The Beginning of the End of the World The tournament that took a fortnight to finish By Bill Case • PhotograPhs from the tufts arChives he Diamondhead Corporation’s 1970 acquisi- Pinehurst had not hosted any professional golf tournaments tion of the Pinehurst Resort complex, hotels and since 1951, when Richard Tufts became disenchanted by the 6,700 undeveloped, mostly wooded acres from behavior of the U.S. team in that year’s Ryder Cup matches the Tufts family brought about a dramatic trans- played over Pinehurst No. 2. Tufts canceled the prestigious North formation of the entire community. To replace and South Open. Maurer considered Richard’s banishment of the Tufts family’s vision of Pinehurst as an idyllic the pros a tragic mistake and decided that, given the fast-growing Tand peaceful New England-style community where the elite from popularity of the PGA Tour, pro golf should return to the resort. the North golfed and hobnobbed with one another for months at But Maurer had no interest in hosting just any tournament. As a time, Diamondhead instituted a new go-getter business model, he put it, “If it is the golf capital of the world, let’s really make it which executives imported by the company from the West Coast that. Let’s have . the World Championship.” fondly called “California brass.” Maurer persuaded McLean that to hold a true world champi- Diamondhead spent millions updating the venerable onship, prize money commensurate with that title should be part Carolina Hotel, rechristening it the Pinehurst Hotel. A hard of the package. McLean agreed to bankroll the largest purse the push began to attract conventions, an approach the Tufts game had yet seen — $100,000 to the winner and $500,000 total family had historically disfavored, fearing it would drive away prize money. But Maurer needed to convince Joe Dey, executive valued longtime patrons. Huge chunks of forested acreage were director of the Tournament Players Division, that his audacious subdivided for sale as residential lots and condominiums. Like proposal was viable. Complicating matters was his desire that the spring dandelions, new homes bordering golf course fairways World Open be contested over eight rounds, twice the customary appeared overnight. The properties were marketed with such number. Two weeks would be necessary. Maurer also sought the frenzy that a writer for The Pilot observed that Diamondhead’s inclusion of numerous foreign players to underscore the tourna- sales force clustered on the prime lots “with the intensity of ment as a truly worldwide championship. ants on a piece of picnic pie.” Pinehurst’s old guard residents, A year of sporadic discussions with Dey ensued before including the Tufts family, were mostly appalled. The perceived Diamondhead’s president finally made headway. In January 1973, arrogance of cocksure Diamondhead executives, inclined to it was announced that the World Open Championship would adorn themselves in California-cool gold chains and leisure be played in Pinehurst, commencing Nov. 5 and ending the 17th. suits, exacerbated the friction. While concerned that Pinehurst’s late autumn weather could The man overseeing this metamorphosis of everything pose a problem, Maurer liked the idea of crowning the “world Pinehurst was Diamondhead’s president, Bill Maurer. The champion” at the tail end of the season. dour, hard-driving former golf pro had been selected as front Maurer contemplated a gigantic field of 240 players. After man for the operation by Malcolm McLean, the mega-wealthy an 18-hole celebrity pro-am, the first four rounds of the tourna- tycoon financing the Diamondhead purchase. Keenly aware that ment would be contested over No. 2 and No. 4 with competitors Pinehurst was America’s foremost golfing Mecca, Maurer believed making two circuits of each. After completion of Sunday’s fourth dramatic steps were in order to ramp up the resort’s identification round, the field would be trimmed to the low 70 players and ties. with the game. Contrary to usual tour practice, players falling short of the cut Maurer could not be faulted for failing to aim high. He line would be paid $500. The survivors would take a two-day envisioned a modernized Pinehurst firmly branded in the break before resuming play on Wednesday. Course No. 2 would public’s mind as the undisputed “Golf Capital of the World.” serve as the exclusive venue for the final four rounds, culminating He convinced McLean to invest $2,500,000 for establishing a in an unusual Saturday