Rarely local: U.S. Open wraps up Brookline play

BROOKLINE, Mass. — It’s something that last happened when Michael Dukakis was running for President – and there’s no telling when it might happen again.

For only the fourth time in 124 years, The Country Club hosted this year’s U.S. Open – but the venue isn’t on the list, so far, as a future U.S. Open site through 2051.

The rarity of the event wasn’t lost on Rachel and John Neckar, who came for the final round, despite Rachel’s advanced pregnancy.

“We’re due in just a few weeks,” Rachel said. “Little baby boy’s first U.S. Open.”

“We were actually watching the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played last night, just to get prepared,” said John Neckar. “So we can see some of the history, and, hopefully, some future history here.”

It seems that no matter what happens in terms of winners and losers, golf fans enjoy the tournament simply for the game.

“As an amateur golfer, you learn that even the pros make mistakes, and it makes us feel better about our own game,” said Dick Anderson, who was headed to the tournament with his wife, Lisa.

The couple is from Walpole.

“We’ve been to the U.S. Open here, as well as the Ryder Cup in Brookline,” Lisa Anderson said. “It’s a game of physics at the end of the day. It really does take a lot of analysis, even though it’s fun.”

Part of the fun is the analysis, suggested Dick Anderson.

“You can either walk around, follow a foursome around or you can just sort of plant yourself,” he said. “And we learned at The British Open a few years ago that if you just park yourself, you think it’s going to be boring watching the same shots over and over – and it’s not because you see the different techniques and where people approach the shots, and also even at this level you see a difference in the quality of play from the earlier ones to the realy elite ones at the end.”

The U.S. Open will next head to the Los Angeles Country Club, with the tournament scheduled for June 15-18, 2023.

It next returns to the Northeast in 2026 – scheduled for June 18-21 at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.

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