 2015 to 2018. She won three LPGA events, with two being major championships. She returned to Korea to cure her homesickness, but made the occasional foray back to the Americas. In 2022, she captured a fourth LPGA title and, guess what? It was a third, unique major title.

The halfway cut line was set at four over par. Those at plus-five and beyond had their stay in Tinseltown cut short, at least when it comes to working rounds of golf. Among the 87 who fell on the high side of the cut line, Lydia Ko stood out as the biggest name. Others given a two-day furlough were Lilia Vu, Megha Ganne, Chizzy Iwai, and Leona Maguire. Making the cut on the number are Lottie Woad, Celine Boutier, Mao Saigo, and amateur Asterisk Talley. If you follow world football, imagine the feeling of relegation on a weekly basis. That’s the 36-hole cut in professional golf.

We learned five things on Friday at Riviera Country Club, and we’d love to share them with you. Find a comfy place and brighten the screen on your device. It’s time for Five Things We Learned on day two at the US Women’s Open.

Part One: the biggest movers

A golfer’s feel appears or slips away overnight. Although Saturday is known collectively as Moving Day, it doesn’t come with as sudden and final a feeling as Friday. Move the wrong way on Friday and you’re down the road. Improve in the proper direction and you save your week. Both Mao Saigo and Rio Takeda opened with plus-five rounds of 76, then signed for 70 on day two, and made the cut on the number.

Moving the other way were Stephanie Kyriacou (70-78) and Ina Yoon (68-79). Their respective eight- and eleven-shot declines propelled them from title contention to tournament departure. Minjee Lee and Minji Kang (seven shots higher) along with Rose Zhang (five shots) made the cut, but saw their opportunity for victory take a serious body shot.

Part Two: the leaders

Allison Lee and Ruoning Yin took the conservative path to the 36-hole medal. Lee posted four birdies and a bogey for a total of 68 on day two. Yin had two birdies and sixteen pars for her second consecutive card of 69. Their 138 places them one shot clear of the aforementioned Dumbo Chun, who followed an opening 71 with 68. First-round leader Jennifer Kupcho added seven shots to her total, from an opening-day 66 to a follow-up 73, yet remained within the inner circle of leaders at -3, tied with Chun and four others. Four more golfers sit at minus-two, two shots behind the top duo. An even dozen of golfers sits within two shots of the lead.

The day’s biggest move of gravitas came from Nelly Korda. After a disappointing 73 on Thursday, the world number one improved six shots, thanks to a five-birdie round of 67. Korda slid inside the top ten with her recovery, and certainly reclaimed her place as most frightening chaser at Riviera. No one is likely to shoot in the low 60s at Riviera, but Korda just might post a mid-sixties score on Saturday, to seize the lead on Sunday morning.

Part Three: Ams verse Champs

Five current amateur golfers were among the 68 golfers to reach the weekend. Kiara Romero posted the best non-pro score on Friday, a one-under 70, to move from plus-two to plus-one figures. She is joined there by Aphrodite Deng, who reversed those numbers for her two rounds. Maria Jose Marin (143), Farah O’Keefe (145), and Asteriks Talley (146) joined the #WeDidIt brigade to earn a spot for the final two rounds.

Six former US Open champions, led by In-gee Chun(2015), also punched a ticket for round three. Allison Corpuz (2023), Maja Stark (2025), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018), A Lim Kim (2020), and Minjee Lee (2022) preserved their dream of a second US Open trophy for the mantle. Nineteen amateurs failed to earn a post for the final 36-holes, while five former champions joined them on the sidelines. Yuka Saso, twice a winner in this event in the past half-decade, missed the cut by five shots. 24 amateurs against eleven former titleists suggests that it is easier for the young to qualify, but harder for them to find success.

Part Four: the golf course

Scoring went up by .6 shots per player, from round one to round two. Statistically speaking, it became harder to make the cut as the day wore on. Birdies dropped by 50, while pars remained constant. Both bogeys and doubles increased markedly. The first and the sixth holes played under par on the front nine, while the second and ninth were nearly tied for most difficult traces on the road to the turn.

Coming home, holes ten, twelve, fifteen, and eighteen played as an impregnable quadrilateral. Odds are, you gave a shot back on each of them. Despite number seventeen’s accessibility for birdie, no one got out of the back nine alive. If conditions continue toward the extreme, Riviera will extract a pound of flesh from the contenders over the weekend.

Part Five: what to expect

From my vantage point, the tee times to watch are the 4:55 EST and the 5:05 slots. Nelly Korda pegs her ball in the sixth-last pairing with Sora Kamiya. The little-known Kamiya will get an up close and personal look at the crowds that follow the best in the world. Korda will need to ignore Kamiya’s expected struggles and golf her own ball. Ten minutes later, Lauren Coughlin begins play with Casandra Alexander at her side. It’s a similar situation, with the experienced Coughlin alongside an unseasoned partner.

Both Sei Yong Kim and Gaby Lopez have turned in strong performances, and their 5:15 pairing might produce some explosive numbers. From back in the pack, the tasty duo of Brooke Henderson and Jeeno Thitikul at 4:20, might see double digits in birdies. The unexpected at unknown Riviera is likely, so your guess is as good as mine.

