sUMMER 2010
celebratedliving.com
62
ABOVE:
© JOANNEDOST/PEBBLEBEACHGOLF LINKS
®,
RIGHT:
© STEVEN VEILETTE
l
golf
F
Yourpicks for topgolf coursesare
champi nship-caliber— justwitness
howmanyarehosting tournaments
thisyear.
BY THOMAS BEDELL
Forgolf thisyear, roundnumbersare
nice. Ithasbeen115yearssince the
firstU.s.Openand150yearssince the
firstOpenChampionship.Bothare
returning thisyear tobeplayedatour
twofirst-placepicks—
PEBBLEBEACH
GOLF LINKS
for theU.s.Open (for the
fifth time)and
THEOLDCOURSEAT
STANDREWS
forTheOpenChamp-
ionship.The lattereventwill roam
over theancient links for the28th
time.Of course, 28 isn’ta round
number, but
CelebratedLiving
readerscertainlyplayedsome
interestingnumbersgameswith this
year’sPlatinumListvotes.
Theyvaulted the
HARBOUR TOWN
GOLF LINKS
from seventh to third
place, for example, TheseaPines
Resort perhaps receivingaboost
from the resort’snewHeronPoint
byPeteDye course.
ArnoldPalmer’s
BAYHILL CLUB
made
anevenmore impressive ten-spot
leap following the reopeningof the
Championshipcourse inseptember
aftera tweakingunder thewatchful
eyeofPalmerhimself.
The 2009U.s.Open coursemade
thebiggestmoveof all:
BETHPAGE BLACK
jumpedadozen spots, from 20th to
eighth, albeit ina three-way tie,with
COGHILL #4
and
MONARCHBEACH GOLF
LINKS
(whichalsomovedup 10 spots),
for thehotly contested slot. This isa
tributenot only to thefierce loyalties
of
CL
readersbut also togeographic
diversity, as the coursesarewithin
strikingdistanceof threeof ourgreat
metropolises—NewYork, Chicago,
andLosAngeles, respectively.
TheTourprosandeventual
winnerLucasGloverhad to trudge
arounda rain-soakedandmuddy
BethpageBlackat lastyear’sOpen,
butaccording toBethpagestate
ParkdirectorDaveCatalano, “We’ve
recoveredverynicely,with the
assistanceof theUsGA.”
CogHill is thevenue for theBMW
Championship inearlyseptember,
and thisyear’sdefendingchamp is
TigerWoods.And thehost courseof
theHPByronNelsonChampionship,
