As it is US Open week at Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 course, we take a stroll down memory lane and look back at the 1999 US Open at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club. That was the first of Phil Mickelson’s record six runner-up finishes at the US Open, but the story to remember was definitely Payne Stewart.
Payne Stewart held the 54 hole lead at the 1998 US Open, but stumbled down the stretch. It wouldn’t happen a year later in 1999 at Pinehurst though, as he fought back to finish the tournament at 1-under par for a one shot victory and his second US Open victory. Perhaps the most iconic image from the 1999 US Open though is not the Payne Stewart fist pump, but the embrace that he gave Phil after winning. He would not be able to defend his title in 2000 though as Payne tragically passed away in a plane crash. Watch the video above and relive the duel at Pinehurst between two of golf’s greatest.
Source: Pinehurst Resort 1895
