Torrey Pines a Public Jewel High Above the Pacific
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Thursday, June 5, 2008; 2:12 PM
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- It might be the quintessential San Diego sporting experience, one that's as familiar to Lefty and Tiger as it is to the worst hacker who's ever set foot on the property.
When golfers reach the par-3 third hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines, tony La Jolla is off to the left, the Pacific Ocean is straight ahead, and, more often than not, a hang glider is floating silently overhead.
Out of sight down the bluffs, but certainly not out of everyone's mind, are people in the buff at Black's Beach.
A salty sea breeze blows ashore. Sometimes, fog hugs the cliffs.
"That's where you feel the elements, where you see the ocean," said Joe DeBock, the head pro at Torrey Pines.
The soul of San Diego's golf heritage will become the first city-owned golf course to host a U.S. Open starting next Thursday.
It will be San Diego's first major, and just the second time the national championship has been played in Southern California in 60 years.
San Diego's civic pride has taken numerous hits over the past decade, its image tarnished by City Hall corruption and bribery scandals and a billion-dollar pension crisis.
Somehow, the city's golf-loving movers and shakers -- with a big tip of the cap to New York's Bethpage Black -- managed to get the USGA to award the Open to Torrey Pines.
Not bad for a municipal course that has occupied its breathtaking clifftop setting longer than the Chargers and Padres have been playing in San Diego. But this muni doesn't fit the stereotype of being a bit run down.
"I grew up there. That's my home," said Pat Perez, who made it through a U.S. Open qualifier. "That's everything. I've been thinking about that ever since they came out with it."
Some San Diego-raised pro golfers, such as Perez and Phil "Lefty" Mickelson, practically grew up at Torrey Pines. Others, including 1987 U.S. Open winner Scott Simpson, had different home courses but played tournaments at Torrey.
