USGA CEO Mike Davis recently referred to Pinehurst as a U.S. Open "anchor site," which has "led some to speculate that the association was transitioning to a formal rotation for the national championship," according to Rex Hoggard of GOLFCHANNEL.com. Davis explained, "After talking to a lot of the players who play in U.S. Opens, a lot of our past champions, they communicated a consistent message, saying: 'We want to go to the best sites, and we want to go there more often.'" The U.S. Open is scheduled to be played at Pinehurst in '24, '29, '35, '41 and '47, and Hoggard noted that is a "long-term move that could lead the USGA to lock in other iconic venues like Pebble Beach, Oakmont, Bethpage and Shinnecock Hills." Davis said, "Let's let the future play out, but there are some treasured sites" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 9/16). USGA Chief Brand Officer Craig Annis on Tuesday's "SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead" podcast stressed a U.S. Open rotation "doesn’t mean that we’re not going to be able to introduce some new courses to the golf world. We will be able to do that." But he added as the USGA looks forward, there exists a real emphasis to "define where we go, when we go." Annis indicated to “look by the end of the year to the first quarter (of 2021) for us to be in a position to certainly share more" (Andrew Levin, THE DAILY).
