If You Knew Cherry Like I Know Cherry

1978 U.S. Open Winner Andy North knows what it takes to win at Cherry Hills

Andy North

I have exceptional memories of Cherry Hills. Winning the U.S. Open there in 1978 was such an extraordinary week of my life. Not only did I win. I won at the place where Arnold Palmer, one of my heroes, had made history at the same event in 1960.

Palmer was also in the field in 1978. So were Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. When you get a real-life opportunity to play against your heroes—and play well—that’s really special.

I took the lead the second day and was paired with Nicklaus on Saturday and Player on Sunday. On each day, I finished three strokes ahead of them.

That Open represented the next step in my career. The previous year, I’d won the Westchester Classic, and I’d had a couple of runner-up finishes earlier that season. I was very comfortable. My mentality fit the open really well. I didn’t mind making pars, shooting away from pins, scraping around. And that gave me a great advantage.

I remember the 72nd hole—a water carry then uphill to the green—and how I was two over to that point, having my toughest round of the tournament. Yet I was two shots clear of Dave Stockton and J.C. Snead. So I knew I could play the hole conservatively and still win.

The BMW is a PGA Tour event, not a USGA championship. My one-over-par 285 was strong enough to win the U.S. Open, but any player posting that score at Cherry Hills in this year’s BMW Championship will probably not finish in the top 30—the cut to advance to East Lake and the Tour Championship the following week.

Cherry Hills is a much different course today than it was in 1978 and in 1985, when I competed in the PGA Championship there shortly after winning my second U.S. Open. The 2009 restoration added challenge to an already challenging course. I got to experience this first-hand because the club was kind enough to make me an honorary member, and I’ve played in its Smith-Cole Invitational the last two years.

As a player, I can’t say I love the cross-bunkers on 17, and I think the bunkers fronting 18 green are ridiculously deep. But I understand the rationale behind them. Overall, the changes are spectacular, and it intrigues me to see how the old course, which will play at a par 70 and 7,350 yards, holds up, especially when you see how far today’s players hit the ball.

Yet I’m not sure length gives you as much of an advantage here—especially if the course plays as firm as it did in last year’s Smith-Cole. If it does, the players who always hit driver off the tee are going to have a tough time.

They can easily drive the new green on No. 3, but can they hold it? It all comes down to firmness and speed. If the course plays firm, look for plenty of long irons off the tee.

Most of these players haven’t played Cherry Hills, and that might affect them more than the altitude, which I don’t think will play as big a role as people think it will. You have to realize that guys at this level adjust awfully well. They go from different grasses—poa one week, bermuda the next and bent the next—and from seaside courses to desert courses all the time. Adapting is a big part of being professional. I doubt coming from sea level at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston to a mile high for the BMW will affect them much, especially with the way they train now.

Denver holds a special place in my heart because of the 1978 U.S. Open and so does the Western Open, the pre-FedEx Cup name of the BMW Championship. I grew up in the Midwest, won the Western Amateur in 1971 and played every year in the Western Open when it was at Butler National. I think the PGA Tour should have an annual event in Chicago. Just like it should have an annual one in Denver.

Two-time U.S. Open winner Andy North has defined ESPN's championship golf coverage for more than 20 years. He serves as both an analyst and a reporter, bringing to bear his two decades of experience on the PGA Tour, which includes three victories and participation in the 1978 World Cup and 1985 Ryder Cup. While at the University of Florida, North won the 1971 Western Amateur championship, administered by the Western Golf Association, which also runs the BMW Championship.

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