The USGA has selected San Diego’s Torrey Pines South Course to host the '21 U.S. Open, but it "needs the City Council’s approval to make it official," according to Tod Leonard of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer yesterday said that an item "will be placed on the City Council docket this week that asks it to support hosting" the event. Faulconer said he believes the council will be “strongly supportive” of holding another U.S. Open. USGA President Tom O'Toole said that his organization is "hopeful the City Council will approve the deal, adding that San Diego never left the USGA’s radar after then-Mayor Jerry Sanders extended an invitation to hold another U.S. Open here on the day the ’08 event ended." O'Toole: "We wouldn't have gone back to Torrey Pines any sooner than 10 years, and we're slightly outside that range now. We had a fabulous Open there; the city was great; and the community was incredibly supportive" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/11). A UNION-TRIBUNE editorial states the city "did a great job the last time Torrey Pines hosted the U.S. Open" in '08. The USGA "probably would be happy with even a fraction that much excitement" in '21 (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/11).
PLAYING FOR KEEPS: The UNION-TRIBUNE's Leonard reports it sounded as if PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua was "ready to bring a PGA to Torrey at first opportunity." Leonard: "So is it a coincidence that USGA Executive Director Mike Davis decided only two months later to take another strong look at Torrey?" The USGA "had a really nice girlfriend in Torrey Pines, and when another suitor showed interest, it busted out the roses and Godiva chocolate." It "wasn’t going to let Torrey get into another guy’s car." San Diego was "too valuable, with its previous record sales, and prime time TV ratings and its years-long public merchandise windfall." But acknowledging the PGA's interest yesterday, O'Toole said, "We don't operate in a vacuum. We negotiate and have discussions with our clubs about what we and our championship can do for a community. We didn't feel threatened one way or another." Leonard: "Would San Deigans have supported a PGA? As much as we love golf here, sure. Would the buzz have been as strong and palpable? No way" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/11).
