Summer in Tulsa, Okla., is hot and humid. The golf season's second major of the year, the U.S. Open, will be held at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa from June 14-17. The defending champion, of course, is Tiger Woods.
The club has hosted four majors previously: two U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships. The previous winners were Tommy Bolt in the 1958 U.S. Open, Hubert Green in the 1977 U.S. Open, Dave Stockton in the 1970 PGA Championship and Ray Floyd in the 1982 PGA Championship. The majors will be going back there for the first time in 19 years. Naturally, the prospect of Tiger winning five consecutive majors will grab everyone's attention, but the course could be the talking point this year.
Ben Hogan knew the course well -- very well. "The Hawk," as Hogan was known, was stationed in Tulsa during World War II and played the Southern Hills Country Club hundreds of times.