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U.S. Open’s return to Torrey Pines means prime-time golf

AP photo by Jae C. Hong / Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, left, and top-ranked Dustin Johnson, right, point from the second tee box of Torrey Pines' South Course during a practice round Wednesday. Torrey Pines, an annual PGA Tour stop, is hosting the U.S. Open for the second time, with Tiger Woods having won a classic at the San Diego course in 2008. AP photo by Jae C. Hong / Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, left, and top-ranked Dustin Johnson, right, point from the second tee box of Torrey Pines' South Course during a practice round Wednesday. Torrey Pines, an annual PGA Tour stop, is hosting the U.S. Open for the second time, with Tiger Woods having won a classic at the San Diego course in 2008.

By DOUG FERGUSON / The Associated Press June 16, 2021 6 min read

SAN DIEGO – The United States Golf Association is starting to escape that reputation of an East Coast bias for the U.S. Open.

The return to Torrey Pines Golf Course for the 121st U.S. Open that starts Thursday means another prime-time TV show for viewers along the Eastern seaboard, and that’s happening with greater frequency at this major.

It wasn’t until the 48th edition of American golf’s national championship that it ventured farther west than Colorado, with Ben Hogan winning at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles in 1948. That was the start of eight U.S. Opens in California over a span of 50 years.

The next 25 years include just as many U.S. Opens on the West Coast, including Los Angeles Country Club in 2023.

One appeal is being able to go prime time, with the weekend finish anticipated for 9 p.m. Eastern on Saturday and 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.