The pro shop door swings open again as another dolly of boxes is wheeled in, accompanied by a blast of chilly air.
There are no tables or racks of merchandise to break the breeze. The normal displays of clubs, apparel and other merchandise has been moved or pushed to the side. Boxes are lined up on a counter that faces the putting green and others are on the floor.
It’s decision time on how set up a display honoring the late Mickey Wright — one of the best women ever to play the game — where players will be able to write letters to her that will be added to her collection at the USGA museum.
On the other side of the empty shop, Jackie Burke is talking a little women’s golf. He pauses to remind his wife Robin to close that door that’s still wide open. It didn’t shut behind the workers and that breeze is just a little too crisp for his 97-year-old bones.
Outside, carts are zipping around the course and USGA flags that border the driving range are snapping in a stiff breeze. Carpenters are working on the broadcast booth down the 18th fairway and painters are touching up the metal scaffolding behind the huge scoreboard. Television towers stand empty and frost blankets cover the tender plants underneath.
Less than four miles away, the line to test everyone who will be on the property for a nine-day stretch snakes down a ramp and along the sidewalk behind a northwest Houston hotel. By late afternoon, it was a chilly 40 minutes, start to finish.
In just a few days, his Champions Golf Club will host the 75th U.S. Women’s Open from Thursday to Sunday. It will be not only the last major golf championship of the year, but also, one more incredible tournament on Burke’s to-do list as well as a testament to the golf club he and the late Jimmy Demaret built back in 1957.
Consider that it’s the 19th big event that will be held at the legendary course that went from a golf-only head-shaker in the middle of nowhere to host of the 1967 Ryder Cup in less than a decade. Tack on the 1969 U.S. Open, the 1993 U.S. Amateur, two Women’s Mid-Amateurs, 11 PGA Tour events and two Southern Amateurs and, well . . . it’s been quite a ride.
Jackie chuckles that there wasn’t a tent on the property at that Ryder Cup, when Ben Hogan captained the U.S. to a 23½-8 ½ win over what was then a Great Britain-only team. He points outside to a half-dozen tents now tucked at the near the putting green and behind the clubhouse.
And those U.S. Women’s Open letters that have guarded the huge putting green for months longer than anyone thought? They’re a bit rusty and now hidden behind the tents, ready for a fresh coat of paint before they’re moved to face the 18th green.
Jackie flashes back to those early days when he and Demaret designed this golf-only club for competition. They wanted to groom the best players in the game in Houston to play the game and play by the rules. That meant inspiring them by bringing the best in the world here to compete.
He chuckles. “Back then, the women were sitting on the porch and the men were playing. Now, the women are on the golf course and the men are on the porch watching them play.’’
Robin smiles. She’s heard that line a few times before.
A former Curtis Cup captain, U.S. Women’s Amateur runner-up and nine-time Women’s City Amateur champion who has played in more than 40 USGA events, Robin didn’t know a much at all about Champions when she took a lesson from Jackie decades ago. Today, she’s been one of the driving forces behind next week’s Women’s Open.
“The best men players in the world have walked these fairways in competition,’’ she said. “I wanted the best women players in the world to walk them, too.’’
That it will be some six months after it was originally scheduled for the first week in June? What the heck? It’s 2020, a year when COVID 19 has turned every sport upside down. That it’s happening is what matters.
The only spectators on the course will be the media, players family members and volunteers — and everyone has to be tested. No exceptions. Robin and Jackie were in the first wave Thursday afternoon.
But between network television and virtual opportunities, Champions will be on center stage internationally as an incredible field of 156 players will tackle both the championship Cypress Creek course and challenging Jackrabbit course for the first two days in order to accommodate the shorter winter days, then play the final 36 on Cypress.
It’s the first time a major has been played in December and the first time a U.S. Open of any type has utilized two courses in a competition. Again, a testament to Burke and Demaret’s vision that built Cypress with its huge difficult greens and Jackrabbit, a tighter-off-the-tee layout with smaller, undulating greens.
