Picture this: Pinehurst No. 2 will be just the ninth public golf course to host a U.S. Women's Open
PINEHURST, N.C. -- Every golfer dreams of playing the six public-access courses of the U.S. Open. A similar crusade should be made for the nine public venues of the U.S. Women's Open. The 2014 U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst No. 2 marks the 14th time the tournament has teed up on a public/resort course.
Three of these host sites rank as the top public offering in their respective states by various publications: Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, the Cascades at the Omni Homestead Resort in Virginia and Atlantic City Country Club in New Jersey. Seven of the nine made Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses You Can Play for 2013-2014: Pinehurst No. 2 (ranked third), the River Course at Blackwolf Run in Wisconsin (No. 11), Cascades (No. 24), the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (No. 47), Pine Needles Golf Club in North Carolina (No. 50), the East Course at The Broadmoor in Colorado (No. 70) and Atlantic City Country Club (No. 80).
Only Meadows Valley -- part of the composite tournament course with the River Course at Blackwolf Run -- and Scenic Hills Country Club in the Florida Panhandle aren't on the list. Pine Needles and ACCC have each held the tournament three times. The Dunes Club hasn't hosted since 1962 but still holds the record for the highest winning score, 13-over-par by Murle Lindstrom.