News

5 Things we Learned: Thursday at the U.S.. Women’s Open

Published

2 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Gone are the days when the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Scenic Hills or Churchill Valley. Fine courses that they are (or were, as Churchill Valley went bankrupt a decade ago) there is something to be said for the venue. Not all Women’s Open playings need to take place on Men’s Open venues, but some should. This week in Los Angeles, the Women’s Open visits Riviera Country Club for the first time. Down the road, we will visit Inverness, Oakmont, Interlachen, Oak Hill, Chicago Golf, and Merion. That is quite the murderer’s row (1927 Yankees reference) of golf clubs.

What can we expect from the 2026 tournament? Greatness and uncertainty. Unlike the PGA Tour, which visits Riviera each February, the LPGA does not, so the women will not have nearly the body of work over the George C. Thomas layout. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe they’ll play #10 smarter than the men do. Maybe they’ll figure some things out that their male counterparts can not. For today, we’ll try to find five things to learn, and share them with you.

First, this ain’t your momma’s U.S. Open course

How do we know? Well, so far, only one previous champion currently sits inside the top thirty. That would be Minjee Lee, the 2022 winner at Southern (NC) Pines. Lee made par on her first nine holes, the inward side at Riviera. She dropped birdie putts on the first and ninth holes (ten and eighteen for her day) and tallied another seven pars, for 69. She sits three shots off Jennifer Kupcho’s opening 66. Don’t worry about Kupcho; we’ll get to her. After Lee, defending champion Maja Stark ranks T30 at even par, joined by three other, former winners.

What Minjee did, is the sort of thing that wins U.S. Open titles. She guided her ship safely past swells, and made a move when the waters calmed. The fewer the bogeys, the more likely Minjee figures in the outcome on Sunday evening in Pacific Palisades. Off the tee, Lee was unmatched. She hit 14 of 14 fairways. Her iron play was a bit loose in comparison. She putted for birdie on 12 of 18 holes, which meant that her recovery short game was on point. Lee was ten yards longer on measured driving holes than the field average, and was below the field average (a good thing) in putting.

Second, the amateurs beat a loud drum

Three of the world’s top amateur golfer posted 70, placing them four off the lead, in a tie for 14th place. Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, Spain’s Paula Francisco Llaño, and Colombia’s Maria José Marin, showed the professional world that their game is strong. Both Deng and Francisco Llaño collected five birdies on the day. Should they match that output on day two, and minimize the foozles, they’ll be the topic of conversation on Saturday morning. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and an NCAA team semifinalist last week, played a game similar to Minjee Lee: few mistakes and few taken risks.

The last amateur to post the low medal score for 72 holes was Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998. She lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak, who matched her plus-six effort at Blackwolf Run. The last amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Catherine Lacoste in 1967. The amateurs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but the professionals have not allowed them to close the gap. A victory by one of the college set would be a cannon shot heard round the world. Could it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not at all.

Third, let’s talk Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won three times on tour in 2022, including the Chevron, a major title. She won a fourth event in 2025, but has not established the winning credentials projected on her after 2022’s marvelous coming-out.

Kupcho hails from Colorado, and spent four years in the Carolina Piedmont, at Wake Forest Universtiy. Neither of those locales cries out I’ll be at home at Riviera, but here we are, after a seven-birdie performance. Kupcho posted birdie on each of her first three holes, and added four more (against two bogeys) to assume a one-shot advantage over Korea’s Sei Young Kim.

Kupcho drove the ball decently, approached moderately well, but putted lights out on Thursday. Her 26 putts were tied for best in show on day one. There might just be something about the putting surfaces at Riviera that aligns with Kupcho’s vibe. If that is the case, just get the ball on the green, anywhere, and let the flatstick do the lifting.

Fourth, how young is Sei Young?

Sei (pronounced “So”) Young Kim won a dozen times from 2015 to 2020. She took time off from winning until 2025, shen she captured a thirteenth LPGA title. Like Kupcho, Kim has hardware from one major event, the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship. How to explain the five years away from victory? No idea. When Sei Young was in contention during the prime of her career, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

What to expect over the next three days at Riviera? Anyone’s guess. It might be the 2015-2020 Sei Young, or it could be the 2021-2025 version. Kim began her day with birdies at 10 and 11, then settled into a stretch of pars before her solitary bogey at the 4th (her 13th) hole. Kim regained her composure and reeled in three birdies to close the front nine. Her four-under performance trails Kupcho alone, and there is a real chance that Sei Young will produce a second score in the 60s and take a bit of control of the tournament.

Fifth, we’re giddy for Gaby

Although I cannot place my finger on why, it seems that each year, Gaby Lopez pops up on the U.S. Open leaderboard. She hasn’t figure out how to remain in contention, but here we are, in 2026, and Lopez is once again in the mix. The three-time champion on the LPGA circuit had a stunning first nine holes, turning in minus-five. She reached six deep at her tenth hole, but then gave three shots back coming home. Which Gaby will show up on Friday, and for how long? If back-nine Gaby can somehow channel front-nine Gaby, all outcomes are within reach. If the loose play continues, Lopez’ wiki page will add one more T41 to her majors column.

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Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

4 days ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

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