“I’m excited that we’re almost to the starting line,’’ Robin said. “It’s been incredible to watch it all come together. The USGA always puts on such a powerful championship. And once everything goes up, you think, wow, this is going to be even more incredible than you anticipated.
“I think our courses are in impeccable shape and I’m proud of that. Of course, the grounds team led by (course superintendent) Chris Ortmeier has done a terrific job. Again, we can’t have spectators, but we have a lot of volunteers.
“I just want the girls to really feel welcome and appreciate that they’re playing these two old-style golf courses that are easy to walk, but it’s going to be a difficult test and we’ll get a great champion.’’
Robin has already added welcoming touches to the club that will host an international who’s who of women’s golf –— from world No. 1 Jin Young Ko to 18 of the top 20-ranked amateurs in the game. The impressive field includes Houstonians Stacy Lewis and Cheyenne Knight as well as five other Texans.
As they walk into the clubhouse the women will be greeted with Christmas decorations and the dining room has three trees, a huge ornament honoring the 75th Women’s Open and a train car with flags from all 26 countries represented in the field. Even the bathroom hand towels have the tournament logo on them.
In addition, Champions has turned its huge iconic men’s locker room over to the women for the week. The walls of the room are filled with photographs of players and celebrities like Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis, who were close friends with Burke and Demaret and for decades.
Champions' legendary roster also includes five former PGA champions (Burke, Hal Sutton, Steve Elkington, Jay Hebert and Dave Marr), three astronauts — plus a 6-iron — who went to the moon (Gene Cernan, Alan Shepard and Charles Duke) and country-western star Clay Walker. And, at last count, 50 percent of Champions’ members have single-digit handicaps and 30 of those are scratch golfers. But the club legacy also includes programs for beginners of every age, including developing female players who pick up the game later in life. Junior programs start at age 6.
“I’ve seen some of the 10-year-old girls,’’ Jack said, “who can hit a ball 200 yards.”
You don’t think next week will inspire them a bit, do you? The toughest part will be having to watch the competition on television or from a backyard of a house that lines one of the courses. Once again, it’s golf in 2020.
What would have been a chance for Houston to turn out and watch an international array of superstars has become tuning in from home. The pandemic has eliminated — or severely limited — spectators everywhere and that, in turn, has downsized the infrastructure at events.
This year’s buildout started a month ago. In a normal year it would have been double that.
There is no need for the normal massive merchandise tents, grandstands or food tents around the courses. The media centers have been downsized as well. Next week, there will be 42 socially distanced work stations in the media center and 48 credentialed media. Last year, the USGA credentialed 200 members of the press.
Those inside the gates, Robin said, “will have a private viewing of the best players in the world.”
She admits, though, it’s bittersweet. But that’s 2020.
“In the end it’s going to be worth it,’’ she said, “We’ll be proud of it.”
It is, after all, the national championship — the biggest women’s event on the schedule and the one everyone wants to win.
“Everyone wants to check this off their bucket list, right?’’ Robin said. “So, we’ll see who gets there in the end.’’
Robin made it to the finals of the 1997 U.S. Amateur but never made the cut in a U.S. Open.
Does she ever wish she was playing this week?
“Absolutely,’’ she said. “The best thing about the championship is if you’re prepared to play, there’s nothing better than to go out there and see how you stack up. It’s the worst feeling in the world if you’re not.
“You always want to be at your best at something like this. Then it’s exciting. You want to go sharpen your blades and you’re ready to go fight the golf course.’’
In some ways, next week’s Open is an exclamation point to the Champions legacy. In other ways, it’s not.
It’s a great story to have it here and finish off a crazy year, but don’t think it’s the last big event for Champions. Or the last women’s event.
Given Champions’ record and legacy, it’s just a start.
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Better late than never: Champions set to host U.S. Women's Open to cap surreal year - Houston Chronicle
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