finish. hall of fame for golf behind the fourth green of the No. 2 course. Mindful that Pinehurst had not hosted a pro tournament in Explaining his thinking in an interview with Country Club Golfer, over two decades, Maurer assembled a new team for the task. Maurer said, “I’ve read for 20 years about all these different plans Likeable and garrulous Tennessean Hubie Smith, 1969’s Club to build one (a golf hall of fame). None of them has ever come to a Professional of the Year, came on board as tournament direc- hill of beans, and I don’t mean that unkindly. It’s just a lot of con- tor. Another club pro, Don Collett, was hired as president of versation and lip service. I think if we own and operate the World Pinehurst, Inc. That post involved an imposing array of duties Golf Hall of Fame, it would not only be good for Diamondhead’s that included managing all operations of the Pinehurst Country image and its place in the golf world, but also it would be a real Club and jumpstarting the embryonic Hall of Fame. good attraction for golf and Pinehurst.” It was determined that Course No. 4 should be toughened to 102 September 2018i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills 1973 World Open Press Room pose a challenge for the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and sence of a few champions worked in favor of the remaining play- other tour stars. Diamondhead retained famed architect Robert ers who descended upon the area for their Monday and Tuesday Trent Jones Sr. to perform an overhaul of the course. With Jones practice rounds. The hotels and inns received plenty of patron- swiftly working in tandem with club superintendent Dick Silvar, age. Players with limited budgets sought more cost-effective the updating was completed in only 90 days. A pleased Jones arrangements. Tour newbies Don Padgett Jr. and Andy North expressed satisfaction with his handiwork, proclaiming that No. 4 arranged affordable lodgings would soon be recognized as “one of the great courses of the world.” outside Pinehurst, finding an in- Diamondhead enticed baseball great Joe DiMaggio to serve as expensive condominium adjacent celebrity host for Wednesday’s “Joe DiMaggio World Celebrity to the Hyland Hills golf course, Pro-Amateur.” Accepting invitations to join Joltin’ Joe on the then nearing completion. The tee were A-list celebrities like Bing Crosby, James Garner, Fred owner let the rookies practice on MacMurray and Stan Musial. Licking their respective chops at the range of the unopened course. the opportunity to take down the tour’s largest-ever payday, the Padgett and North shagged their circuit’s rank-and-file sent in their entries faster than the deal at a own balls. Vegas blackjack table. As tour mainstay Miller Barber put it, “near- Some lucky young competitors ly everybody who can hit the ground with a golf club” was headed benefited from free housing. Peter to Pinehurst. This included a number of players a decade or more Tufts, Richard’s son, resided on past their primes who nonetheless looked for a last hurrah. Fields Road less than 200 yards Assuming that the combination of record prize money, an from the second hole of No. 2. As impressive-sounding title and Pinehurst No. 2 would prove ir- the builder and course architect for resistible to the tour elite, Maurer failed to take into account that the nearly completed Seven Lakes the players most likely to be unimpressed would be the upper Country Club, Peter was a respect- crust champions whose winnings and endorsement income had ed force in golf. He possessed a soft already placed them in a position where they could afford to say spot for young players trying to no. Jack Nicklaus, winner of the ’73 PGA Championship, sent make their way, and opened up his his regrets. He wanted to spend time with his family and rest up home to four of them, none older for the World Cup in Spain, where he would pair with Johnny than 25: John Mahaffey, who had Miller as the American team. Miller had planned to compete in won the Sahara Invitational the Pinehurst, but ultimately withdrew. The ’73 British Open cham- previous month and would five pion, Tom Weiskopf, begged off, opting to hunt for big game. years hence become PGA cham- England’s Tony Jacklin, a two-time major champion, couldn’t pion; Pensacola’s Allen Miller, come because of a scheduling conflict in Japan. Trevino expressed who would win once on tour; a lack of interest for playing in a two-week tournament in chilly Eddie Pearce, predicted by many weather.